Gerald Croft - Annan Academy English Department Blog

“Two hours ago a young woman died in the infirmary … she’d swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out …”

Gerald Croft

Who is Gerald Croft ? Gerald is a very posh character, who has become engaged to Mr. Birlings’ only daughter, Sheila. He remains relatively quiet while the other characters are confessing to the Inspector, but when the Inspector calls out the name, Daisy Renton, he gives himself away immediately by choking on his whisky.

The Affair 

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Gerald had known Daisy Renton after meeting her in a bar. She was being hit-on by a drunken womanizer. Gerald asked her to come with him and found out that she didn’t have a home to go to so he allowed her to stay in some rooms he was looking after for a friend. He ended up having an affair with her.

The Last Time He Saw Daisy 

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By the end of the summer, Gerald told her that he could no longer see her and that she could no longer stay in his friend’s flat because his friend was coming home. He did not feel the same way about her as she felt about him.

Her Reaction Daisy took it all really well, saying that she knew that the affair ‘couldn’t last forever’; she was extremely grateful for everything he had done for her. The Inspector tells us that it seems she went away to somewhere where she could think of Gerald to make their affair last longer.

Was He To Blame 

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The Inspector does not blame Gerald as much as the others as at least he made her happy for a while. However, he did lie to Sheila and he had no intention of marrying Eva. He certainly did not love her though he is upset that she is dead. In the end, he, like Mr and Mrs Birling, seems happy to forget the whole thing – until the surprise phone call at the end to say a police inspector is on his way ‘to ask some questions’.

Credits 

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We’d just like to thank everyone for watching our really boring presentation… We love you, Mrs Johnston. By Drew, Michael and Connor