TIMELINE

• Eva Smith killed herself by drinking disinfectant
• She used to work in Arthur Birling's factory and he had her sacked for going on strike
• Mr Birling refuses to accept any responsibility for her death
• Sheila thought Eva had made fun of her, complained, and got her sacked
• Sheila feels deeply ashamed and responsible for Eva's death
• Gerald confesses to an affair he had with Eva
• Sheila respects Gerald's honesty but returns the engagement ring he gave her
• Sybil Birling refused to help the pregnant Eva
• Eric got Eva pregnant and stole money from his father to help her
• The family rings the infirmary, but there is no record of a girl dying from drinking disinfectant
• A young woman has just died from drinking disinfectant, and the police are on their way to question the family
• 'An Inspector Calls' is a play in three acts set in Brumley, an English manufacturing town, in 1912
• The play begins with Arthur Birling hosting a dinner for his daughter Sheila's engagement to Gerald Croft
• Inspector Goole arrives and informs the family that a girl named Eva Smith has died of an apparent suicide
• Arthur admits to employing Eva at his factory and firing her for inciting a failed strike for higher wages
• Sheila reveals that she got a girl fired from a local shop, who turns out to be Eva Smith, contributing to her poverty and suicide
• Gerald confesses to having had an affair with Eva, known as Daisy Renton, the previous summer
• Sybil, Arthur's wife, admits to refusing assistance to a pregnant woman, who was Eva Smith/Daisy Renton
• It is revealed that Eric, Sheila's brother, is the father of Eva/Daisy's child
• The Inspector emphasizes that each family member and Gerald played a part in Eva/Daisy's suicide and should consider themselves guilty
• Before leaving, the Inspector stresses the importance of looking out for one another and that society is "one body"
• The family discovers that there may not have been a real Inspector Goole, but they still acknowledge their guilt in Eva/Daisy's death
• The play ends with the family learning of another girl's suicide and the arrival of a police inspector for an inquiry