Inspector calls character notes

"an attractive chap about thirty, rather too manly to be a dandy but very much the easy well-bred man-about-town."

aristocrat - the son of Lord and Lady Croft. We realise that they are not over-impressed by Gerald's engagement to Sheila because they declined the invitation to the dinner.

He is not as willing as Sheila to admit his part in the girl's death to the Inspector and initially pretends that he never knew her. 

did have some genuine feeling for Daisy Renton, however: he is very moved when he hears of her death. He tells Inspector Goole that he arranged for her to live in his friend's flat "because I was sorry for her;" she became his mistress because "She was young and pretty and warm-hearted - and intensely grateful

evidence as possible to prove that the Inspector is a fake - because that would get him off the hook. ."

At the end of the play, he has not changed. He has not gained a new sense of social responsibility

• He is described at the start as a "heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties but rather provincial in his speech."

worked his way up in the world and is proud of his achievements. He boasts about having been Mayor and tries (and fails) to impress the Inspector with his local standing and his influential friends.

he is aware of people who are his social superiors, which is why he shows off about the port to Gerald, "it's exactly the same port your father gets."He is proud that he is likely to be knighted, as that would move him even higher in social circles.

optimistic for the future and confident that there will not be a war. As the audience knows there will be a war, we begin to doubt Mr Birling's judgement;. extremely selfish: He wants to protect himself and his family. He believes that socialist ideas that stress the importance of the community are "nonsense" and that "a man has to make his own way."

• he knows he has lost the chance of his knighthood, his reputation in Brumley and the chance of Birling and Co. merging with their rivals. 

• She is described at the start as "about fifty, a rather cold woman and her husband's social superior."

he is a snob, very aware of the differences between social classes. She is irritated when Mr Birling makes the social gaffe of praising the cook in front of Gerald and later is very dismissive of Eva, saying "Girls of that class."

east respect for the Inspector of all the characters. She tries - unsuccessfully - to intimidate him and force him to leave, then lies to him when she claims that she does not recognise the photograph that he shows her.

Sheila and Eric still as "children"and speaks patronisingly to them.

tries to deny things that she doesn't want to believe: Eric's drinking, Gerald's affair with Eva, and the fact that a working class girl would refuse money even if it was stolen, claiming "She was giving herself ridiculous airs."

he has had to come to terms that her son is a heavy drinker who got a girl pregnant and stole money to support her, her daughter will not marry a good social 'catch' and that her own reputation within the town will be sullied.

• She is described at the start as "a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited."

he seems very playful at the opening, we know that she has had suspicions about Gerald when she mentions "last summer, when you never came near me."

he shows her compassion immediately she hears of her father's treatment of Eva Smith: "But these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people."Already, she is starting to change.

horrified by her own part in Eva's story. She feels full of guilt for her jealous actions and blames herself as "really responsible."

angry with her parents in Act 3 for trying to "pretend that nothing much has happened." Sheila says "It frightens me the way you talk:"

heila is much wiser. She can now judge her parents and Gerald from a new perspective, but the greatest change has been in herself: her social conscience has been awakened and she is aware of her responsibilities. 

• He is described at the start as "in his early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive."

embarrassed and awkwardright from the start. The first mention of him in the script is "Eric suddenly guffaws," and then he is unable to explain his laughter, as if he is nervous about something. 

hardened drinker. Gerald admits, "I have gathered that he does drink pretty hard."

he supports the worker's cause, like Sheila. "Why shouldn't they try for higher wages?"

• He feels guilt and frustration with himself over his relationship with the girl. He cries, "Oh - my God! - how stupid it all is!" as he tells his story.
•  sense of responsibility, though, because although he got a woman pregnant, he was concerned enough to give her money.
• appalled by his parents' inability to admit their own responsibility. He tells them forcefully, "I'm ashamed of you."
• he is fully aware of his social responsibility. 

• He is described on his entrance as creating "an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness. He is a man in his fifties, 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. "

systematically; he likes to deal with "one person and one line of enquiry at a time." His method is to confront a suspect with a piece of information and then make them talk - or, as Sheila puts it, "he's giving us the rope - so that we'll hang ourselves."

figure of authority. He deals with each member of the family very firmly and several times we see him "massively taking charge as disputes erupt between them."

inal speech is like a sermon or a politician's. He leaves the family with the message "We are responsible for each other" and warns them of the "fire and blood and anguish" that will result if they do not pay attention to what he has taught them.