How and why does Eric change in An Inspector Calls?
Grade 5+
An Inspector Calls is about how people should be more responsible. Priestley wrote An Inspector Calls in 1945 to teach his audience about social responsibility.
Early in the play, Priestley makes clear Eric is immature and has an easy life. In the opening stage directions, Priestley makes clear the Birling family are wealthy by writing ‘heavily comfortable house’ and ‘champagne’. It is clear from these descriptions that Priestley wants his audience to know how comfortable and wealthy the Birlings are, and how easy their life is in comparison to the working classes. Priestley also demonstrates that Eric drinks quite heavily, often laughs for no reason and squabbles with his sister Sheila. This seems quite immature behaviour. Perhaps Priestley presents Eric in this way to demonstrate that many young men in 1912 such as Eric didn’t have to grow up and become responsible because they were born into very wealthy families, which meant they had a very easy life.
After the inspector arrives, Priestley demonstrates that Eric starts to change. When the inspector reveals that Eric forced himself upon Eva Smith, Priestley makes clear Eric feels guilty by writing ‘I did what I did’. This words reveal that Eric does not try to lie about his actions; he accepts that what he did was wrong, even though he knows his family will disapprove of his actions. It is clear that Eric takes full responsibility. Priestley also has him describe his actions towards Eva Smith as ‘hellish’, which reveals that he thinks his behaviour was awful. Priestley does this in order to demonstrate to his 1945 audience that the younger generation in society can learn from their mistakes and learn to take more responsibility for other people.
After the inspector leaves, Priestley presents Eric as a character who tries to change his parents. Priestley has Eric state ‘you’re beginning to pretend now that nothing really happened’. In other words, Eric is saying that his parents are pretending they did nothing wrong because they’ve found out the inspector isn’t real. Priestley contrasts Eric with his parents. Whereas Eric feels very guilty about what he did and doesn’t feel this changes just because the inspector isn’t real, Arthur and Sybil are happy to go back to celebrating the engagement. Unlike his parents, Eric cares about more than just his reputation. By having Eric change in this way, Priestley is giving hope to his 1945 audience that society can change for the better if wealthy people start to take more responsibility for the working classes.
Grade 7+
‘An Inspector Calls’ is about how people should be more responsible. Priestley explores the theme of responsibility throughout the play, notably through the differences between the older and younger generations. Through Eric’s changing character, Priestley not only challenges the selfish attitudes of the upper classes, but also gives his 1945 audience hope for a better society built on a model of social responsibility.
Early in the play, Priestley uses Eric’s immaturity and sheltered life to mirror the easy lives of the upper classes in 1912. In the opening stage directions, Priestley writes that the Birlings live in a ‘heavily comfortable house’ and are sipping ‘champagne’ to celebrate the engagement of Eva Smith. It is clear from these directions that Priestley wishes to make immediately clear to the audience that Eric and his family live in wealth and comfort, which greatly contrasts the hardships endured by the working classes. As a result of this comfortable life, Eric behaves immaturely for a man in his early twenties, drinking too much, squabbling with his sister, and trying to provoke his parents. Perhaps Priestley is suggesting that Eric, like many young upper class men in 1912, has been sheltered from the hardships of life and, as such, takes the things he has been given for granted and is yet to mature
After the arrival of the inspector, Priestley presents a change in Eric’s character, indicating that Eric is impressionable and easily influenced. When Arthur Birling rebukes the inspector’s suggestion that he should have paid his workers more, Eric chimes in with the words ‘why shouldn’t they try for higher wages?’. This provocative question indicates that Eric is susceptible to the influence of the inspector and is willing to begin to consider the feelings of the working classes. Perhaps Priestley uses Eric to provoke his 1945 audience to ask similar questions about the treatment of the working classes, asking them to challenge the status quo and push for greater equality in society.
During the inspector’s questioning, Priestley uses Eric’s actions towards Eva Smith to demonstrate how many upper class men took advantage of working class women. The inspector’s questioning reveals that Eric forced himself upon Eva Smith while drunk, after which he stole money from his father in order to support Eva Smith through her pregnancy. These two examples of immoral behaviour greatly contrast with the morality displayed by Eva Smith, who refuses the money as soon as she realises it was stolen. It is clear that upper class men like Eric felt they could mistreat working class women with impunity. Priestley uses Eric’s actions to expose how harshly many working class women were treated, both due to gender and class inequality in 1912.
Following the inspector’s questioning, Priestley makes clear Eric learns from his mistakes, giving his 1945 audience hope for a brighter future. Unlike his parents, who initially try to conceal their actions from the inspector and then insist that they were ‘perfectly justified’ and ‘can’t accept any responsibility’ for their actions, Eric admits ‘I did what I did’. This matter of fact statement indicates that Eric is willing to admit his behaviour and accept the consequences. After the inspector is revealed as a ‘hoax’, Eric accuses his parents of ‘beginning to pretend that nothing really happened’, which again reveals the stark contrast between them. Whereas his parents seem preoccupied with their reputation, thus are willing to return to celebrating as soon as they realise the inspector isn’t real, Eric recognises that, whether or not the inspector is real, he still behaved in the way he did and must learn from his mistakes. Priestley’s choice to contrast Eric so starkly with his parents is indicative of a view that older generation upper class people were more likely to remain stubborn and stuck in their ways, whereas the younger generation were more likely to change.
In conclusion, it cannot be denied that Eric changes through the arrival of the inspector. Priestley’s portrayal of Eric’s treatment of Eva Smith exposes the way many working class women were treated in England in 1912. However, Priestley’s choice to present Eric as a changing character who learns from his mistakes suggests that Priestley had hope that society could also undergo this change and become the socialist society that Priestley envisioned.