Mrs. Warren's Profession, the third play by Irish dramatist and social reformer George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was written in 1894. The story of the shadowy Mrs. Warren and her daughter, Vivie, a “modern woman, was, as Shaw said himself, “written to draw attention to the truth that prostitution is caused, not by female depravity and male licentiousness, but simply by underpaying, undervaluing, and overworking women so shamefully that the poorest of them are forced to resort to prostitution to keep body and soul together…”. But beyond that, and most particularly for a modern audience, Shaw said, “… I have gone straight to the fact that, as Mrs. Warrn puts it, ‘the only way for a woman to provide herself decently is for her to be good to some man who can afford to be good to her'…I believe that any society which desires to found itself on a high standard of integrity of character in its units should organize itself in such a fashion as to make it possible for all men and women to maintain themselves in reasonable comfort by their industry without selling their affections and their convictions.”
This page is part of an ongoing project to document the history of the theatre productions performed at Wabash College. If you have information not included on this page, please contact the Theater Department or Professor Dwight Watson (watsond@wabash.edu).
