ACT 1

• Exposition description of the Birlings house

  "The general effect is substantial and heavily comfortable, but not cosy and homelike"
• Exposition description of the lighting

  Lighting "pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives and then it should be brighter and harder"
• MrB during the engagement party to G

  "Your father and i have been friendly rivals in business for some time now- though crofts limited are both older and bigger than the Birling and company - and now you've brought us together, and perhaps we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together - for lower costs and higher prices.
• Mrs B opinion of married men

  You'll realise that men with important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business
• Sheilas reaction to engagement ring

  "i(excited) Oh - Gerald - is it the one you wanted me to have?"
• Sheila talking to MrsB about the engagement ring


  "Look - Mummy - isn't it a beauty?"
• Birling talking about the practicality of the marriage

  "When you marry, you'll be marrying at a very good time ... there's a lot of wild talk about possible labour trouble in the near future"
• MrB talking nonsense


  "Germans dont want war. Nobody wants war ... I say there isn't a chance of war"

  "The titanic ... unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable"
• Inspectors entrance

  Edna: (opening door, and announcing) "Inspector Goole"
• Inspector description


  'An impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness
• Birlings first thoughts when seeing inspector

  "Well, what can i do for you? Some trouble about a warrant?"
• Birlings reaction to Eva

  "Well we've several hundred young women there, y' know"
• Birlings thoughts about the effect the investigation after his first discussion

  "There's nothing mysterious - or scandalous - about this business ... its a perfectly straightforward case ... obviously it has nothing whatever to do with the wretched girl's suicide"
• A conversation between Birling and inspector about Eva and his involvement

  Inspector : "what happened to her then may have determined what happened to her afterwards ... A chain of events."

  MrB : "still I can't accept responsibility. If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody wed had anything to do with, it would be very awkward, wouldn't it?
• Birling reveals the reason why Eva was kicked out

  "After they came back from their holidays that August, they were all rather restless and they suddenly decided to ask for more money ... i refused, of course"
• MrB aim versus inspectors

  Inspector : "its my duty to ask questions."

  MrB: "well, its my duty to keep labour costs down ... if they didnt like those rates they could go work somewhere else. its a free country. i told them."
• mrb and inspectors opinion on asking for things

  mrb : " they'd soon be asking for the earth"

  inspector: "they might. but after all it is better to ask for the earth than to take it"
• how sheila refers to her mum in act one

  "Mummy"
• inspector describing the girl to Sheila

  "she had been pretty - very pretty"
• sheilas opinion of young girls being used - talking with inspector

  "but these girls arent cheap labour - theyre people"
• inspector talking about evas work ethic

  "there was nothing wrong with the way she was doing her work ... all she knew was - that a customer complained about her - and she has to go"
• sheilas immediate reaction to evas photo (stage direction)

  recognises it with a little cry, gives a half sniffled sob and then runs out
• gerald standing up for the family after sheila left and the inspectors response

  G: "after all y'know, we're respectable citizens and not criminals "

  Inspector: "sometimes there isnt as much difference as you think. often, if it was left to me, i wouldnt know where to draw the line"
• sheilas thoughts on eva upon returning

  "ive told my father - he didnt seem to think it amounted to much - but i felt rotten about it at the time and now i feel alot worse "
• sheila taking the blame

  sheila : " (miserably) so im really responsible"

  inspector : "no not entirely ... but youre partly to blame "
• what did eva do to Sheila

  the dress "suited her. she was the right type for it , just as i was the wrong type"
• sheila finding out that gerald knew daisy renton and how she thinks the inspector will react


  gerald : "we can keep it from him"

  sheila : "why - you fool - he knows. of course he knows. and i hate to think how much he knows that we dont know yet. you'll see. you'll see."

  she looks at him almost in triumph. he looks crushed