Who Mrs. Warren is
Mrs. Warren is a prosperous businesswoman whose money gives her daughter opportunities she never has herself. She pays for Vivie's education at Cambridge while keeping the source of her wealth out of sight. Her account of prostitution connects her own choices with poorly paid work and women's dependence on those holding economic power.
What Mrs. Warren wants
Mrs. Warren wants her daughter to understand the poverty behind her decisions, rather than judge her business apart from those circumstances. She argues that prostitution offers an escape from exhausting labour and miserable wages that respectable society tolerates. Yet understanding is not all she seeks, because she also wants loyalty and closeness from Vivie.
Mrs. Warren and the others in the story
Vivie values useful work and financial independence, but her education depends on money from her mother's business. Their disagreement brings family affection into conflict with Vivie's wish to judge that business for herself. Mrs. Warren's wealthy business partner, Sir George Crofts, also connects the profits of prostitution with social respectability.
Questions
What is Mrs. Warren's profession?
Mrs. Warren earns her fortune through prostitution and ownership of brothels.
Why does Mrs. Warren defend her choices?
She presents them as a way out of poverty when other work offers women exhaustion and miserable pay.
What does Mrs. Warren want from Vivie?
She wants gratitude, affection, and acceptance from the daughter whose education she finances. Vivie's wish to make her own judgments puts that desire under strain.