What Is the Function of the Inspector in an Inspector Calls?
What is the role of the Inspector in “An Inspector Calls”?
Set at the close of the Edwardian Era, J.B. Priestley’s “An Inspector Calls” is a detective story like no other. Premiered in 1945, the play explores the class divide and social hierarchy of early 20th Century Britain, warns of the evils of Capitalism and expresses Priestley’s own Socialist message. As a rich, middle-class family celebrate an engagement, their idyllic world is shattered by the arrival of a police Inspector, investigating the death of a young girl. As the play progresses in real time, each character realises that they are in part responsible for the girl’s demise, and it is their attitudes to this revelation which highlight the social divide between the members of the family.
The key character, unsurprisingly, is the Inspector, who drives the narrative and makes the play morph from a simple detective story into a morality play, with the theme of responsibility being crucial to this. Towards the end however, the line dividing truth and fantasy begins to blur, and supernatural elements appear within the play, all relating to the Inspector. It is the intention of this essay to answer the question posed by students and professors of literature alike – what is the role and function of the Inspector?
Firstly, in a literal sense, the Inspector is a vindicator for justice, fighting for truth and pursuing those responsible for Eva Smith’s death through his interrogation. Cleverly exploiting emotion and conscience, he compels his subjects to reveal their innermost secrets, their darkest thoughts. The Inspector’s role as an interrogator can be gleaned from the stage directions regarding his entrance:
The INSPECTOR need not be a big man but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness... He speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking.
The impression that the Inspector creates suggests
Set at the close of the Edwardian Era, J.B. Priestley’s “An Inspector Calls” is a detective story like no other. Premiered in 1945, the play explores the class divide and social hierarchy of early 20th Century Britain, warns of the evils of Capitalism and expresses Priestley’s own Socialist message. As a rich, middle-class family celebrate an engagement, their idyllic world is shattered by the arrival of a police Inspector, investigating the death of a young girl. As the play progresses in real time, each character realises that they are in part responsible for the girl’s demise, and it is their attitudes to this revelation which highlight the social divide between the members of the family.
The key character, unsurprisingly, is the Inspector, who drives the narrative and makes the play morph from a simple detective story into a morality play, with the theme of responsibility being crucial to this. Towards the end however, the line dividing truth and fantasy begins to blur, and supernatural elements appear within the play, all relating to the Inspector. It is the intention of this essay to answer the question posed by students and professors of literature alike – what is the role and function of the Inspector?
Firstly, in a literal sense, the Inspector is a vindicator for justice, fighting for truth and pursuing those responsible for Eva Smith’s death through his interrogation. Cleverly exploiting emotion and conscience, he compels his subjects to reveal their innermost secrets, their darkest thoughts. The Inspector’s role as an interrogator can be gleaned from the stage directions regarding his entrance:
The INSPECTOR need not be a big man but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness... He speaks carefully, weightily, and has a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking.
The impression that the Inspector creates suggests