"An Inspector Calls" - What do Eva Smith and Edna represent? Compare their roles in the play and their importance in supporting Priestley's view.

'An Inspector Calls', written by J.B.Priestley is a play that includes the characters of Eva Smith, who appears to have committed suicide, and Edna, the housekeeper of the Birling family. Both Eva Smith, and Edna represent women, who suffer at the hands of poverty and neglect, and both characters are the epitome victims of the unjust nature of the social order. To those better off than them, they are invisible. Edna seems to …

…through the Inspector. Priestley believes that all actions have consequences, and everybody has a responsibility for future events; 'And I tell you the time will soon come, when if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.' (Act Three) He wants the audience to reflect on their pasts and change, so that the world can become a more comforting, and safer place for all.