3 h 58 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 97 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 97 pagesAbout this book
What if the money that gives you independence comes from choices you cannot accept?
Vivie Warren wants useful work, honest dealings, and a living she earns herself. Then she discovers that her mother, Mrs. Warren, builds her comfortable life on the business of prostitution. In Bernard Shaw’s play, a family confrontation becomes a struggle over what a daughter owes her mother—and herself.
Mrs. Warren defends her choices by describing the exhausting labour and miserable pay available to poor women. But understanding those pressures does not settle Vivie’s questions. Around them, wealthy business partner Sir George Crofts and charming, dependent Frank Gardner bring money, marriage, and respectability into a debate where affection offers no easy answers.
What you’ll discover
- An independent young woman Meet Vivie, whose commitment to work tests the claims of family, comfort, and romance.
- A mother's forceful defence Hear Mrs. Warren explain the narrow choices that make survival a question of money.
- The cost of respectability See how Sir George Crofts connects a respectable social position with profits from prostitution.
- Conversation with sharp edges Follow confrontations where offers of affection and security become tests of what Vivie will tolerate.
- Understanding without easy acceptance Explore the uneasy distance between recognising another person’s hardship and accepting the choices they make.
Is it for you?
Readers who enjoy sharp family confrontations, independent heroines, and arguments that expose the money beneath polite social rules will find plenty here.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
Who’s who
- Vivie WarrenAn educated young woman who wants useful work, financial independence, and honest dealings.
- Mrs. WarrenVivie's mother defends the choices that lift her out of poverty and pay for her daughter's education.
- Sir George CroftsMrs. Warren's wealthy business partner links social respectability with the profits of prostitution.
- Frank GardnerA charming but financially dependent young man pursues Vivie without sharing her commitment to work.
- PraedAn architect who values beauty and pleasure, Praed offers a gentler contrast to Vivie's practical outlook.
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Mrs. Warren's Profession
by Bernard Shaw· 1898
A daughter learns that her mother's wealth comes from prostitution.
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Language: Italiano
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 5
Vivie Warren has finished her studies at Cambridge and wants a practical, independent life. She values work, clear thinking, and the chance to earn her own living. Her mother, Mrs. Warren, has paid for her education but has kept the source of that money out of sight. When they meet in the English countryside, the distance between them is more than a matter of different tastes.
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The author
Bernard Shaw
1856–1950 · Irish playwright and critic
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) was an Irish playwright and critic. Born in Dublin, he moved to London in 1876 and later lived in Ayot St Lawrence, Hertfordshire, where he died. His plays include Arms and the Man (1894), Man and Superman (1903), Major Barbara (1905), and Pygmalion (1912).
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What is Mrs. Warren's profession?
Mrs. Warren makes her fortune through prostitution and the ownership of brothels. The play focuses less on sexual behaviour than on the economic system behind her business, including the poverty that limits women's choices and the respectable investors who profit from it.
Why was Mrs. Warren's Profession banned?
The play's frank treatment of prostitution and its challenge to accepted sexual morality led Britain's theatrical censor to refuse permission for public performance. Shaw writes it in 1893; its first London performance takes place privately in 1902.
Does Shaw defend Mrs. Warren?
Shaw gives Mrs. Warren a strong case against a society that condemns prostitution while tolerating starvation wages for women. But he does not simply excuse her business. Vivie's objections force a distinction between escaping poverty and continuing to profit from other women's exploitation.
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