How is Sheila presented in An Inspector Calls?

How does Sheila change across the play?

Priestley introduces her as a pretty girl in her early twenties, "very pleased with life and rather excited". She teases Gerald about the summer he hardly came near her, a small joke that later turns out to matter.

In Act 1 she learns that she had Eva sacked from Milwards, a department store, because Eva seemed to be laughing at her while she tried on a dress. She is horrified, and promises she will never do anything like it again. In Act 2 she watches Gerald confess his affair with Eva, who by then was calling herself Daisy Renton, and she hands back her engagement ring.

By Act 3 she has become the Inspector's ally. When her parents decide the whole evening was a hoax, she refuses to go back to how things were. The girl who opened the play delighted with a ring ends it as the family's conscience.

What are the key moments for Sheila?

Her first reaction. When she hears how Eva was treated by her father's firm, she tells him that these girls are not cheap labour: "they're people". Even before she knows her own part, she sees Eva as a person, which is exactly what her father cannot do.

Her confession. Once she recognises the photograph she runs out of the room, then returns to admit what she did and says she will "never, never do it again to anybody". The repeated "never" shows real remorse, which sets her apart from her parents.

Her warning to her mother. In Act 2 she tells Mrs Birling not to "build up a kind of wall" between the family and the girl. The image shows she understands the Inspector's method: denial only makes the fall worse.

The end of the play. She tells her parents that they are pretending "everything's just as it was before", and says that it frightens her the way they talk. Her fear is the right reaction to what the family has learned, and her parents' relief is the wrong one.

What context matters for Sheila?

In 1912, a young woman of Sheila's class was expected to marry well and stay out of serious matters. Her engagement to Gerald links two business families, and her father treats it that way. By thinking for herself, questioning her parents and returning the ring, Sheila breaks those expectations.

The Second World War changed women's lives: many worked in factories and the services. A 1945 audience would have recognised a young woman who refuses to be managed by her parents as a sign of the new society Priestley hoped for.

Sheila and Eric stand for the younger generation, whom Priestley saw as the hope for change. The contrast with their parents, who learn nothing, is the heart of the play's message.

What might an exam question on Sheila ask?

AQA sets An Inspector Calls in Section A of Paper 2. You choose one of two essay questions, and no extract is printed, so every quotation has to come from memory. The question carries 30 marks, with 4 more for spelling, punctuation and grammar (AO4). Other boards also set an essay on the play, so check your own board's past papers for the exact wording.

Two focuses to practise:

• How does Priestley present Sheila as a character who changes?
• How does Priestley use Sheila to present the differences between the generations?

What does a strong paragraph on Sheila look like?

Here is an original model paragraph for the first focus.

Priestley shows Sheila's change through the way she comes to see Eva. At first she is caught up in her own pleasure, "very pleased with life", but once she hears about the sacked workers she insists "they're people". Her promise that she will "never, never do it again to anybody" shows a remorse her parents never feel, and the repetition makes it sound like a vow. By the end she tells them they are pretending "everything's just as it was before". Priestley uses her to show his 1945 audience that the young could reject their parents' selfishness and build a fairer society.

Key Sheila quotations to learn

Short phrases you can quote exactly, each with a use.

• "very pleased with life and rather excited" (stage direction, Act 1): where her journey starts.
• "they're people" (Act 1): she sees workers as human, unlike her father.
• "never, never do it again to anybody" (Act 1): genuine remorse, repeated like a vow.
• "build up a kind of wall" (Act 2): she understands that denial will not protect the family.
• "everything's just as it was before" (Act 3): she refuses to let her parents forget.