Character Quotes

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Eric Act 1

- (rather noisily) All the best! she's got a nasty temper sometimes - but shes not that bad really. Good old Sheila! (Act 1)

- I left'em talking about clothes again. You'd think a girl had never any clothes before she gets married. Women are potty about 'em (Act 1)

- Why shouldn't they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices. (Act 1)

- I don't see why she should be sacked because she'd a bit more spirit than the others. (Act 1)

- You said yourself she was a good worker. I'd have let her stay (Act 1)

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Eric Act 3

- (Bitterly) You haven't made it any easier for me have you mother?

- Yes. And that;s when it happened. And i didnt even remember - that's the hellish thing. Oh- my God! - how stupid it all is! 

- (Nearly at breaking point) Then - you killed her. She came to you to protect me - you turned her away - yes, and you killed her - and the child she'd have had too 

- ( unhappily) My God - I'm not likely to forget

- (bursting out) What's the use of talking about behaving sensibly. You're beginning to pretend now that nothing's really happened at all.

- And I can't see it like that. This girl's still dead, isn't she? Nobody's brought her to life, have they? (Act 3)

- The money's not the important thing. It's what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters. And i still feel the same about it, and thats why I don't feel like sitting down and having a nice cosy talk.

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Gerald Act 1

(laughs) You seem to be a nice well-behaved family

(lightly) Sure to be. Unless Eric's been up to something. (nodding confidentally at Birling) and that would e awkward, wouldn't it? 

- So - for god's sake - don't say anything to the inspector

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Gerald Act 2

- (to sheila) thanks. You're going to be a great help, I can see. You've said your piece, and you're obviously going to hate this, so why on earth don't you leave us to it?

- (Hesitatingly) It's hard to say. I didn't fell about her as she felt about me

- She didn't balme me at all. I wish to God she had now. Perhaps I'd feel better about it. 

- I insisted on a parting gift of enough money - though it wasn't so very much - to see her through to the end of the year.

- In that case - as I'm rather more - Upset - By this business than i probably appear to be - and - well, I'd like to be alone for a while - I'd be glad if you let me go

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Gerald Act 3

- Well, you were right. There isn't any such inspector. We've been had.

- I did keep a girl last summer. I've admitted it. And I'm sorry Sheila

- Everything's alright now, Sheila. (Holds up ring.) What about this ring?

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Mrs Birling Act 1

What an expression ,Sheila! Really the things you girls pick up these days!

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Mrs Birling Act 2

- Please don't contradict me like that. And in any case I don't suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class.

- That - I consider - is trifle impertinent, inspector

- (With dignity) Yes. We've done a great deal of useful work in helping deserving cases.

- Yes, I think it was simply a piece of gross impertinenece - quite diliberate - and naturally that was one of the things that prejudiced me against her case.

- If you think you can bring any pressure to bear upon me, inspector, you're quite mistaken. Unlike the other three, I did nothing I'm ashamed of or that won't bear investigation.

- I'll tell you what i told her. Go and look for the father of the child. It's his responsibility.

- She was giving herself ridiculous airs. She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and cruples that are simply absurd in a girl in her position. 

- I didn't see any reason to believe that one story should be any truer than another. Therefore, you're quite wrong to suppose I shall regret what I did

- but i accept no blame for it at all

- He should be made an example of. If the girl's death is due to anybody, then it's due to him

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Mrs Birling Act 3

- (shocked) Eric! You stole money?

- Really, from the way you children talk, you might be wanting to help him instead of us. Now just be quiet so that your father can decide what we ought to do. (Looks expectantly at Birling)

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Sheila Act 1

- But these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people.

- Oh - gerald - you've got it - is it the one you wanted me to have?

- If she had been some miserable plain little creature, I don't suppose I'd have done it. But she was very pretty and looked as if she could take care of herself. I couldn't be sorry for her

- (Laughs rather hysterically) why - you fool - he knows. Of course he knows. And i hate to think how much he knowsthat we don't yet. You'll see. You'll see.

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Sheila Act 2

- (eagerly) I know I'm to blame - and I'm desperately sorry - but I can't believe - I won't believe - it's simply my fault that in the end she - she committed suicide. That would be too horrible

- We all started like that - so confident, so pleased with ourselves until he began asking us questions.

- (slowly, carefully) now you mustn't try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl. If you do, then the inspector will just break it down. And it'll be all the worse when he does

(rather wildly, with laugh) No, he's giving us the rope - so that we'll hang ourselves

- We've no excuse now for putting on airs and if we've any sense we won't try.

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Sheila Act 3

- We've behaved badly too. I know I did I'm ashamed of it. But Now you're beginning all over again to pretend that nothing much has happened.

- (bitterly) I suppose we're all nice people now

- (Flaring up) Well, he inspected us all right. And don't let's start dodging and pretending now. Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide

- You began to learn something. And now you've stopped. You're ready to go on in the same old way.

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Mr Birling Act 1

- Perhaps we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together- for lower costs and higher prices.

- So long as we behave ourselves, don't get into the police court or start a scandal - eh?

- The way some of these cranks talk and write now, you'd think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense.

- Still, I can't accept any responsibilty. If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we'd had anything to do with, it would be very awkward wouldn't it?

- This girl. Eva Smith, was one of them, she'd had a lot to say - far too much - she had to go

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Mr Birling Act 2

- (dubiously) I must say, Sybil, that when this comes out at the inquet, it isn't going to do us much good

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Mr Birling Act 3

- I've got to cover this up as soon as I can

- (angrily) Drop that. There's every excuse for what both your mother and I did.

- (angrily) Yes, and you don't realize yet all you've done. Most of this is bound to come out. There'll be a public scandal.

- That fellow obviously didn't like us. H e was prejudiced from the start. Probably a socialist or some sort of crank - he talked like one.

- (triumphantly) There you aare! Proof positive. The whole story's just a lot of moonshine.

- (Imitating inspectors in his final speech) ou all helped to killer. (pointing at Sheila and Eric, and laughing) and I wish you could have seen the look on your faces when he said that

- The famous younger generation who know it all. And they can't even take a joke 

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Inpector Goole Act 1

- Two hours ago a young woman died in the infirmary. She'd been taken there this afternoon because she'd swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out, of course.

- They might. But after all it's better to aks for the earth than to take it.

- (steadily) That's more or less what I was thinking earlier tonight when I was in the infirmary looking at what was left of Eva Smith. A nice little promising life there, I thought, and a nasty mess somebody's made of it.

- Sometimes there isn't much difference as you think. Often, if it was left to me, I wouldn't know where to draw the line ( between respectable citizens and criminals)

- (Harshly) Yes, but you can't. It's too late. She's dead.

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Inspector Goole Act 2

- You think young women ought to be protected against pleasant and distrubing things?

- (massively) Public men, Mr Birling have responsibilities as well as privileges

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Inspector Goole Act 3

- Each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Nevrr forget it. ( He looks from one to the other of them carefully) But then I don't think you ever will.

- One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, and what we think and say and do. We don't live alone. We are memebers of on 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 tey will be taught it in fire blood and anguish. Good night.

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