Characters: The Inspector and Mr Birling
Inspector Goole
The Inspector is the play’s most mysterious character. He arrives uninvited, conducts an interrogation that dismantles the Birling family’s self-image, delivers a powerful moral speech, and disappears. His name — Goole — sounds like “ghoul,” hinting at something supernatural.
The Inspector is Priestley’s mouthpiece. His views on collective responsibility, social justice and the consequences of selfishness are Priestley’s own. He functions not as a realistic police inspector but as a moral force — a figure of conscience who compels the characters to confront what they have done.
The Inspector controls the pace of the investigation. He shows the photograph to only one person at a time, preventing the characters from comparing stories. His method is deliberate — he says “one person and one line of inquiry at a time” — ensuring each character must face their guilt individually.
The Inspector speaks with authority that transcends his supposed rank. He interrupts Birling’s capitalist speeches, dismisses Mrs Birling’s attempts to pull rank, and refuses to be intimidated by threats. His language is direct, simple and uncompromising — the opposite of the Birlings’ evasive, self-justifying talk.
He uses graphic descriptions of Eva’s death (“burnt her inside out”) to shock the characters out of their complacency. This vivid, uncomfortable language forces them — and the audience — to confront the real human cost of their actions.
Mr Arthur Birling
Birling is a “heavy-looking, rather portentous man” who is “rather provincial in his speech.” He is a prosperous factory owner, a former Lord Mayor, and hopes to receive a knighthood. He is defined by his self-importance and his absolute belief in capitalism.
Birling’s core belief is that “a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.” This is a direct rejection of collective responsibility. He sees workers as costs to be managed, not people to be cared for. He sacked Eva for asking for a pay rise of two and a half shillings a week — a tiny sum to him, survival to her.
Priestley makes Birling ridiculous as well as cruel. His wrong predictions (the Titanic, the impossibility of war) ensure the audience sees him as foolish, not just selfish. This is important: Priestley wants the audience to reject Birling’s philosophy, not just disagree with it.
Birling’s primary concern after the Inspector leaves is not Eva’s death but his knighthood. He fears a “public scandal.” This reveals that status matters more to him than human life — exactly the attitude Priestley wrote the play to condemn.
Inspector vs Birling: The Central Conflict
The play is structured as a confrontation between two worldviews. Birling represents individualism: self-interest, profit and personal advancement. The Inspector represents collectivism: shared responsibility, empathy and social justice.
On the surface, Birling appears to “win” — the Inspector is exposed as a fake. But the final phone call reverses this apparent victory. The Inspector’s message was true even if his identity was not. Priestley ensures that the audience sides with the Inspector, not Birling. The play’s structure is designed to make Birling’s triumph hollow and temporary.