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you
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welcome back to clique revision in this
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video we'll continue to look at each of
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the characters in an inspector calls
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this time focusing on eric berling we'll
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look at how he's described his complex
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relationship with Daisy Renton and his
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position in the Burling family both
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before and after the inspectors visit
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according to the opening stage
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directions Eric is in his early 20s not
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quite at ease
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half shy 1/2 assertive which not only
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tells us he's the youngest member of the
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burning family but also that he hasn't
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quite grown into himself yet he's half
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shy half assertive which means he isn't
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completely confident in himself he's
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basically a bit immature which is
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probably a result of him being rich and
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spoiled
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in fact mr. Birling openly calls his son
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spoiled throughout the play as though
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it's entirely his son's fault mr.
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Birling tells him he needs to brighten
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his ideas up and face a few
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responsibilities which of course Eric
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will be forced to do by the end of the
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play and probably react to it a lot
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better than mr. Birling does he also
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says that eric has an easier life than
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he did and therefore has a lot more
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money to play with and that his public
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school education has made life too easy
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for him
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all of those things may be true but that
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doesn't change the fact that Eric is in
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his 20s and his parents still treat him
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like a child mrs. Birling says he's only
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a boy and even Sheila refers to him as
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poor Eric as though she thinks he can't
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possibly take care of himself as the
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youngest member of the family Eric is
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used to being treated like he's the
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least important and has spent the last
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two years idling his time by going out
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drinking picking up girls and generally
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spending far too much money enjoying
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himself he's supposed to be learning the
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family business but you get the
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impression that he isn't the hard-headed
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man of business his father is and that
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his heart isn't really in it the best
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description of Eric actually comes from
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mrs. Birling who calls him some drunken
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young idler though she doesn't realize
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she's talking about her son at the time
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when she says it
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much of Eric's involvement in the early
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part of an inspector calls is designed
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to show the audience that he is a heavy
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drinker despite his young age and the
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fact his parents either haven't noticed
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it or are in denial about it his first
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line is a drunken laugh that interrupts
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the conversation and prompts Sheila to
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tell him your squiffy while his other
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contributions to the conversation
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involved making slightly drunken digs at
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other people
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here the stage directions highlight how
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his comment is just a little bit
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inappropriate and his engagement toast
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isn't entirely sincere either all the
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best she's got a nasty temper sometimes
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but she's not bad really good old Sheila
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the stage direction here rather noisily
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clearly shows him to be someone who's
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just slightly out of control in contrast
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to his parents Erick cares very little
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for social grace and respectability in
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fact you could say he's grown up with it
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forced down his throat so much that he's
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trying to reject his upper-class roots
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entirely he is happy to interrupt his
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father's big speech with the subject of
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war and tells mr. Birling that he has
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piled it on a bit tonight by which he
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means that he's bored everyone by being
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too serious and formal meanwhile his
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call of steady the Buffs when Sheila and
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Gerald kiss can be seen as the 19:12
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equivalent of someone shouting get a
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room which clearly isn't appropriate
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given the situation
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he also comes very close to saying
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something that will give away his secret
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when the conversation turns to women and
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he says yes I remember
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he stops himself before he can give away
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anymore but the implication is clear
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that he is referring to his affair with
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Eva Smith here
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Eric is shocked by the suicide but feels
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detached from the story of her death
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because he didn't know the girl
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so his sense of empathy isn't great but
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he still sees the injustice in her being
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sacked from berlin company so he does
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have some sort of social conscience he
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stands up to his father in conversation
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replying to burling's remark that it's a
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free country with it isn't if you can't
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go and work somewhere else he also says
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that berlin could have kept her own
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instead of throwing her out and ask the
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question why shouldn't the girls who
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work at the plant try for higher wages
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he believes eva smith should have been
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kept on in her job and clearly has more
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of a socialist side than his father
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because he supports Eva Smith's spirit
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and thinks that workers should be
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treated in some way better than slaves
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it's also worth noting that he makes all
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of these comments before he even knows
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that Eva Smith is the same girl that he
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knew over a year later
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so how exactly did Eric know the dead
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girl
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Eric met Daisy Renton in November of
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nineteen eleven that several months
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before the play takes place and they met
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in the same bar where she met Gerald
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they sleep together once and Eric is so
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drunk he can't remember anything about
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her
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two weeks later he bumps into her again
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then they sleep together once more they
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meet a couple more times and at some
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point probably around the end of the
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year Daisy announces that she's pregnant
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Eric then steals 50 pounds from work to
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give to her
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Daisy refuses to take any more stolen
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money and tells Eric she doesn't want to
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see him anymore
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this time it's well into 1912 and Daisy
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already has her appointment to see the
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Bromley women's charity organization
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that's all fairly straightforward
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however Eric's relationship with Eva
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Smith or Daisy Renton presents something
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of a problem to modern audiences simply
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because of the way the relationship
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between men and women has changed since
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1912 or even 1945 when in the spectacles
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was first performed let's have a look at
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the section of the play that deals with
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Eric and Daisy Renton meeting for the
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first time
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Eric admits that he insisted Daisy let
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him in her house even though she didn't
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want to he also says that he threatened
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to make a Rao meaning he bullied his way
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in forcefully and she let him in just so
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he wouldn't turn nasty as the inspector
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tells him he just used her for the end
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of a stupid drunken evening as if she
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was an animal a thing not a person in
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the 21st century it is very easy to
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recognize Eric's behavior as sexual
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assault or even rape
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however this aspect of the narrative is
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barely mentioned in the play so it's
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difficult to know what really happened
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and how harshly to judge Eric for it
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Eric for his part doesn't remember any
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more than that about their first night
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together because he was too drunk and
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she was drunk too so his very vague
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memories are all we have to go on is
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Eric a violent person well we know he'll
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steal from work so he's definitely
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capable of criminal activity and he
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certainly looks close to attacking his
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mother later on however it's possible
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that Eric's behavior on that night was
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more of a spoilt tantrum than it was a
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violent threat
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he even complains in a way she treated
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me as if I were a kid though I was
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nearly as old as she was so Daisy
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clearly recognized his immature side and
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that doesn't sound like she lived in
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fear of Eric ultimately it's up to you
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to decide how you judge Eric for his
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actions and how you answer that question
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yourself we'll probably have a very
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strong effect on how you answer the
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question of which Burling is most a
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blame for her death
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Eric is the last of the burling's to be
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questioned by the inspector but not the
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last to see her alive mrs. Birling his
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question first which is the reason
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Eric's secret has already been
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discovered by his family when he returns
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to the house he walks into the news that
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his mother has blamed him entirely for
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the girl's death and that his sister's
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told everyone that he drinks too much
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bearing in mind he's already found out
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tonight that his ex-girlfriend and child
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are both dead naturally his first
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reaction is to have a drink
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this long stage Direction is quite
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important because as Eric pours himself
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a drink it's like his family especially
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his mother and father are seeing him for
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the first time JB Priestley makes it
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clear to the audience that Eric is a
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drinker from the very start of the play
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but neither mr. or mrs. Birling have
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believed it or that the inspectors story
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could be true until this moment he is
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even admitted to drinking too much
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already that evening by this point Eric
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has absolutely nothing to lose by coming
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clean because his family in the
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inspector already know most of the
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details his version of events suggests
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someone who's reckless and naive who is
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completely out of his depth and who acts
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in childish desperate ways to try and
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fix the situation
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for example look at how he describes
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being told about the baby and the next
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time all the time after that she told me
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she thought she was going to have a baby
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she wasn't quite sure and then she was
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this clearly isn't the voice of someone
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who took control of the situation
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he doesn't even sound too sure of how a
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baby's made in the first place however
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Eric is well educated enough to know
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what his duty is here which is of course
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to marry Eva Smith and here he did try
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to do the right thing but she didn't
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want to marry him as he recalls it she
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said I didn't love her and all that and
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the all that bit really sounds like
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someone describing love without ever
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having felt it before like it's an alien
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concept so we really get a good
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impression of how lost he felt finally
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in desperation and unable to think of
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anything else to do
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Eric Steel's fifty pounds from work now
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because 50 pounds doesn't sound like a
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lot these days you might picture him
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taking a few banknotes out of a safe and
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putting them in his pocket but that 50
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pounds in 1912 is actually the
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equivalent of over five thousand pounds
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in today's money and Eric's money
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stealing scheme was a lot more
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complicated than simply taking the cash
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in one bundle it involved taking
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payments from multiple clients pocketing
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the cash and then covering up the
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paperwork later so let's be clear that
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Eric was very much on a losing path here
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when asked how he was going to pay back
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the money he replies I'd have managed
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somehow making it clear that you had no
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plan at all it's highly likely that had
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Daisy not broken off the relationship
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and refused any more money
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that Eric would have continued to steal
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himself into an even bigger hole
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however despite being a thief Eric
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definitely shows himself to have a sense
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of right and wrong when he discovers
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mrs. Birling turned Eva Smith away from
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her charity he is so upset by the
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injustice that he almost snaps and
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attacks his mother blaming her for
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everything
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look how everyone is reacting here Eric
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is nearly at breaking point mrs. Birling
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is very distressed Sheela is frightened
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mr. Birling is furious and intervening
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which means he's throwing himself
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between Eric and his wife eric is
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absolutely furious at his mother and
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there's definitely a threat there before
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the inspector diffuses the situation by
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shouting stop
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ultimately Eric is not an entirely
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unsympathetic character and while he
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blames his mother for the death he still
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blames himself for his actions like
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Sheila
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Eric is completely remorseful and his
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far more interested in the fate of Eva
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Smith and his child than the money or
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any criminal charge he may have to face
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in the future
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he says the money's not the important
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thing it's what happened to the girl and
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what we all did to her that matters and
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I still feel the same about it even when
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his parents and Gerald have settled on
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the idea that the inspector is a fraud
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and that no girl has killed herself
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after all eric is unconvinced he tells
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them whoever that chap was the fact
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remains that I did what I did and mother
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did what she did and the rest of you did
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what you did to her it's all the same
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rotten story whether it's been told to a
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police inspector or somebody else and he
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tells his parents he's ashamed of both
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of them for their behavior he feels
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responsible for his actions regardless
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of whether he's going to get in trouble
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or not and he doesn't like the way his
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parents quickly try to forget it ever
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happened
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he says you lock maybe letting
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yourselves out nicely but I can't nor
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can mother we did her in alright
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is an important point to make because
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it's clear that JD priestly blames much
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of Eric's behavior on his upbringing
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Eric tells mr. Burley that he didn't ask
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for help before stealing the money
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because you're not the kind of father a
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chap could go to when he's in trouble
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and this makes sense because de
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Priestley Eric represents the children
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of the rich who don't have to work for
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anything and can't apply themselves even
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when it's handed to them on a plate
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directionless he ambles through life
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unable to find his place and without a
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role model he respects enough to ask for
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help he is destined to make the same
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poor choices over and over again
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that's all on eric berling for now
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thanks for watching our next video will
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focus on inspector ghoul but we'd
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recommend attempting to write a few
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sentences in answer to each of these
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questions before moving on
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question 1 what took place between Eric
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and either Smith or Daisy Renton try to
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answer clearly an in chronological order
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question two how would you describe
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Eric's actions toward Ziva Smith choose
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five words or phrases that you think sum
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up his behavior and write a sentence or
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two explaining why you think each
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description is appropriate question 3
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how does JB Priestley want the audience
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to feel towards Eric try to backup your
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ideas with evidence from the text
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you
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