Mrs. Warren's Profession, Act 2 summary
Act 2 of 6 · 31 min to read the act
In Act 2, Vivie challenges her mother's authority and demands answers about her parentage, while Frank and Crofts face resistance to their marriage ambitions. Mrs. Warren explains how poverty and harsh working conditions lead her into selling sex and running a house with her sister, moving Vivie from suspicion toward sympathy and affection.
What happens
- Mrs. Warren flirts with Frank, then rejects him as a husband for Vivie when she learns he has no money.
- Vivie arranges supper, dismisses Frank's playful advances, and criticizes the older visitors' idle lives.
- Crofts privately proposes marrying Vivie and offers Mrs. Warren money, but she responds with disgust.
- After the visitors leave, Vivie challenges maternal authority and demands to know her father's identity.
- Mrs. Warren rules out the men Vivie knows, then describes poverty, exhausting jobs, and her business partnership with Liz.
- Vivie accepts her mother's defense of her choices, and they embrace before bed.
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In this act
What to notice
Mrs. Warren distinguishes defending her own decision from approving the conditions that shape it. Her argument challenges Vivie's belief that determination alone creates sufficient choices.
Quick check
Why does Mrs. Warren reject Frank as a husband for Vivie?
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