Mrs. Warren`s Profession by George Bernard Shaw

Your Name

Your Professor 's Name

Your Class Name

17 July 2006

A Study of Mrs . Warren 's Profession

Although George Bernard Shaw finished writing Mrs . Warren 's Profession in 1893 , he was unable to get a license to stage it until 1902 . Since this play deals with the double standards between rich and poor and men and women the inability for it to be performed in London for nine years is both poignant and ironic . This time lapse emphasizes the "the victimization of young women and girls , not just

in brothels . to which society conveniently turned a blind eye (Dierkes-Thrun 293 . The royal censor chose to ignore the issues Shaw 's play presents in favor of more conventional , happier plays . Although nominally about Mrs . Warren 's profession as a prostitute and madam , the play also deals with incest the relationship between Victorian men and women , and the relationship between Mrs . Warren and Vivie Warren . The theme that drives the play is the victimization of the poor caused by the underpaying and overworking of women and men by the social institutions in England . Broad and Broad cite the preface to Getting Married ' where in 1908 Shaw wrote "I have shewn [sic ]that Mrs . Warren 's Profession is an economic phenomenon produced by our underpayment and illtreatment [sic] of women who try to earn an honest living (64-5

Shaw illustrates this victimization with the relationships between the four male characters and the two women . These men all appear to have the same interest and relationship in Vivie as they do in her mother , Kitty Warren . Praed , the first male appearing on stage has an artistic temperament and a long term friendship with Mrs . Warren . He denies that he has a sexual relationship with her and has had "nothing to do with that side of Mrs . Warren 's life [her profession as a prostitute and madam] , and never had " He claims that he is just a friend who helps Kitty Warren "escape from her own beauty (Shaw 66 . He appears to have come to meet Vivie and become her friend in the same fashion . The effect is that both women are his friends and serve the same role as one another . Sir George Crofts represents the English upper class gentleman and is later revealed as Kitty Warren 's business partner . The two have a long history together : they were intimate before he became Sir George and she became Mrs . Warren . Crofts has an eye for both Mrs . Warren and Vivie . This prospect that he may be Vivie 's father does not deter him Almost immediately after meeting Vivie , Crofts queries Mr . Praed to find out if he knows who Vivie 's father is . When Praed denies the knowledge Crofts asks for the favor of being told if he knows because he feels attracted even though he may be Vivie 's father . He assures Praed that "it 's quite an innocent feeling . That 's what puzzles me about it . Why for all I...