Brenard Shaw’s Mrs.Warren’s Profession

Women in Society and Mrs. Warren’s Profession

The most obvious example of societal morals battling with individual need in Mrs. Warren’s Profession, is the case of Mrs. Kitty Warren. Mrs. Warren is a woman whose economic status and lack of professional skills forced her into becoming a prostitute. A profession such as this is strictly against the beliefs of the society that she lives in.

Mrs. Warren's Profession, infuriates us because it goes to the bottom of our evils because it places the accusing finger upon the sorest and most damnable spot in our social fabric--SEX as woman's only commodity in the competitive market of life (Goldman).

Not only is she not ashamed of her occupation, but she is proud of the amount of money that she has earned from it. When asked of any shame about her job by her daughter she states, "Well of course dearie, it's only good manners to be ashamed of it: it's expected of a woman. Women have to pretend to feel a great deal that they don’t feel." (Shaw, Act 2) Mrs. Warren’s statement here shows that the only reason that one would be ashamed of such a profession is because society doesn’t approve of such actions. She feels that the restriction that society has placed on women has made it impossible for her to pursue any other lifestyle by stating, “I always wanted to be a good woman. I tried honest work; and I was slave-driven until I cursed the day I ever heard of honest work.” (Shaw, Act 4).

Shaw is attempting to evoke sympathy for the character of Mrs. Warren by pinning her against a society that is against her. He is in favor, however, of the actions that Mrs. Warren has taken, as demonstrated by the rationalization for what she has done and the approving reaction of her daughter Vivie (Foster).

It is evident that Shaw approves of going against societal morals when in need, but he disapproves of such actions when it comes to continually doing it solely for greed. This can be seen when Vivie discovers that her mother, Mrs. Warren, while having an already sufficient amount of money to live on, still engages in prostitution as a source of income. Stating her reasons for continuing with her profession, Mrs. Warren says, "It means a new dress every day; it means theatres and balls every night ... it means everything you like everything you want, everything you can think of." (Shaw, Act 4). However, these reasons don’t cause the sympathy that follow with her reasons for starting her occupation, but replace that expected sympathy with disgust. It is due to the disapproval of this continuation of prostitution that Mrs. Warren is punished by losing sympathy and gaining the anger of her daughter (Foster).

Another example of Shaw's disapproval for acting against societal morals simply for greed is shown through his character of Frank Gardner. Frank's main goal throughout the play is to marry Vivie in order to inherit a sum of the money that is given to Vivie by her mother. This of course is against the socially accepted reason for marrying someone, but will benefit Frank. Because he is simply doing it out of greed instead of necessity there is no sympathy created for Frank Gardner (Guyette). Throughout the play, Vivie acts as the representative of Shaw's views by constantly blowing off Frank’s attempts at winning her affection. This leads to Frank finally giving up his attempts at Vivie when realizing how her mother earns her money. He states, "but you mistake: it's not the moral aspect of the case: it's the money aspect. I really can't bring myself to touch the old woman's money now."(Shaw, Act 4)

Shaw's opinions on society against the individual are clearly outlined in this play. Through the actions and words of the character Vivie it can be clearly seen that he finds nothing wrong with breaking the rules placed on people by society, providing that it is for a good reason and not simply from self indulgence. The conclusion could be drawn that Shaw feels that these morals are fine in a perfect society, but since we do not live such a society, they must be broken occasionally in order to attain a better life, providing that it is done only in moderation (Foster).

The struggle between what is good and necessary for the individual and the moral values placed upon people by society is constantly present George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession.