A.I.C Timeline

A.I.C

TIMELINE

An Inspector Calls

01

The family (and Gerald) are sharing a somewhat peaceful meal together, discussing Mr Birling's successes (past and future) and the up and coming marriage of Gerald and Sheila.

01

02

The inspector calls. He enters and interrogates Mr Birling, holding him partially accountable for the death of a girl named Eva Smith, who used to work for the 'man of business', but was quite brutally laid off.

02

03

Sheila is the next victim of the inspector's intense questioning. She breaks down into hysteria after seeing a photo of the girl, and admits to being the cause of her dismissal from her job at one of Sheila's favourite stores.

03

04

Gerald sees the photo of Eva Smith and reacts quite noticeably. Sheila sees this reaction and suspects he knows the dead girl. Once the couple are lone together, Sheila confronts him on the matter, accusing him of cheating on her with Miss Smith, something implied much earlier in the text where she can be seen to express suspicion regarding his deeds of the previous summer.

04

05

Gerald discloses his relationship with Eva Smith - whom he knows as a Miss Daisy Renton - to the Inspector, telling of the intricate relationship the two had had months before. He finishes off his anecdote by stating that the two ended sensibly, and on good terms. Inspector Goole confirms this, and tells the to-be-wed couple stood before him of the mournful writing found within Eva's diary, which considered her's and Gerald's time together to be one of the greatest of her life. Sheila has been betrayed.

05