how is sheila responsible in the death of eva smith

When Sheila went to Milwards, she thought Eva was laughing at her. Sheila was jealous of Eva's good looks and threatened the workers that she would not return and she would make certain that Eva got fired.

Sheila clearly has begun to change. She is owning up to her responsibility for Eva’s death, maturing as she does so. Notably, she stands in stark contrast to her mother, who refuses to change at all and (so far) refuses to drop her mask of icy, upper-class politeness. Priestley is interested in the well-worn idea that the young have the capacity to change, accept new ideas and move forwards while their parents and the older generations often fail to do so.