Mrs Warrens Profession
Mrs. Warren's Profession
In life the struggle between what is good and necessary for the individual and the moral values placed upon people by society is constantly present. This is true of the characters in George Bernard Shaw's play Mrs.
Warren's Profession. Shaw demonstrates that doing something frowned upon by society does not have to be an evil thing so long as it is good for the individual. Perhaps the most obvious example of societal morals conflicting with individual need is the case of Mrs. Kitty Warren. Mrs. Warren is a woman whose economic standing and lack of any professional skills forced her into becoming a prostitute. Obviously such a profession is against the beliefs of the society that she lives in. Not only is she not ashamed of her occupation, she is proud of the amount of money that it, as well as managing several houses of prostitution, has made for her. 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." This statement shows that the only reason that one would be ashamed of it is because of society says that one should be. She feels that the restrictions that society has placed on women has made it impossible for her to pursue any other lifestyle. She demonstrates this by saying, "It's far better than any other employment open to [women]... It can't be right,
Vivie, that there shouldn't be better opportunities for women." Shaw is attempting to evoke sympathy for the character of Mrs. Warren by pitting her against a society that is against her. He is quite obviously in favor of the actions that Mrs. Warren has taken, as demonstrated by the very reasonable rationalization for what she has done and the approving reaction of her daughter Vivie.
While it can be seen that Shaw approves of going against societal morals in the case of need, he is in the direct opposite opinion when it comes to continually doing it
In life the struggle between what is good and necessary for the individual and the moral values placed upon people by society is constantly present. This is true of the characters in George Bernard Shaw's play Mrs.
Warren's Profession. Shaw demonstrates that doing something frowned upon by society does not have to be an evil thing so long as it is good for the individual. Perhaps the most obvious example of societal morals conflicting with individual need is the case of Mrs. Kitty Warren. Mrs. Warren is a woman whose economic standing and lack of any professional skills forced her into becoming a prostitute. Obviously such a profession is against the beliefs of the society that she lives in. Not only is she not ashamed of her occupation, she is proud of the amount of money that it, as well as managing several houses of prostitution, has made for her. 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." This statement shows that the only reason that one would be ashamed of it is because of society says that one should be. She feels that the restrictions that society has placed on women has made it impossible for her to pursue any other lifestyle. She demonstrates this by saying, "It's far better than any other employment open to [women]... It can't be right,
Vivie, that there shouldn't be better opportunities for women." Shaw is attempting to evoke sympathy for the character of Mrs. Warren by pitting her against a society that is against her. He is quite obviously in favor of the actions that Mrs. Warren has taken, as demonstrated by the very reasonable rationalization for what she has done and the approving reaction of her daughter Vivie.
While it can be seen that Shaw approves of going against societal morals in the case of need, he is in the direct opposite opinion when it comes to continually doing it