Compare And Contrast Sheila And Eva In An Inspector Calls

J.B Priestley wrote the play an inspector calls to promote capitalism and socialism. He portrayed his and opposing political views through the different characters. Although his play was written in 1945, he chose to set it in 1912. He set the play in this particular era as the date represented an era where all was different to when he was writing.

At the start of the play, Sheila is described as being dressed in an evening dress, a "pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and excited." This shows Sheila as being someone who seems happy, with not a care in the world. The mention of the evening dress could hint at signs of snobbiness and vanity. Sheila is currently engaged to Gerald Croft and they seem happy at the start of the play however she does "tease" him over his whereabouts last summer. The audience at this point may have already come to their own conclusion of where Gerald was last summer. The stage directions tell us that she is "half- serious, half playful." Regarding Sheila's character, this shows the audience that there may be more than meets the eye to sheila: She knows but chooses not to acknowledge, however, that changes through the play when she starts to mature.
From the very start of the story Eva hasn't had it easy, even when she was employed, she was treated badly: "But these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people." This shows that Eva was underpaid and overworked, whereas sheila was spoilt and wealthy: "It's a lovely ring." Sheila has everything going for her, Eva on the bare minimum yet Sheila still used her social position to her advantage against Eva. This could show the progression from 1912 - 1945. Having Sheila abuse her social status for her own selfish reasons then learn from it could represent the changes in society through the years. Priestley wants to show that people and society can change and he does this through Sheila's