Sheila analysis

Throughout the play we see a large development in the character of Shelia. At the start she is portrayed as egotistic similarly to her mother and father. Her interpersonal language with her family also changes from the naivety of a child “Mummy” and “Daddy”. To the more galvanised attitude of a socially aware adult. “You talk as if we are responsible.” This quote from the beginning of the play shows that at that time she feels no responsibility for the death of Eva Smith, although she does not know yet about her actions towards Eva Smith yet. As when she does find out, we see a drastic change in her attitude towards the lower class and other people. “You’re pretending that everything is just as it was before!” The tone of this is strong and emotional. From this we can see that the inspector has had a large effect on Shelia’s behaviour towards her family and her view. Although we see a change in Shelia we do not see a change in either or her parents or Gerald, who sees more set in their ways. Her behaviour shows a large contrast in the themes of the play such as liberalism and socialism.