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Inspector calls full analysis -INSPECTOR GOOLE-GRADE 9
This is in depth analysis of Inspector Goole, will help to provide you with an intrinsic understanding of the character.
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Inspector Goole Explains the Whole of the PlayThe Inspector in Act 1
The Inspector is a socialist, who believes that the profits of business should be used to
improve the lives of ordinary men and women, either through higher wages, or government
control.
The Inspector is a proxy for Priestley’s views, but he is also the agent who drives the action
of the play, not just a political figure.
The Inspector is An Ally of the Working Classes
A major part of the entertainment is in trying to work out who The Inspector is and how he
appears to have access to secret knowledge. When he arrives, the lighting changes from
“pink and intimate” to “brighter and harder”. It is no longer rose tinted and innocent, but
revealing the Birlings’ and Gerald’s guilt. This is The Inspector’s purpose, to reveal the upper
classes’ guilt, not just to the audience, but to themselves so that they will have a chance to
change their ways.
Edna introduces him: “he says his name’s Inspector Goole”, which implies that Edna may
not believe he is a real inspector. Similarly, “he says it’s important” also casts doubt on this.
This raises the possibility that who he says he is, and who he actually is are different. None
of the upper class characters realise this. Giving this undertone of doubt to Edna, the only
working class character, suggests that she is more perceptive.
However, if she does see that he may be an imposter, her words might hold out no hope
that he will make a difference: “he says it’s important” can be performed in a resigned way.
This would imply she is so used to a life of subservience as a domestic servant that she is not
able to appreciate The Inspector standing up for the rights of the working classes – her
rights.
Alternatively, it can be performed in the opposite way, as a warning to the Birlings to listen
to what he has to say, because “he says it’s important” and he is the voice of authority.
Whichever interpretation you choose, it isn’t a coincidence that Priestley decides that Edna
should announce his presence. This allies him symbolically to the working class.
Priestley insists The Inspector must have an “impression of massiveness”. This is because
The Inspector is his proxy. When he has a “habit of looking hard” at people, he is behaving
exactly as Priestley would, staring hard at the establishment and ruling classes, in order to
accuse them.
The Inspector wants to shock, just as Priestley wants to shock his audience. The shock works
as a theatrical experience, but also to get across his message – the upper classes damage
lives. This is why he chooses to state that Eva has died a horrifically painful death: “Burnt
her inside out, of course”. “She was in great agony”. Concentrating on the pain forces the
, audience to be more affected by her death, and more angry at the cause of it: the
characters on stage.
He emphasises this again: “Suicide of course”. The curtailed sentences mimic her curtailed
life. The throw away “of course” also shows how The Inspector suggests it is completely
normal for a working-class girl to react this way – the implication being that the oppression
of the upper classes leaves them no choice. He implies she is just a statistic among many
suicides of working class women.
Goole: What’s in a Name?
The Inspector’s name is a homophone for ghoul, or ghost, and there is a strong reminder of
Dicken’s A Christmas Carol here. Priestley is signposting not just that there may be a
supernatural mystery in the play, but that it is didactic, carrying a moral message that the
protagonists’ behaviour must change.
It is important to realise that The Inspector does not know everything, and is not in full
control of events. His interest in Gerald does not appear pre-planned, “I see. Mr Croft is
going to marry Miss Sheila Birling… Then I'd prefer you to stay.” He clearly doesn’t know
that Gerald has had any part in Eva’s life.
Perhaps he needs to prevent this marriage. This will tie in with Priestley’s purpose – if she
does not marry him, there is a very strong chance that she will be able to change the future,
because she has learned The Inspector’s message. If she does marry him, whether she has
learned the lesson is open to doubt, because she will be marrying a man who completely
disagrees with The Inspector’s teaching.
The Inspector is a Teacher of Morality
As you know, Priestley’s father was a teacher. The Inspector wants to teach the Birlings that:
“we were all responsible for everything that happened to everyone”.
The Inspector is actually here to teach, not just to discover what has occurred. This is why
when Birling objects, saying “how I choose to run my business” is not relevant, The
Inspector replies “it might be”, clearly signposting that this is a political play, looking at the
morality of business.
One way he examines this exploitation in business is through the wages Eva and her
colleagues are paid, defending their right to strike. “After all, it is better to ask for the Earth
than to take it” observes The Inspector, implying that capitalism literally robs people of
what should be theirs. The metaphor implies that capitalism is in effect a form of theft.
For this reason, he looks accusingly at each character even before he knows what they have
done. His reaction so far strongly suggests that he does not know any specific crime
committed by Gerald. However, he still “looks at Gerald, then at Eric, then at Sheila”
because he knows that they will all have committed some crime. Why? Because they are
part of the ruling classes – it is simply in their nature. This is why he replies to Birling’s claim
that they are “respectable citizens, not criminals” with scorn: “Sometimes there isn't much
difference as you think.”
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