Eva Smith And Eva. Priestley's Views And Beliefs

Priestley is able to convey his views and beliefs through the use of Eva Smith. Priestley is able to communicate his socialist views of the right treatment of women, the wrongful behaviour of the capitalist population, and his views on the class division system. Eva Smith is used as a metaphor for the ‘millions and millions and millions’ of working class population, in the early twentieth century. Eva is used to show the women’s movement (relating with Priestley’s views on feminism) and how she is punished for standing up for herself, by being exploited by men and treated badly due to her class.

Priestley wanted to communicate responsibility and the ways of which the capitalists deal with it, Eva Smith was a key asset to do so. Eva Smith

The class divides are a main part of capitalism, it is based around the idea that capitalists are usually higher class people. In the early twentieth century, higher class people thought lowly of lower class people. An example of this is how Eva Smith is treated by Mrs. Birling. Mrs. Birling refers to Eva Smith as a ‘girl of that sort’ (attributing that she is a prostitute because she is lower class-pregnant without being married). This also shows how the lower class were disrespected during this time. Mr. Birling is a metaphor for capitalists in general. The way he treats Eva Smith is ruthless. He fires Eva just because she wanted a small raise in salary. Mr. Birling is a character who looks down at everyone because he thinks he is above them all, showing true qualities of a capitalist. He tells the inspector that he doesn’t ‘like his tone’, almost as if he was talking to a child. This shows that he doesn’t care who the person is (even if he is an inspector, who has the authority to put him in jail), he thinks very highly of himself.

Inspector Goole acted as a mouthpiece for Priestley and his socialist view, but without Eva Smith’s story his views would not be communicated effectively. Eva real-life (possibly relatable) story would be able to make a connection with the audience. Priestley’s main aim is to show

Women were known to not be able to be in control of their lives as well as being married and taking care of their children Gerald and Eric’s exploitation of Eva Smith is used to show the corruption of men in that time and how they treated women. They objectified them and treated them disrespectfully. Eva Smith was exploited by Gerald because he saw her as ‘vulnerable’ and kept pointing out her “pretty brown hair” and “dark eyes”. This shows how he was focusing on the physical aspects, showing that men in that time mostly focused on appearances rather than personality (showing how men objectified women).She was described as ‘pretty’ and a ‘good sport’ by