Sheila's Initial Character - The Spoilt Rich Girl
At the start of the play, Sheila embodies everything wrong with the upper class in 1912. She's described as a "pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited" - completely sheltered from reality. Her childish apology of "I'm sorry, Daddy" shows how immature and dependent she is on her parents.
Sheila's initial reaction to Eva Smith reveals her cruel class prejudices. She admits "if she had been some miserable plain little creature, I don't suppose I'd have done it", showing how the wealthy looked down on poor people. Her jealousy over Eva's looks led to Eva losing her job at Milwards - a petty, selfish act.
However, even early on, we see hints of her potential for change. When she says "These girls aren't cheap labour - they're people", Priestley shows us that unlike her father, Sheila can develop empathy and understand socialist values.
Remember: Sheila's transformation represents hope for the younger generation to break free from their parents' selfish attitudes.
