inspector

• Inspector Goole

  The most important character in JB Priestley's play An Inspector Calls, but also the one we know the least about
• The author doesn't really give us any clues about Inspector Goole's past or even what he looks like, and we never learn any personal details about him
• One thing we are told is that he's a police inspector, but by the end of the play we know that even that isn't true
• Goole

  The name sounds exactly the same as the word 'ghoul' and hints that there may be more to the inspector than meets the eye
• Inspector Goole

  • He creates an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness
  • He is a man in his 50s dressed in a plain darkish suit
  • He speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking
• The lighting changes when the inspector arrives

  It becomes brighter and harder, indicating that he is about to put the Birlings' actions under a spotlight and force them to take accountability
• It would have been very unusual for a working-class man to be the dominant character in a room full of the wealthy upper class, indicating that there is something different about this mysterious inspector
• Inspector Goole's investigation

  • It is central to creating drama by bringing new information to light
  • His entrances and exits are perfectly timed to create maximum tension
• The inspector says his evidence comes from a letter and a sort of diary found in Eva Smith's room, but this is a somewhat plausible reason for him to have all this information
• We find out at the end of the play that Goole is not really a police inspector, so he would not have legal authority in this situation
• Inspector Goole's moral authority


  He represents the author's views on social responsibility, the dangers of capitalism, and the futility of war
• An Inspector Calls is set in 1912, just before World War I begins


  This was a time of huge political turmoil, and Priestley's views reflect the horrors of the two World Wars
• Inspector Goole's goal

  • To get the Birlings to admit their role in Eva Smith's death and understand how their actions affect the lives of others
• Inspector Goole: '"We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish."'
• Priestley's opinions and the inspector's message can be seen as feminist, as Eva Smith's life experiences show how working-class women struggled in their society