Summary

The action is continuous.

Edna comes in, announcing that a police inspector named Goole has arrived and wants to see him. Birling says to show him in. Edna goes out.

Birling and Gerald banter about what Goole might want, with Gerald joking that Eric might have done something and that it might be a bit awkward. Birling agrees, but Eric reacts sharply and suspiciously. Gerald says they were only joking about something that had been said before. Birling wonders what is the matter with Eric, but Eric says nothing.

Edna shows in Inspector Goole, who is described as giving an impression of “solidity and purposefulness” (13), and as having “a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before actually speaking” (13). After refusing an offer of port because he is on duty, Goole explains why he is there. He is...