Essay About Moral Values And Obvious Example Of Societal Morals

Mrs Warrens Profession
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Mrs. Warrens Profession
In life the struggle between what is good and necessary for the
individual and the moral values placed upon people by society is constantly
present. This is true of the characters in George Bernard Shaws play Mrs.
Warrens Profession. Shaw demonstrates that doing something frowned upon
by society does not have to be an evil thing so long as it is good for the
individual.
Perhaps the most obvious example of societal morals conflicting with
individual need is the case of Mrs. Kitty Warren. Mrs. Warren is a woman
whose economic standing and lack of any professional skills forced her into
becoming a prostitute. Obviously such a profession is against the beliefs
of the society that she lives in. Not only is she not ashamed of her
occupation, she is proud of the amount of money that it, as well as
managing several houses of prostitution, has made for her. When asked of
any shame about her job by her daughter she states, “Well of course dearie,
its only good manners to be ashamed of it: its expected of a woman.” This
statement shows that the only reason that one would be ashamed of it is
because of society says that one should be. She feels that the
restrictions that society has placed on women has made it impossible for
her to pursue any other lifestyle. She demonstrates this by saying, “Its
far better than any other employment open to [women] It cant be right,
Vivie, that there shouldnt be better opportunities for women.” Shaw is
attempting to evoke sympathy for the character of Mrs. Warren by pitting
her against a society that is against her. He is quite obviously in favor
of the actions that Mrs. Warren has taken, as demonstrated by the very
reasonable rationalization for what she has done and the approving reaction
of her daughter Vivie.
While it can be seen that Shaw approves of going against societal
morals in the case of need, he is in the direct opposite opinion when it
comes to continually doing it for only the purposes of greed. This is
clearly shown when it is discovered by Vivie that Mrs. Warren, while
definitely having enough money to live on, still engages in the business of
prostitution. Describing her reasons for continuing with her profession,
Mrs. Warren says, “It means a new dress every day; it means theatres every
night it means everything you like everything you want, everything you
can think of.” These reasons obviously do not cause the sympathy that
accompanied her reasons for starting her occupation in the first place. In
fact they begin to cause feelings of disgust that someone would do that
simply to get even more money than the fortune that they already have
amassed. It is due to the disapproval of this continuation that Mrs.
Warren is punished by not only losing the sympathy, but also gaining the
anger of her daughter.
Another example of Shaws disapproval for acting against societal
morals simply for the purposes of greed is shown through the character of
Frank Gardner. Franks main goal throughout the play is to marry Vivie in
order to gain part of the huge amount of money that is given to Vivie by
her mother. Clearly this is against the normally socially accepted reason
for marrying, and will benefit Frank. Because he is simply doing it out of
greed instead of necessity Shaw does not make create an aura of sympathy
for him. He paints him as an annoying manipulative character that is
constantly insulting his own father, a reverend, with comments such as, ”
Youre not intellectual or artistic ; are you, pater.” Throughout the play
Vivie, again acting as the representative of Shaws views, is constantly
blowing off his attempts at winning her affection. Finally gives up his
attempts when he realizes how her mother earns the money. He states , “I
really can bring myself to touch the old womans money now.” Vivie is
quite glad to be rid of him.
Shaws opinions on society against the individual are clearly outlined
in this play. Through the actions and words of the character Vivie it can
be clearly seen that he finds nothing wrong with breaking the rules placed
on people by society, providing that it is for a good reason and not simply
fro self indulgence. The conclusion could be drawn that Shaw feels that
these morals are fine in a perfect society, but since we do not live in one
they must be broken occasionally in order to attain a better life,
providing that it is done only in moderation. 10th-12th grade paper on the