Is Eric Birling to Blame for Eva Smith S Death?

Is Eric Birling to blame for Eva Smith’s Death?

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In this essay I am going to write about whether Eric Birling is responsible for Eva Smiths’s death. I will do this by comparing the facts that make Eric responsible and the facts that don’t.

Firstly, Eric was to blame as he was an alcoholic. This is shown when he confesses, “I was a bit squiffy”. This makes him to blame as, because of his heightened emotions, he appealed to Eva’s kindness as he threatened to make a scene in the street if she wouldn’t take him into her house. However, as his ‘familiarity with a decanter’ shows that he is an alchoholic he should have been used to the disoriantation of drinking and so should have been able to control himself. This makes his actions even worse as he knew what he was doing and so it could have been stopped.

The fact that he got Eva pregnant (because he was drunk) makes him to blame for her death. This is because she couldn’t cope with a child and so “he stole from the office” in order to help her. Once she found out that the money was stolen she refused any more help. This is the reason “she went to [the] committee for help”. Therefore he is to blame for her being rufused help; a child outside of wedlock was scandolous in that time and so she was already being prejudiced against by the other women of the charity. This would not happen in today’s society as single parent families are quite common.

This prejudice, however, might not have stopped her from getting help from the Charity if Mrs Birling hadn’t refused her help. This is due to the fact that just because Eva Smith called herself Mrs Birling (though she actually could have been called Mrs Birling), the real Mrs Birling was prejudice against her as “She was giving herself ridiculous airs”. Because of this discrimination, Eva didn’t recieve help and so could no longer cope. Therefore, it is Mrs Birling’s fault Eva killed herself, not Eric’s as Mrs Birling was the last resort that Eva was refused of. On the other hand, if Eva was a woman in modern society then this situation wouldn’t even have occured as there is immediate government funding for single parents. Therefore, it could be agued that it is not just Mrs Birling’s fault but the government’s as well.

Furthermore, it could be argued that it was Mr Birling’s fault as he sacked her from her job in the first place just because the wanted to “ask for more money”. As women’s rights and minimum wage had not yet been thought of Mr Birling was well within his rights to sack Eva. However, as they didn’t cause and harm and they didn’t get a raise anyway he shouldn’t have sacked her. Just by sacking her he put her on the path towards suicide that might not have been there if she had been allowed to stay at the factory. This is the type of view that Preistly discouraged as he eventually shows that Mr Birlings capitalist views are wrong as it can lead to bad consequences for yourself. This shows Priestly’s views on socialism.

It could also be argued that it is Eva’s own fault that she died as - even though she was offered money to help her - she refused any help that could have potentially saved her life and her child’s. adding to that she “hadn’t a job – and didn’t feel like trying for one again”. This makes her just as, or guiltier than Eric as he was at least offering a chance at living and she refused to even try and earn some more money to support herself and her baby.

In conclusion, Eric is partially to blame for Eva’s death as he got her pregnant and asked her to take stolen money which she could not accept on moral grounds. However, he is not completely to blame as other things contributed as well. For instance, Mr Birling turning her out in the first place and so starting the whole affair; Mrs Birling being prejudice just for using a false name and being pregnant; Eva herself for not accepting the only help she could get just because it was stolen from the thief’s father (money which would have eventually been Eric’s anyway).