An Inspector Calls

• Arthur Birling: the head of Birling and Company, a manufacturing company situated in Brumley, and head of the Birling family. He represents the Capitalist businessman.
• Sybil Birling: the wife and social superior of Arthur Birling. She represents the upper-class, socially prominent wife..
• Sheila Birling: the Birlings' daughter. She represents the impressionable, socially-aware younger generation and the feminist movement.
• Eric Birling: the Birlings' son. He represents the impressionable , socially-aware younger generation and the consequences of toxic masculine culture.
• Gerald Croft: the son of Sir and Lady Croft, of Crofts Limited, and socially superior to the Birlings. He represents privilege, and the dominance of the upper classes and patriarchy.
• Inspector Goole: a police inspector. He represents the ideals of Socialism and social responsibility, and the ideal justice system.
• Eva Smith: a lower-class, young girl who is mistreated by the Birlings. She represents the neglected lower-classes.
• (Act 1, pg 1) "good solid furniture [...] champagne glasses [...] port [...] evening dress" - stage direction


  Things associated with wealth, creates a sense of luxury. We know to expect characters in the upper classes that are likely to be arrogant, ignorant, or both. Priestley's audience of 1945 would be particularly suspicious of the upper classes as after the two world wars the class system in the UK had experienced major changes.
• (Act 1, pg 1) "pink and intimate" lighting - stage direction


  Forces the audience to witness the opening scenes with the same rose tinted glasses as the characters onstage: people who are blissfully ignorant of the struggles of the wider world.