Quotes

• Eric's attack on his mother becomes more violent as he repeats 'killed' three times, shocking the reader
• Eric: '"Well I was in that state when a chap easily turns nasty- and I threatened to make a row"'
• Eric: '"And that's when it happened. And I don't even remember- that's the hellish thing."'
• Eric: '"I wasn't in love with her or anything- but I liked her- she was pretty and a good sport-"'
• Eric: '"she didn't want me to marry her. Said I didn't love her- and all that. In a way, she treated me- as if I were a kid. Though I was nearly as old as she was."'
• Eric acts as dramatic irritant to his father


  Challenging his ideology – contradicting him / interrupting / asking questions
• Eric uses a euphemism to describe his sexual assault on Eva Smith: 'that's when it happened.'
• Eric's language is fragmented as he becomes emotional / hysterical. The dashed could also represent the break down in his relationship with his mother.
• As his attack on his mother continues, his language becomes more violent as he repeats 'killed' three times. The effect on the reader is highly shocking as this language completely contrasts with the polite, euphemistic language of earlier in the play.
• Eric: '"You're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in trouble- that's why."'
• Eric: '"Then- you killed her. She came to you to protect me- and you turned her away-yes, and you killed her-and the child she'd have had too- my child- your own grandchild- you killed them both- damn you, damn you-"'
• Eric: '"He was our police inspector all right"'
• Eric: '"(shouting) And I say the girl's dead and we all helped to kill her- and that's what matters-"'
• Eric's character


  • Develops - stage directions, e.g. 'uneasily' / 'unease'; 'suddenly guffaws' – by the end 'shouting'
• Eric has the most active social conscience – at the start of play he says: "he could have kept her instead of throwing her out". This demonstrates that there is potential/hope for the future. At the end of the play Eric shows remorse and his acceptance is evidence of his moral fibre.
• Through Eric's treatment of Eva "I wasn't in love with her or anything" an abhorrent picture of the upper-class emerges. They are shown to be callous and cold. However, Eric illustrates the capacity to change – despite your past errors and your family's beliefs you can change. His transformation is more realistic – as at first he blames his mother for her death and then finally comes round to accepting responsibility.
• On the other hand, he is presented as quite a weak character and is the most emotional and demonstrative of all. This leads the audience to question whether he can change his ways for good or is he too weak and dependent on his parents?
• When Eric gives Eva stolen money, Priestley could be commenting that wealth does not replace goodness and integrity – there needed to be a more even distribution of wealth so people like Eric become socially aware.
• Gerald Croft


  An attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred young man-about-town
• Gerald Croft: '"Well, it came just at the right moment. That was clever of you, Gerald."'
• Gerald Croft: '"You couldn't have done anything else" (sacking Eva Smith)'
• Gerald Croft: '"After all, y'know, we're respectable citizens and not criminals"'
• Gerald Croft: '(about Sheila): "She's obviously had about as much as she can stand"'
• Gerald Croft: '"Why should you [stay]? It's bound to be unpleasant and disturbing"'
• Gerald Croft: '"It's a favourite haunt of women of the town"'
• Gerald Croft: ''[Daisy] gave me a glance that was nothing less than a cry for help"'
• Gerald Croft: '"I insisted on Daisy moving into these rooms and I made her take some money to keep her going there…I want you to understand that I didn't install her there so I could make love to her…I was sorry for her…I didn't ask for anything in return"'
• Gerald Croft: '"She was young and pretty and warm-hearted- and intensely grateful. I became at once the most important person in her life- you understand?"'
• Gerald Croft: '"She told me she'd been happier than she'd ever been before"'
• Gerald Croft: '"Nearly any man would have done" (adored being 'fairy prince')'
• Gerald Croft: '"That man wasn't a police officer…I'm almost certain"'
• Gerald Croft: '"But how do you know it's the same girl? ... We've no proof it was the same photograph and therefore no proof it was the same girl"'
• Gerald Croft: '"Everything's all right now Sheila. What about this ring?"'
• Mrs Birling's admiration of Gerald's cleverness is echoed at the end of the play. There are many parallels like this in the play's construction, which link in with Priestley's ideas on timing.
• Gerald echoes Mr Birling's concern to protect Sheila from anything 'unpleasant' – patronizing – view of women
• Euphemism is also used in the play when characters refer to taboo subjects, so when Mr Birling talks of Eva becoming a prostitute he talks of her going 'on the street' and Gerald refers to 'women of the town'.
• Gerald and Sheila use irony in their interchange when he says "You're going to be a great help" and "I'm glad I amuse you". The irony highlights for us the tension between the two of them.
• Gerald uses imagery of a rescue mission when describing his role in Daisy Renton's death. He does this to lessen his guilt and try and justify his behaviour.
• Gerald's offering Sheila the engagement ring echoes the same event from the start of the play.
• Priestley uses the character of Gerald Croft to throw light both on the Birling parents who are too set in their social ways to be changed by the Inspector's visit, and on the Birling children who are certainly very responsive to the Inspector's message, but possibly in a slightly naïve and hysterical way. Gerald acts as a bridge between the two generations.