What is Eva Smith a symbol of?
What is Eva Smith a symbol of?
working class women
Priestley uses Eva Smith as a symbol to represent the working class women (and men) who are exploited by capitalists like the Birling family.
How is the character of Eva Smith presented in An Inspector Calls?
Priestley presents her as having a ‘nice little promising life’ but ‘a nasty mess somebody’s made of it. ‘ Although she may be several different characters, she represents the victim of Edwardian double standards. Her name is symbolically significant.
Why does Priestley present Eva Smith without the audience ever getting to see her or hear her in an inspector calls?
She illustrates how the capitalist society in 1912 couldn’t care about individuals. Mr Birling reinforces this by saying that he seems to “remember the name from somewhere” but can clearly remember how he fired her. Because the audience never meets her she is dehumanised and seen as a concept rather than a character.
What is the importance of Eva Smith in An Inspector Calls?
Eva smith, represents not only responsibility but forces the Birling family to feel and accept their guilt. She is the symbol of the working class within a capitalist society; ‘smith’ being a common surname represents the common working man and more specifically woman.
What is the importance of Eva Smith in An Inspector Calls essay?
She asked Apollo to give her eternal life which he granted – with a twist: he gave her eternal life (and with it unbounded wisdom and knowledge) but not youth and she became so old and shrivelled, wishing only to die. In fact, in some versions of the myth, she is reduced to just a voice.
What does Eva represent in An Inspector Calls?
Why is Eva Smith an important character in An Inspector Calls?
Not only does Eva represent the treatment of female workers during the Edwardian era but – as her name represents – she is a symbol of all woman at all times. An Inspector Calls is set in 1912 – the year the Titanic sank, an event which itself can be seen as a symbol of humanity’s hubris.
What does the ring in An Inspector Calls represent?
The engagement ring In Act One, Gerald gives Sheila an engagement ring as a symbol of their love and impending marriage. The engagement ring thus marks not only Sheila and Gerald’s relationship but the idea of romantic love in the play more generally.
How is Eva exploited in an inspector calls?
Each of the Birlings used some form of exploitation in their mistreatment of Eva: ● Mr Birling exploited her for cheap labour. Sheila exploited her status as the daughter of a well-known man to get Eva fired without a sufficient cause. Gerald and Eric exploited her for sex.
How does Priestley use Eva Smith to explore ideas about class?
In An Inspector Calls, Priestley explores the theme of class through the treatment of working-class Eva Smith by the wealthy Birlings and Gerald Croft when she is in the following situations: when she is a factory worker. when she works in a shop.
