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George bernard shaws mrs. warr (Click to select text)
I think George Bernard Shaw was mocking the socialist opinions of the time regarding women's place in life. I also feel he was mocking people who believed that money was what made them a "somebody". We see this many times in the play when Mrs. Warren preached to Vivie about the importance of financial well being. Not only to be able to support yourself, but to enable yourself to marry someone "worthy", meaning someone who could afford you. Page 1734 we see Mrs. Warren defending her actions. She's "explaining" to Vivie the ways of the world. On one hand, Mrs. Warren is admitting that what she is doing is wrong, but on the other hand she answers Vivie's questions about being ashamed by saying: "It's only good manners to be ashamed. It's expected of a woman". To me, she is saying, "yes, I am ashamed, but only because I'm supposed to be". I think it's clear here that Shaw was poking fun at people like Mrs. Warren. People who have money, who don't care how they attained it, so long as they have it. These types of people assume that they are better than others less well off. They also assume that other people of equal financial standing treat them as equals. Here is where I believe Shaw is mocking Mrs. Warren. She thinks and wants to be an equal to other people's money, but she isn't. I found it funny that a man of Frank's social standing (not high on the totem pole) looked down on Mrs. Warren and her profession. Her was a young man with virtually no money to speak of, no profitable future, yet still he knew that she was doing wrong. Even he could not lower himself to take her money. When I read the play a second time, I subconsciously separated the characters into two categories. The first is Viv, Frank and Praed who represent the "commoner" in my mind. These are the people who work hard, have morals and strong convictions. They try to do what is right. Sometimes they are rewarded financially and sometimes not. Either way, it is ok by them. The second category is Mrs. Warren and Crofts. They want to be in a better social standing in the world, but they only way they know how is to make more money and show it off. All in all, I think Shaw was showing his contempt for the Mrs. Warren's of the world. I believe Viv, Frank and Pared better represented his thoughts and feelings.
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