Sheila Character Analysis

• Sheila

  • Priestley uses her to explore the power of the individual in a biased society
  • Priestley uses her to challenge ideas about gender
• In the opening moments of the play, Priestley presents Sheila as an immature materialistic character despite the stage directions telling us that she is in her early twenties
• Sheila refers to her parents as "mummy" and "daddy", an infantile immature mode of address which is reciprocated by Mr and Mrs Birling who refer to Sheila as both a child and childish
• Sheila's comment about the engagement ring and how she will never let it go out of her sight presents her as materialistic
• Eric comments that Sheila and Mrs Birling are talking about clothes when they retire to the drawing room in Act 1
• Early in Act 1, Gerald inquires of Sheila "I've been trying long enough, haven't I?" but it is Mrs Birling who interrupts and replies in Sheila's place
• Later, Gerald tries to have Sheila removed from the room during his interrogation, telling the Inspector "I think Miss Birling ought to be excused"
• It is clear early on that Sheila is not treated as an equal by anyone, reflecting how women were treated as inferior to men at the time the play was set
• Eric is undoubtedly more immature than Sheila, but he isn't treated like a child in the way she is
• Sheila's treatment by others

  Reflects how women were considered as having an inferior role within a male-dominated society
• Sheila's treatment as inferior because of her gender

  Is one of the causes of Eva Smith's death
• After the Inspector's interrogation, Sheila begins to change as a character
• Sheila's words to Gerald of "You fool, he knows" demonstrate a dramatic shift in her personality
• The little girl who was cooing over a ring has gone and her passivity has been replaced with a fiery indignation
• The sarcastic "You're forgetting I'm supposed to be engaged to the hero" cuts through Gerald's attempt to romanticize the story of his interactions with Eva
• The maturity behind Sheila's cool returning of the ring as opposed to a tantrum at the end of Gerald's confession implies to the audience that this is a woman who is now not governed by her emotions but by logic and reason
• Priestley seems to be suggesting that the audience should aspire to be like Sheila - they should own the mistakes they've made and make others accountable for their own mistakes too
• Priestley presents Sheila as a character who quickly learns the Inspector's message of social responsibility, unlike her parents who when they think they've got away with it laugh and encourage their children to do the same
• The contrast between Sheila and her parents can be interpreted as Priestley criticizing the behaviour of the older generation who are fixed in their ways
• In Act 2, Sheila addresses Mrs Birling as "mother" and Mr Birling as "father", a symbol of how she has matured from the childlike Act 1 address of "mummy" and "daddy"
• In Act 2, Sheila interrupts and answers a question directed at Mrs Birling, telling the Inspector "Yes, she is. Why?" when he asks if Mrs Birling is a member of the Brumley Women's Charity Organization
• With the Inspector's final exit in Act 3, Sheila can in some ways be seen to take on his role
• Sheila interrogates her family and Gerald, asking a series of questions, showing how she has taken on the interrogating role of the Inspector
• Priestley uses repetition as a technique, with Sheila mirroring the language used previously by the Inspector when she talks about "fire and blood and anguish"
• This mirroring of language is Priestley's way of showing us how Sheila has not only learned the Inspector's viable lesson but has in some way taken on the role of the Inspector himself
• Through his presentation of Sheila, Priestley encourages the audience to challenge conventional thinking and to question the behaviour of others, holding those to account who have power over us even if that means rejecting those who are close to us and rethinking our own world views
• If Sheila can so dramatically transform from a selfish shallow creature to one who now challenges others and cares about social responsibility, then everyone in the audience can also transform in the same way
• Sheila “it’s you two who are acting childish” - talking on the responsibility unlike her parents - demonstrates her social conscious