In a theatre performance the actress playing Sheila has a particularly difficult role, as Sheila undergoes a drastic change during the play. At the start of the play, she is very immature and very nave, and is also very giggly. She always seems to say things only half seriously and jokes with Eric using slang phrases such as "You're squiffy-. She does not seem to see the power that Gerald has got over her because her engagement ring is "the one [he] wanted [her] to have-. She shows herself to be a very dependent girl, looking to her parents for most decisions that need to be made. Her marriage to Gerald was a marriage of businesses, as well as love. I doubt Sheila saw this at the time, or just ignored this fact. When the Inspector questions her about her involvement in the death of Eva, she begins to feel thoroughly ashamed of what she did. What she says about her acts shows her immaturity, as she tells that she got upset over nothing and threatened to tell her mother not to shop at Milwards. She shows that she relies on others and cares little for the lower classes. When she says "And probably between us we killed her- and "Between us, we drove that girl to suicide- it shows her anger towards her parents, but her anguish at her acts and her family's behaviour is clear. When she finds out that Eva was pregnant, she begins to feel very sorry for her acts. "No! Oh - horrible - horrible!- This shows that when she knows that she is involved, she begins to show true compassion. If she knew that because of her father's greed, and her lavish spending, many people do not have enough money to live in proper housing or feed their family properly, then she might show more compassion. However, for now, the audience has to be content with her sadness at Eva's death. She seems to develop her maturity as she learns more and more of the circumstances of Eva's death. She seems to compress ten years of learning into an hour.
