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29th out of 222 books
—
30 voters
Mrs. Warren's Profession
Middle-aged Mrs. Warren is a madam, proprietress of a string of successful brothels. Her daughter, Vivie, is a modern young woman, but not so modern that she's not shocked to discover the source of her mother's wealth. The clash of these two strong-willed, but culturally constrained Victorian women, is the spark that ignites the ironic wit of one of George Bernard Shaw's g...more
Paperback, 60 pages
Published
October 1st 2006
by Cosimo Classics
(first published 1898)
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Getting Biblical about this, should the sins of the fathers be visited upon the children unto the tenth generation? Does this apply to mothers too? Or shall we be a bit more modern and forgiving about it? The daughter in this play took the hard Biblical line and applied it to her mother too, cutting her off from all contact when she found out that her extremely privileged youth and expensive education as a lawyer had been paid for by her mother's hard work first on her back and secondly running...more
Of the Shaw I read in my short stint as a dramaturg, this was my favorite. It bears all his hallmarks: feisty women choosing between an artist and a businessman, a basic farcical British romance plot, a hypocritical priest, lots of quipping about philosophy, and attempts to make the characters vivid and surprising.
At the latter task, he succeeds more in this book than in any of the others, truly turning the form of the light comedy on its head and committing to Ibsenesque realism. He still captu...more
At the latter task, he succeeds more in this book than in any of the others, truly turning the form of the light comedy on its head and committing to Ibsenesque realism. He still captu...more
George Bernard Shaw was ahead of his time, and this play was banned when it was written (1893).
It exposes the hypocrisy of a society that condemns those who are not chaste, but does little to assuage the poverty that leaves some women few alternatives to survive (similar territory to JB Priestly's "The Inspector Calls", set less than 20 years later). Equally controversially, it makes a strident case for women's emancipation in general, whilst retaining Shaw's peppering of acerbic wit (Wilde wit...more
It exposes the hypocrisy of a society that condemns those who are not chaste, but does little to assuage the poverty that leaves some women few alternatives to survive (similar territory to JB Priestly's "The Inspector Calls", set less than 20 years later). Equally controversially, it makes a strident case for women's emancipation in general, whilst retaining Shaw's peppering of acerbic wit (Wilde wit...more
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Typical Shaw! Amazing in its incisive insight into the bourgeoisie's hypocritical pretensions to moral goodness. Vivie Warren is a university educated young woman. She is unaware of the fact that her mother Mrs. Warren's profession was prostitution and that she is now the owner of several successfully running brothel houses. When she realizes the "shocking" truth, she boldly disowns her mother and her wealth. She wants to lead the life of an honest hardworking woman. What she fails to see is tha...more
Mrs. Warren's Profession is an engaging play that questions the conventional morality of the Victorian period with a question that still persists today, namely the moral status of participation in the practice of prostitution whether it is as a prostitute or brothel owner.
The play is particularly fantastic due to the vividness of the characters and their personalities and, of course, the subject matter it explores. Vivie is immediately lovable and interesting to both the reader and the character...more
The play is particularly fantastic due to the vividness of the characters and their personalities and, of course, the subject matter it explores. Vivie is immediately lovable and interesting to both the reader and the character...more
Rereading Mrs Warren’s Profession after several years, the surprise was how little we would need to change it to play it in modern dress. A daughter, having consumed an expensive education, discovers that her natural mother is a vulgarian working on the fringes of society, and decides to ostracise her from then on. In variation, it is the same theme as Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, which did the same thing thirty years earlier with a son and his ex-criminal benefactor. We could repeat the...more
The best scenes in this play are the two between Mrs. Warren and her daughter, especially the second one. What is nice about those scenes is that understand both viewpoints and where they are coming from, and there is no real "winner." Shaw allows both women their voices without judgment. They are both wrong and both right.
The sad thing though is that much of the rest of the play is somewhat forgettable. There is the normal Shaw cross-section of society and it is entertaining, but it doesn't lea...more
The sad thing though is that much of the rest of the play is somewhat forgettable. There is the normal Shaw cross-section of society and it is entertaining, but it doesn't lea...more
We get a more vivid picture of Shaw's style of social commentary--again, there are no true protagonists and all characters are to blame (since they all belong in a certain spot in this aformentioned society). The men circle Mrs. Warren's daughter like sharks--they are crazy post-Victorians who treat the "elephant in the room" (in this case, prostitution) as a mere triviality. It is not as witty as say, O. Wilde, but it exposes great truths in hyper-articulate strings of dialogue. I really enjoy...more
Nas peças de Bernard Shaw que ja li(Pigmalião, César e Cleópatra, O Discípulo do Diabo e O Homem e as Armas), há sempre um (ou vários) momento em que os personagens resolvem jogar a hipocrisia fora e falar abertamente do que está acontecendo. É como um grande exercício de sinceridade e honestidade: a verdade nua e crua jogada na cara.
Mas, de todas, esta peça bate todos os recordes de rasgar o véu da hipocrisia nas relações sociais. Toda a trama do texto se desenvolve em torno da vinda à luz da v...more
Mas, de todas, esta peça bate todos os recordes de rasgar o véu da hipocrisia nas relações sociais. Toda a trama do texto se desenvolve em torno da vinda à luz da v...more
Reportedly banned for 8 years in England, the ideas presented are still as provocative and relevant as ever -- in examining power, class, sex, and the world's oldest profession. George Bernard Shaw was ahead of his time in his ability to portray independent, spirited, intelligent women in his plays. I think this play would make for an amazing book club discussion. I totally regret that our book club last year chose to read Major Barbara by Shaw instead of Mrs. Warren's Profession.
A short but fascinating play with quite a bit of reversals. I'm still finishing up his length preface in which Shaw damns critics and the censorship board for banning his book while allowing more licentious works are allowed. His contention seems to be the observation that certain scandals are allowed, but those that don't blame women are seen as despicable. I would love to see this performed as it is at once lively and comical while extremely critical of society.
"Mrs. Warren's Profession" is written by Shaw qua Fabian and feminist rather than Shaw qua playwright, so it is difficult to fairly evaluate it from the standpoint of a casual reader. It delves shallowly into the moral complexities of prostitution through the eyes of a prosperous madam and her sceptical daughter. It is more of a position piece than a "play pleasant" - as a result, the prose isn't quite as crisp or enjoyable to read as Shaw's other work.
A play about a young girl, comfortably raised, who discovers that her mother is a prostitute. The play was good, raising interesting questions about which is worse, selling your body to earn a comfortable living or selling your soul to work in a factory for 14 hours a day for minimal amounts of money. As usual, the author's introduction was well written, thought provoking an enjoyable.
When George Bernard's play Mrs. Warren's Profession was first performed in London, there was great protest. Nice people should not see plays about the sexual slavery of young women. Even though the practice was rampant in London at the time. Shaw writes an eloquent play exploring the emotional effects of this horrible practice from all sides. I re-read again in 2005. I directed it in 2006.
Usually GB Shaw wants to discuss some social issue or another and creates straw-man characters to have it out between themselves. This one is a in the same vein, but there is a little more life to the characters (i.e. Frank).
I suppose its still a relevant issue to consider since prostitution is still illegal, still morally objectionable, and still quite popular.
Its an alright read.
I suppose its still a relevant issue to consider since prostitution is still illegal, still morally objectionable, and still quite popular.
Its an alright read.
Not bad. I'm beginning to understand what made this such an important play in its day; what with all the controversy surrounding 'New Women'.
Shaw keeps it all alive by dragging the plot past the second act where traditional 'Fallen Women' plays would end (The aged prostitute embracing religion and redemption). This allows him to send his political message and piss off a bunch of critics at the same time. Vivie chooses to systematically reject everyone in her past life to bury herself in work; t...more
Shaw keeps it all alive by dragging the plot past the second act where traditional 'Fallen Women' plays would end (The aged prostitute embracing religion and redemption). This allows him to send his political message and piss off a bunch of critics at the same time. Vivie chooses to systematically reject everyone in her past life to bury herself in work; t...more
Not one of Shaw's best plays. The characters seem to be be typical and not too interesting. The big secret did not cause much of an uproar and was not one of the foci of the tale, which it should have been, in my view. As usual, Shaw makes his women strong and his male characters lacking in fortitude. In any event, the mother/daughter interaction was pretty close to real. I would recommend this read for a summer afternoon.
I first rated this as two stars but more thought inspired me to increase it to a three star. A mother and daughter, both headstrong characters, have misgivings about the other. Mrs. Warren wishes she had raised her daughter differently and Vivie is appalled when she learns where the money came from that has supported her and provided a college education.
The play works well as a diatribe against the injustices faced by working women, the inequality of job opportunities, and a debate on 'sin' and honest living. However, the characters are unlikeable, the dialogue forced and the outcome ridiculous. As a piece of writing, Shaw's writing will never fail - as a play, however, it does not suit its genre.
Love, love, love, love.
"People are always blaming circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."
-Vivie
I envy Vivie's independence and personality. I think this work is brilliant. :)
"People are always blaming circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them."
-Vivie
I envy Vivie's independence and personality. I think this work is brilliant. :)
This is a really fascinating examination of morality and authority. It's hard to look at oneself and think "sinner"; it is all too easy to ignore our own faults. And then the question of authority: Does power equate to immunity? Does age exempt a parent for the morals they impose on their children? Some major themes come together in this play.
The play itself is well written and the characters well-developed, but what I most enjoyed about this edition are the essays and appendices that place this work by Shaw in its historical context. Shaw was definetly a man before his time. I greatly admire his defence of the play in face of such criticism.
Well, I generally liked this piece; read it for school. It was well-written and very interesting. However, it's simply not my genre of choice and I didn't find it particularly catchy. I was considering 4 stars, though, simply because I adore the character of Frank. <3 So consider my rating more like 3½.
I firmly believe that this is one of Shaw's best plays. I particularly find fascinating the way that Mrs. Warren justifies her profession against other forms of capitalist exploitation; prostitution is just another way to earn a living, and more honest in some ways than say, factory work.
It is a funny play about a madam of a house of prostitution that somehow manages not to use that word. I found this play to be highly entertaining, a view of a wierd family dynamic and how it comes apart. Shaw is rarely staged in the U. S. and this is a shame. I want to discover more by him.
Despite being interesting, this play was hard for me, because I could not really connect to any of the characters. Also, on my first reading of the ending, I struggled to understand Shaw's purpose for the ending. If I had not read this in the context of the class, I probably would have enjoyed it less and not eventually understood it's meaning.
“Mr Praed: if there are really only those two gospels in the world, we had better all kill ourselves; for the same taint is in both, through and through.”
Excerpt From: Shaw, Bernard. “Mrs. Warren's Profession.” iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
Excerpt From: Shaw, Bernard. “Mrs. Warren's Profession.” iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.
I saw this play on Friday with Brigid and Amy. We all left the theatre curious to see how the staging compared to the script. As it's in the public domain, I was able to download a free copy right onto my new toy, Graphite Kindle 3rd Gen, a.k.a. Gadget.
Mrs. Warren's profession is prostitution. The play was written in 1893, and is quite stunningly progressive and feminist for its time. It's a very challenging play where it seems like everyone is right and everyone is wrong at the same time. None...more
Mrs. Warren's profession is prostitution. The play was written in 1893, and is quite stunningly progressive and feminist for its time. It's a very challenging play where it seems like everyone is right and everyone is wrong at the same time. None...more
My first play of Bernard Shaw and I picked it up as it was supposed to be ahead of its time (which it is) and thus was banned. It has two strong women protagonists, both very vivid characters and is particularly fantastic for the matter it explores - the moral correctness in the practice of prostitution.
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George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright, socialist, and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama. Over the course of his life he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his plays address prevailing social problems, but...more
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“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.”
—
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“All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.”
—
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