Mrs. Warren's Profession

Mrs. Warren's Profession is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893, and first performed in London in 1902 but was banned after two performances because of the profession talked about. The play is about a former prostitute, now a madam (brothel proprietor), who attempts to come to terms with her disapproving daughter. It illustrates Shaw's belief that the act of prostitution was not caused by moral failure but by economic necessity. It also has a lot to say about the hypocrisy of English society that profited from many despised and illegal professions and used people in despicable ways but pretended to look down on them. This was probably why it was banned, not because of the 'profession' of Mrs. Warren, but because it exposed very highly placed people doing nasty things to make money.


By : George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

01 - Act I



02 - Act II



03 - Act III



04 - Act IV


Vivie Warren, a thoroughly modern young woman, has just graduated from the University of Cambridge with honours in Mathematics (equal Third Wrangler), and is available for suitors. Her mother, Mrs. Warren (her name changed to hide her identity and give the impression that she is married), arranges for her to meet her friend Mr. Praed, a middle-aged, handsome architect, at the home where Vivie is staying. Mrs. Warren arrives with her business partner, Sir George Crofts, who is attracted to Vivie despite their 25-year age difference. Vivie is romantically involved with the youthful Frank Gardner, who sees her as his meal ticket. His father, the (married) Reverend Samuel Gardner, has a history with Vivie's mother. As we discover later, he may be Vivie's out-of-wedlock father, which would make Vivie and Frank half-siblings. Mrs. Warren successfully justifies to her daughter how she chose her particular profession in order to support her daughter and give her the opportunities she never had. She saved enough money to buy into the business with her sister, and she now owns (with Sir George) a chain of brothels across Europe. Vivie is, at first, horrified by the revelation, but then lauds her mother as a champion. However, the reconciliation ends when Vivie finds out that her mother continues to run the business even though she no longer needs to. Vivie takes an office job in the city and dumps Frank, vowing she will never marry. She disowns her mother, and Mrs. Warren is left heartbroken, having looked forward to growing old with her daughter.

Comments

Random Post

  • Nero
    09.07.2020 - 0 Comments
    Nero tells the life story of one of the most infamous of Roman Emperors. In writing the series of…
  • Mèo Và Kên Kên - Truyện Ngụ Ngôn Về Loài Vật - Phần 7
    21.10.2023 - 0 Comments
    Phần 1 : Kho Báu Của Vàng Tro (Mỹ)Phần 2 : Thức Suốt (Trung Quốc)Phần 3 : Vợ Chồng Linh Miêu (Mỹ)Phần 4 : Quạ…
  • Chàng đốn củi và nàng tiên - truyện cổ tích hàn quốc
    22.10.2023 - 0 Comments
    Ngày xưa , xưa lắm có một chàng đốn củi khỏe mạnh sống với mẹ dưới chân núi , chàng rất hiếu thảo ngày nào…
  • Selected Letters of Ludwig van Beethoven
    17.10.2019 - 0 Comments
    A selection of Beethoven's letters from the compilation by Ludwig Ritter von Köchel (1800-1877) and Ludwig…
  • Poems of Nature
    06.07.2020 - 0 Comments
    The fifty poems here brought together under the title ‘Poems of Nature’ are perhaps two-thirds of those…
  • The Ranchman
    03.01.2021 - 0 Comments
    A fast-paced old time western. Squint Taylor, a rancher and long time resident of Dawes, is challenged by a…
  • John Barleycorn or Alcoholic Memoirs
    12.04.2020 - 0 Comments
    In this autobiographical work, London describes his life as seen through the eyes of John Barleycorn…
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin
    10.05.2019 - 0 Comments
    Uncle Tom's Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly, is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher…
  • The Golden Spears, and other Fairy Tales
    06.04.2021 - 0 Comments
    This is a little volume of original fairy tales by Irish lawyer, author and politician Edmund Leamy.By…
  • Con Hươu Bạc |Chương 19| Harry Potter và Bảo bối Tử thần | Tập 7
    20.10.2023 - 0 Comments
    Tuyết vẫn rơi khi đến phiên Hermione canh phòng lúc nửa đêm. Giấc mơ của Harry thì rối rắm và lộn xộn: con…
  • The Fallen Leaves
    22.10.2020 - 0 Comments
    Amelius Goldenheart, the hero of this story, is expelled from a Utopian community in New England and finds…
  • Sons of Fire
    28.09.2020 - 0 Comments
    "He was a stranger in Matcham, a 'foreigner' as the villagers called such alien visitors. He had never been…
  • Hải Ly - Truyện Ngụ Ngôn Về Loài Vật - Phần 11
    21.10.2023 - 0 Comments
    Phần 1 : Kho Báu Của Vàng Tro (Mỹ)Phần 2 : Thức Suốt (Trung Quốc)Phần 3 : Vợ Chồng Linh Miêu (Mỹ)Phần 4 : Quạ…
  • The Bear Family at Home
    07.09.2020 - 0 Comments
    Once a little cub bear was caught in a big log trap, and taken on a train to a circus. He lived in the circus…
  • A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys
    13.02.2021 - 0 Comments
    The author has long been of opinion that many of the classical myths were capable of being rendered into very…
  • Stupor Mundi, The Life and Times of Frederick II Emperor of the Romans King of Sicily and Jerusalem 1194-1250
    11.11.2020 - 0 Comments
    Frederick II, under whose reign the Holy Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, was called by…