2.13 - Minor Characters
Overview of minor characters
Minor characters in An Inspector Calls drive the play's social critique without appearing onstage. They highlight themes of inequality and responsibility. The key figure is Eva Smith, whose suicide triggers the Inspector's visit and exposes the Birlings' moral failings.
Functions of minor characters
- Catalysts for plot - Eva's death forces the family to examine their actions, turning the drama into a moral investigation.
- Social representatives - They embody the invisible working class, showing how privilege harms the vulnerable.
- Thematic tools - Through Eva, Priestley illustrates collective guilt, as the Inspector notes "we are members of one body."
Contextual connection
Priestley's socialist views, shaped by post-war Britain in 1945, use minor characters to critique Edwardian class structures from 1912, when workers lacked rights and faced exploitation.
Eva Smith's multiple identities and exploitation
Eva Smith, also known as Daisy Renton, faces mistreatment from each main character, revealing their flaws. Her changing names reflect how society views the working class as interchangeable. This chain of events builds Priestley's message on interconnected lives.
Key instances of exploitation
- Arthur Birling's greed - He sacks Eva for seeking a pay rise, prioritising profits over fairness.
- Sheila's jealousy - She has Eva fired from a shop job due to envy, showing impulsive upper-class power.
- Gerald's affair - As Daisy Renton, Eva becomes his mistress, highlighting male exploitation of vulnerable women.
- Sybil Birling's prejudice - She denies Eva charity aid during pregnancy, embodying cold class judgement.
- Eric's irresponsibility - His drunken encounter leads to Eva's pregnancy, underscoring youthful recklessness among the privileged.
Contextual connection
In Edwardian England, women like Eva had limited rights, often facing dismissal without cause, which Priestley contrasts with 1945 audiences' growing support for labour reforms and gender equality.
Symbolic significance of Eva Smith
Eva symbolises the broader suffering of the working class, rather than one individual. Her story critiques capitalism and privilege, showing how small acts of cruelty accumulate into tragedy. Priestley uses her to urge social change.
Aspects of symbolism
- Universal victim - Eva represents all exploited workers, making her fate a warning about ignoring the "millions of Eva Smiths."
- Moral mirror - Her experiences reflect the characters' failings, from Arthur's "hard-headed" business sense to Sybil's hypocrisy.
- Social critique - Eva embodies the human cost of inequality, reinforcing themes of responsibility and class divide.
Contextual connection
Written after World War II, the play draws on Priestley's experiences with wartime unity, using Eva to symbolise how pre-1912 individualism led to social divides, echoing calls for a welfare state.
Dramatic function and absence from stage
Eva's offstage presence creates mystery and tension, as her story unfolds through confessions. This technique focuses attention on the Birlings' guilt, turning the audience into judges of their actions.
Dramatic effects of absence
- Building suspense - Revelations about Eva emerge gradually, heightening emotional impact.
- Universal appeal - Not showing Eva makes her relatable to any oppressed person, strengthening the play's message.
- Focus on accountability - Her invisibility emphasises how the powerful often overlook the weak, as in the Inspector's "fire and blood and anguish" warning.
Contextual connection
Priestley's use of absence draws from morality plays, popular in earlier British theatre, to deliver a socialist sermon on collective responsibility amid 1940s debates about rebuilding society post-war.