Analysis of Act Two - Gerald’s Affair

• Analysis of Act Two - Gerald’s Affair

  The Inspector is piecing together the events of the final couple years of Eva/Daisy’s life. Act Two starts with the Inspector questioning Gerald about how he came to know Daisy
• Gerald


  Kept Daisy as his mistress
• Gerald's actions


  1. Ignores the Inspector's question

  2. Excuses Sheila for being "hysterical"

  3. Tries to get Sheila to leave
• Gerald's actions


  So he doesn't have to tell Sheila more details about his affair
• The Inspector: '"Well?"'
• The Inspector's point


  Gerald's hypocrisy in thinking women should be "protected" when it's men like him who took advantage of Daisy Renton
• Mrs Birling's reaction


  Shocked, doesn't understand the term "women of the town" (prostitutes), upset to learn Gerald's been seeing them
• Daisy fell in love with Gerald out of gratitude


  1. Sheila suggests that Daisy loved Gerald as her “wonderful Fairy Prince”. Gerald doesn’t say he loved Daisy, but agrees that he “adored” being loved by her

  2. Gerald finished with Eva/Daisy just before he went on a business trip. Although he gave her some money, he effectively made her homeless

  3. Eva/Daisy went to a “seaside place” to remember their time together “just to make it last longer”. For Gerald, it was a summer fling, but for Eva/Daisy “there’d never be anything as good again”
• Gerald should have confessed all this months ago
• Gerald lied about not seeing Sheila much last summer because he was too busy with work
• Sheila: 'We'd have to start all over again, getting to know each other'
• Birling defends Gerald saying "you must understand that a lot of young men -"
• Birling implies that lots of men have mistresses
• Gerald doesn't ask Birling for permission to leave, he asks the Inspector
• This shows the Inspector is in control now, and not Birling