Point-by-point Plot Summary

The Setting:

• The play opens in the dining room of the Birling family's house in Brumley, an industrial town in England. They are celebrating the engagement of their daughter, Sheila Birling, to Gerald Croft.

The Engagement Celebration:

• The Birlings are celebrating the engagement of Sheila to Gerald Croft, the son of a wealthy businessman. The occasion is joyful and filled with optimism, but Sheila playfully suspects Gerald lost interest in her last summer.

Mr. Birling's Speech:

• Mr. Birling, being a successful businessman, gives a speech expressing his capitalist views. He emphasises the importance of self-reliance, profit, and progress, dismissing the idea of social responsibility, and predicts a prosperous future.

The Arrival of Inspector Goole:

• When Mrs Birling and Sheila go to the drawing room, Mr Birling resumes his speech about self-reliance. He is interrupted by a doorbell, and Inspector Goole arrives unexpectedly to question the family about the suicide of a young woman named Eva Smith.

Mr Birling’s involvement:

• The Inspector reveals Eva Smith worked at Mr. Birling's factory and was dismissed after leading a strike for better pay. Mr. Birling justifies his decision, emphasising his duty to protect his business interests.

Sheila Birling’s involvement:

• Sheila confesses that she had previously encountered Eva Smith, known as Daisy Renton at that time, at Milwards, a clothing store. Sheila was jealous of Daisy's appearance and influence over others, so she used her influence to have Daisy fired.

Gerald Croft's Connection to Eva:

• Gerald is visibly shaken when the Inspector mentions Eva Smith, but he hides any prior knowledge of her. Sheila turns on him when the Inspector leaves, claiming his reaction to her name shows he obviously knew her. The Inspector reenters, simply asking Gerald “Well?”.

Mrs Birling’s interruption:

• While the Inspector is trying to interrogate Gerald, Mrs Birling interrupts. She tries to use her family’s influence to intimidate the Inspector, but this has no effect on him. She tries to make the Inspector leave, claiming they cannot help with his investigation.

Gerald Croft’s involvement:

• The Inspector finally regains control of the situation and asks Gerald how he knew Daisy. Gerald admits to having met her in a bar and providing her with financial support and lodgings, even though he insists their relationship was not serious.

Mrs Birling’s involvement:

• Although Mrs Birling tries to pretend she never knew Eva, she eventually admits she had asked for assistance from the charity and that Mrs Birling used her influence to deny her help. She did this because Eva had used the Birling family name, and lief about the circumstances with which she needed help. Mrs Birling claims she is not responsible, and Eva should have turned to the father of her unborn child for help. She goes as far as to say the father should be publicly and severely punished. The play ends with the insinuation that Eric is the father.

Eric Birling’s involvement:

• Eric admits to raping Eva Smith, and stealing money from his father's business to help support her. He reveals that when Eva found out he’d been stealing the money, she refused to take anymore and didn't want to see him again.

The Inspector’s speech:

• The Inspector summarises how each person played their part in Eva’s suicide. He then talks about how everyone in society is linked, and that if people don't learn to be more responsible, they’ll be forced to understand their mistakes through. “fire and blood and anguish”. The Inspector foresees that suffering will result from selfishness.

Hoax:

• Gerald returns to reveal the Inspector was a fake. Birling calls the police station and confirms this. Eric and Sheila claim it doesn't matter, as they still did what they did, and Eva’s still dead. Gerald points out that the photograph may have been different photographs of different girls, and that there may not have been a suicide at all; Gerald calls the infirmary and confirms this. The older generation is relaxed and joking, though the younger generation thinks it was luck that it didn't end badly.

The Call:

• This news arrives with the same spooky accuracy as the Inspector;s first arrival. When Mr Birling laughs about “the famous younger generation who know it all”, the Birling’s receive a call from the police station that a girl has died of suicide, and that a police inspector will arrive shortly.