Propaganda and Art in Mrs Warren's Profession Author(S): Charles A

Home , Man and Superman

Propaganda and Art in Mrs Warren's Profession Author(s): Charles A. Berst Source: ELH, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Sep., 1966), pp. 390-404 Published by: Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2872114 Accessed: 21-01-2016 11:07 UTC

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions PROPAGANDA AND ART IN MRS WARREN'S PROFESSION

BY CHARLES A. BERST

Since Mrs Warren's Professionis one of the most openly didacticof Shaw's plays, an examinationof its achievementas art shouldprove helpfulin assessingthe extentto whichShaw's role as a dramaticpropagandist limits his accomplishmentas an artist. Few criticsnowadays would agree withPercival P. Howe that the prefaceto Mrs Warren'sProfession renders the play unnecessary,'or would go so far as Alick West and analyze it in termsof a Marxist tract,2but thereis a decided tendency,not unencouragedby Shaw, to generalizeabout his productionsfirst in termsof theirmessage and onlysecond in termsof their esthetic texture.Such is certainlythe case withthis early play. Commen- tatorshave made threemajor points,all having to do with the play's message: (1) Shaw's intentionis to reveal that the guilt forprostitution lies moreupon societythan upon immoralwomen; (2) Shaw's premise,that prostitutesare forcedinto their pro- fessionby social deprivationand not by natural inclination,is inaccurate;and (3) contraryto scandalized contemporaryreac- tion,the play is highlymoral. The firstof thesepoints is clear and self-evidentfrom the preface,the play, and Shaw's socialisticbackground. In the preface, Shaw emphasizesthat Mrs. Warren'sgirlhood choice was between wretchedpoverty without prostitution or comfortand luxuries withit. The blame for the fact that she is offeredsuch squalid alternativesfalls squarely onto society: "Though it is quite natural and rightfor Mrs Warren to choose what is, accordingto her lights,the least immoralalternative, it is none the less infa- mous of societyto offersuch alternatives.For the alternatives offeredare not moralityand immorality,but two sortsof immorality."3 In the play, the societyof Sir George Croftsis clearly

1 Bernard Shaw: A Critical Study (New York, 1915), p. 114. 2A Good Man Fallen among Fabians (London, 1950), pp. 55-66. 3 Mrs Warren's Profession, Bernard Shaw: Complete Plays with Prefaces (New York, 1963), III, 923. Subsequent referencesto the preface and play fromthis edition will be in parenthesesin the text.

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions the villain.It is the societyof the well-to-dowhich derives its luxuriesfrom the suppressedlower classes and maintainsits self respectbecause it " doesntask any inconvenientquestions " (p. 84). The cureis implicitand obvious: changethe society,raise the standardof livingof the lowerclasses to give themgreater freedomand opportunity;in short,turn to socialism. The secondrecurring critical point seeks to refuteShaw's cen- tralpremise, not on groundsthat societyis uncorrupt,but that it is less responsiblefor prostitutes' corruption than the prosti- tutesthemselves.4 Shaw boldlybegins his prefacewith a state- mentof his intention: "MRS WARREN'SPROFESSION was written in 1894to drawattention to thetruth that prostitution is caused, not by femaledepravity and male licentiousness,but simplyby underpaying,undervaluing, and overworkingwomen so shame- fullythat the poorest of them are forcedto resortto prostitution to keepbody and soul together" (p. 3) . Such an assertion,say the skeptics,simply is not true-prostitutionhas survivedinto relativelyaffluent times, indicating that the motivebehind it is at leastas muchpersonal as it is economic. The thirdpoint, that the play is highlymoral, is no doubta criticalcounter-reaction to the Victorianshock which greeted it in its earlyyears. In Britain,censorship prevented its publicper- formancefor over threedecades, and in New York the cast of the firstproduction was arrested,the pressdescribing the play in suchcolorful terms as " illuminatedgangrene," " grosssensa- tion,">and " whollyimmoral and degenerate." The Victorian consciencehad beenthumped on two of its mostdelicate spots: itspurity, and its senseof economic respectability. And so critics have goneout of theirway to assertthat the play is, to thecon- trary,quite moral,its motivationbeing to reforma blindand corruptsociety.6 These threepoints are interestingbut ratherobvious, and thoughthey contain elements of truth,they do not fullycome to termswith the play. Shaw may be a propagandist,but in

4 See Maurice Colbourne, The Real Bernard Shaw, (New York, 1949), p. 1924;Joseph McCabe, George Bernard Shaw: A Critical Study (London, 1914), p. 175; and A. C. Ward, Bernard Shaw (London, 1951), pp. 59-60. ' See George E. Wellwarth, "Mrs. Warren Comes to America; or, the Blue-Noses, the Politicians and the Procurers," Shaw Review, II (May, 1959), 12. ' See St. John Ervine, Bernard Shaw: His Life, Work and Friends (New York, 1956), p. 9253;also, Archibald Henderson, George Bernard Shaw: His Life and Works (Cincinnati, 1911), p. 308.

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions practice,if not alwaysin admission,his emphasisin his playsis on fineart to achievehis ends,and certainlythe complexityand ambiguityof fineart qualifies,modifies and evencontradicts at timessimple, over-arching propagandistic conclusions. An art formwhich grasps the vitalrealities of life has morepotential as propagandathan a discoursewhich concentrates on intellectual verities.Thus Shaw remarks:" I am convincedthat fine art is the subtlest,the mostseductive, the most effectiveinstrument ofmoral propaganda in theworld . . ." (p. 7). The propaganda whichemerges from fine art, however, is certainlyfar different frompropaganda of the journalisticvariety which is too often gliblyattributed to Shaw. Shaw comments:" Mrs Warren's Professionis an economicexposure of theWhite Slave trafficas wellas a melodrama.. . . But wouldanyone but a buffleheaded idiotof a universityprofessor, half crazy with correcting examina- tionpapers, infer that all my plays werewritten as economic essays,and not as playsof life, character, and humandestiny like thoseof Shakespear or Euripedes?" 7 So althoughit mayappear in termsof the preface that Shaw puts the blame for prostitution on an economicbasis, and thoughit may similarlyseem that his motivesare basicallymoral, as theseattitudes are subjectedto art theybecome qualified, and consequentlyconsiderably more real and effective.Thus in the play Mrs. Warrenhas an inner vitalityand drivewhich keep herin the professiondespite eco- nomicindependence, and thusShaw can throwback thequestion ofmorality with the remark: "It is a profoundlyimmoral play, exceedinglyso; moreso thanmany of the people who have written aboutit reallyimagine. . . . The playis a conscientiouslyimmoral play."8 In sum,the preface is farless consequentialregarding the play than criticshave assumedit to be. It offersa finedisplay of Shavianstyle and conviction-itroundly blasts the censor,who actuallyhad objectedonly to thesuggestion of incestualinterest betweenVivie and Frank;it condemnssociety alone for prostitution,condemnation which the play revealsto be onlyhalf justi- fied;and it commentson the ironyof corruptNew York sup- pressingthe play. But thereal substanceof thematter is leftto theplay itself, and here true dimension develops. The playevolves

' Sixteen Self Sketches (New York, 1949), p. 143. 8 In Hesketh Pearson, G. B. S.: A Full Length Portrait (New York, 1942), p. 166.

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions on threelevels with a highdegree of success. First, moral allegory, withmuch of the archetypalenergy of a moralityplay, polarizes aroundVivie. Second,a firmrealistic level, immersed deeply in theproblem of the adjustment of the individual to society,polarizes aroundMrs. Warren.Third, through the adventureof the moralityplay and beneaththe tragedyof the realism,a deep- rootedcomic-ironic perspective leavens the tragedyand puts it in greatertouch with reality. The interpenetrationofthese levels givescohesiveness and depthto thetotal effect. As a moralallegory, the play mightwell have been entitled The Battlefor the Soul of VivieWarren. Throughout, as in the conventionof the moralityplay, Vivie-is confrontedwith suc- cessivetemptations, to someof whichshe temporarily succumbs, but all of whichshe at last transcends,achieving ultimate salva- tionin thefervent pursuit of her particular religion. A correlation can be drawnbetween Vivie and Shaw: Viviepursues independ- enceof habit in hercigars and whiskey,as did Shawin his teeto- talismand vegetarianism;Vivie hates holidays and wasterspre- ciselyas didShaw; Vivie has Shaw'sboundless energy, vehemence, and almostascetic dedication to work.Though it is not explicit in the play,Vivie has muchof the characterof a youngFabian socialistbeing tested by the vanitiesand vicissitudesof the way- wardworld. In fact,she had a Fabiancounterpart, Arabella Susan Lawrence,a cigar-smoking,monacle-wearing graduate in mathe- maticsfrom Cambridge who later was to becomeChairman of theLabor Party.9Vivie is not Everywoman,but she is probably EveryWoman who tries to makeher intellectual talents and in- stinctfor independence meaningful and remunerativein a man's world.As such,she is set upon by forceswhich seek to push herback into the more conventional role of womanhood. Repres- siveelements of Victorian society test her one by one. The temptationswhich beset Vivie,like those of a morality play,appeal to the mostbasic humandesires, each symbolized by one figure.That thisis to be no conventionalmorality, however,is establishedin the verybeginning. The ReverendSamuel Gardner,as thevoice of the Church, provides merely the plaintive bleat of atrophiedreligion, and is immediatelyand almostinci- dentallythrown over as beingtoo pettyand inconsequentialfor seriousconsideration. The divinegoal of the play is obviously 'See GeoffreyBullough, "Literary Relations of Shaw's Mrs. Warren,"PQ, XLI (January, 1962), 347.

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions not to be in termsof the Christiantradition. Vivie's rejection of it is implicitin Act I. The Church,in the imageof Samuel Gardner,has surrendereditself to intellectualbankruptcy and socialprestige. It has becomea fitreceptacle for the stupidsons of largefamilies. Regarding Vivie, Frank remarks to his father: " Everso intellectual.Took a higherdegree than you did; so why shouldshe go to hear you preach?" (p. 47). And Gardner's concernover social position indicates that the worldis dragging the Churchbehind it, ratherthan the Churchoffering dynamic leadership.The modernwoman, such as Vivie,has passedbeyond the crustinessof conventionalreligion by the sheerpower and advancementof her intellect.It is scarcelynecessary to throw religionover sinceit tendsto dropof its own dead weight.A finalblow is deliveredin Act II whenMrs. Warrentells of her church-schooltraining. The foolishclergyman of the church school had predictedthat sister Liz, lostin sin,would jump off Waterloo Bridge. Instead,Liz prosperedin prostitution.Rather than havingthem attain a goodliving and a respectableretirement, the clergyman,in the nameof Churchand society,would have had the girlsscrubbing floors for one and sixpencea day, comingto theirend in a workhouseinfirmary. As a vitaltemptation for a trulyintelligent person in the modernage the Churchis thus representedas a negligiblefactor, and this themefades out in Act III withVivie scarcelyconsidering it at all. Sir GeorgeCrofts offers Vivie a moretangible, generally far morepopular temptation than religion.He offersher exalted socialposition, backed up by money.The priceis also the re- ward-to becomeLady Crofts.In a parodyof Victorian commer- cial marriagetransactions, he offersvirtually to buy Vivie from Mrs. Warren,dangling not only money but his death and a wealthywidowhood as bait. As Gardnerrepresents the emptiness, pompousnessand hypocrisyof a Church incapacitated by its worldlyrepresentatives, Crofts represents the avariciousness,im- moralityand hypocrisyof a societywhich gilds its licentiousness, greedand corruptionwith money and social prestige.Thus Crofts may equate himselfwith the most elite-with a duke whoserents are earnedin queer ways,with the Archbishopof Canterbury,or withhis brother,an M. P. and factoryowner who underpayshis girlemployees so that theyare forcedto supplementtheir income as best,or as questionably,as they can. All society,from top to bottom,is compromisedin its unwillingnessto ask embarrassing

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions questionsabout its economicbase and in its persecutionof those who do. Mrs. Warrenrecognizes that the transitionfrom irre- sponsible,promiscuous gay youngblade to lecherous,dirty old man is merelyone of age. Vivie, with more clarity,sees that to sell her soul to conventionalVictorian prestigeand monetary respectabilitywould be to sell it far too cheaply. It would be to sell oneselfto the fundamentalcorruption of an entire social system. Far more subtle is the temptationof Mr. Praed, who offers Vivie the allurementsof travel and esthetics,or, as he specifically repeats,romance, beauty and art. The offeris made all the more temptingby the attractivenessof Praed's character,which is gentlemanlyin its responses,gently modulated, courteous and per- ceptive. As with the othercharacters, and in true moralityplay fashion,he is the walkingexemplification of the way of life he proposes. He is a believerin the eternalyouth and creativityof art,feeling himself born a boy in contrastwith Crofts, the mani- festationof aging society,who was born old. But Vivie rejects this temptationas basicallyforeign to her character.Three days of art in London, of the National Gallery,the Opera and music hall wereenough for her, causing her to flyto Honoria Fraser and actuarialcalculations. A fundamentaldifference of temperament is involved. To Praed, estheticsare the true reality;to Vivie, as her eyes are opened to the corruptionof the world,esthetics are merelya deceptivefroth concealing the brothelsof Ostend,Brus- sels and Vienna. Praed at last explainsthat his is the Gospel of Art and Vivie's is the Gospel of GettingOn. The situationis a precursorof the argumentin " Don Juan in Hell," with Vivie foreshadowingDon Juan's part, and Praed foreshadowingthe Devil's. Vivie's characteris one of action, of steeringthe ship, Praed's is one of inaction,of drifting;and as attractiveas the romanceand beauty of the latter may be, thereis implicitself- deceptionin it so far as Vivie is concerned,a constant danger that the ship may end on the rocks. The temptationof art, of Praed and Italy is overshadowedby the realityof social hypocrisy,of Croftsand Brussels, and it is consequentlyrejected as insubstantialand ineffectual. Love's youngdream, conventionally the greatesttemptation to an unmarriedyoung woman of twenty-two,is offeredVivie in the personof Frank Gardner.An affairhas apparentlybeen goingon forsome time of whichthe jarringlover's baby-talkof Act III

CharlesA. Berst 395

This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions is merelya retrogressivemanifestation. Frank, however,has not the Gospel of GettingOn. He is a drifter,consciously immersed in the waywardnessof society,too lazy to come to termswith it in any positiveway. Vivie recognizesearly in the play that she will eventuallyhave to get rid of him. Withouta dispositionto work,he is potentiallya Crofts.Significantly, the possibilitythat he is her half-brotheris less importantto Vivie than that he is intrinsicallyworthless, and thoughfeminine instinct momentarily causes her to relapse into lover's cooing, her dynamic mental disciplinetells her that romanticlove is an illusivepuff. It will not get the world'sbusiness done. Mrs. Warren-tempts Vivie witha lifeof independentluxury, a fulfilmentof all the materialand social desiresof a youngwoman. This offerhas the primeadvantage that it is not encumberedby a Sir GeorgeCrofts. All it calls for is a nominal amount of filial affection,or at least filial endurance. But Vivie is not willing to pay even this price. At firstshe is willingto grantfilial fond- ness,even slippingtoward sentimentality, when she learns of her mother'sdynamic, albeit unorthodoxrise to economicsecurity. Her mother'sstory appeals to herown instincts of workand enter- prise. But what would have been forVivie a means to an end of greaterfreedom, has been forMrs. Warrena fascinatingoccupa- tion,an end in itself,and financialindependence has led not to greaterthings but only to furtherinvolvement in the corruption of society.The staunchnessand visionrequired for the struggle up throughthe slime have not led to freshair, but ratherto a diving back into the filth. At the discoveryof her mother's continuedinvolvement in the business,Vivie's admirationand daughterlycompassion evaporate. Were she now to accept sup- port,knowing its source,she herselfwould be tainted,and, fur- ther,her instincts are all forfreedom unencumbered by the vani- tiesher mother offers as bait. She mustbe an unnaturaldaughter in orderto escape both the clingingVictorian bonds of duty to one's parent and the whole fabricof a societyin whichmoney can floatbrainless young creatures on a smoothriver of vanity and luxury. As a saleswomanof such things,there could be no more effectiveadvocate than an experiencedprocuress such as Mrs. Warren,but the wares she has to sell are too cheap for a thirdwrangler, idealist and New Woman. As a protagonistin a moralityplay, then,Vivie starts out in comparativeignorance of the world and progressesthrough a

396 Propaganda and Art in " Mrs Warren's Profession"

This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions seriesof temptationsand experienceswhich educate her, clarify- ing and purifyingher vision, leaving her at the end in a stateof self-knowledge,purgation and peace with herself,constituting salvation.The religionof the Philistines,encrusted with social servility,is rejectedin theperson of Reverend Gardner. The tra- ditionalVictorian motive of raising one's socialstanding through marriageis thrownover in the personof Crofts.The worldof estheticsand romance,with its inactionand passiveconcealment offoul reality, is allowedto go to Italy withPraed. Love's young dream,the idealismand passionof youthfulmarriage, is scruti- nizedby pragmaticintellect and dismissed,since Frank Gardner in his coasting,idle way,is its advocate.Luxury and filialaffec- tionare resolutely rejected in theform of Mrs. Warren when their attachmentsto social corruptionbecome clear. The common denominatorof all the temptationsis that they have become encrustedwith the thoughtless,squalid, inactive and hypocriti- cal elementsof worldly existence. Each in itsway is a dodgefrom reality,and Realityis thegoal of themorality play and ofVivie. The moralityfinds it in God; but thisGod has vanishedsome- wherein the IndustrialRevolution, the Social Revolution,and modernrationalism. Vivie finds it in as near an absoluteas she can determine-infacts, in hard,cold mindand in work,work, work.The activemind dealing in tangiblesbecomes the basis of salvation. In termsof a moralityplay, then,Mrs Warren'sProfession developscoherently and effectively,the action evolvinginto a spiritualtriumph for the protagonist.On a realisticlevel, however,the endingamounts to a tragedy,and althoughtemporal tragedytends to be involvedin many spiritualtriumphs, the inevitableirony is especiallystrong here since the realismis heavilyweighted and sinceVivie's spiritualgoal is a relatively modestone, infused with spiritual vigor, it is true,but diminished by an intrinsicmundanity. The moralallegory may be thestruc- turalidea behindthe play,but each of the charactersfunctions nearlyas well in life as in allegory,and the two levels act as sounding-boardsfor each other,creating the greaterdepth and realityof a synthesis. The'element of greatestinterest, revealing the highestdrama- turgicalskill on the realisticlevel, is the conflictbetween Vivie and hermother. On thislevel the focus,shifts away fromVivie and onto the vital difficultiesand ironiesof the conflictin a

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions mannerwhich ultimately gains for Mrs. Warrenthe sympathetic upperhand. Obviousflaws elsewhere in the dramaturgytend to fadeout in thetotal kinetic effect.10 Characters who have nearly equal independenceand importancein an allegoricalsense are, in theirmore realistic sense, unevenly subordinated to themajor conflict,although they still carry an echo of theirallegorical sig- nificance.Reverend Gardner is a puffy,foolish man, ineffectual as a fatherand a misfitas a clergyman,a pathetic picture of what twentyyears of playing a clergyman'srole will effect in a stupid, gay youngblade who was shuntedinto the Churchfor lack of a betterplace. Sir GeorgeCrofts' moral emptiness and greedare productsof his youngerdays and an indicationof the society whichendured him. In age thismoral bankruptcy emerges in the formof a worn-outlecher, leeringly wanting to settledown with a youngwife, offering the securityof moneyas a substitutefor thevirility of youth. His lechery,cynicism and temperare briefly and adroitlyset forthin ActII in an exchangewith Mrs. Warren regardingVivie-" Theresno harmin lookingat her,is there? And a baronetisnt to be pickedup everyday. No other manin myposition would put up withyou fora mother-in-law. Why shouldntshe marryme? . . . if you want a cheque for yourselfon thewedding day, you can nameany figure you like- in reason"- all of which,when Mrs. Warrencuts himdown, is erasedwith a savage" Damn you!" (pp. 58-59). Rottenrespect- ability,sustained both by moneyand family,weave his character intothe fabric of the social system, yet the leering, brutal bulldog has independentforce. Praed is less an individualthan a representativeof cultured societyand a sounding-boardfor the othercharacters. As an architect,he is naturallyapprehensive about Reverend Gardner's churchrestoration, he getsalong famously, offstage, with cultured Mrs.Gardner, and he offersVivie the broadening esthetic oppor- tunityof art and travel. He is morea gentlepressure than a positiveforce in the scene,respected by all, but scarcelyunder- stoodby them-theartist in a Philistineworld. Frank Gardner combinesa chronicirresponsibility with a sensitive,flexible appre-

1 The eatingarrangements of Act II, used as a device to shufflepeople on and off stage,are unnaturaland clumsilyhandled; Reverend Gardner's portrayal is too broad and obvious;Frank's melodrama with the gun in Act III is greatlyoverdrawn; and, in Act IV, Praed and Frank's seeminginnocence and surpriseat the fullnature of Mrs. Warren'soccupation does not ringtrue.

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ciationof his ownand others'worth. His lack of self-deception, his insolentboldness and his adaptabilityto circumstancecreate a vitalcharacter sketch deeper than that of a mereshallow youth, a categoryin whichhe could be easilydismissed. His poignant remarkto his fatherregarding Vivie-" Took a higherdegree thanyou did; so whyshould she go to hear you preach?" (p. 47)-would be insolentand shallowwere it not so insolentand true. Whenat last Frankgives up Vivie,he does so withsome genuinerealism and nobility-"I shallbe on shortallowance for thenext twenty years. No shortallowance for Viv, if I can help it "-to whichPraed responds-"'But mustyou neversee her again?"-and he piquantlyanswers: " Neversee heragain! Hang it all, be reasonable.I shallcome along as oftenas possible,and be herbrother. I can n o t understandthe absurdconsequences youromantic people expect from the most ordinary transactions " (p. 96). On threeseparate occasions Frank extols the virtueof character,a qualityhe has seeminglyabrogated, but one which he mustby implicationpossess to some degree,to be able to properlyrespect its superiority in others.His perceptionof Vivie's true relationshipwith her motheris instinctive,accurate and penetrating. It is theirony of Vivie'sevolution and a specialelement of the effectivenessof the play that as sheproceeds through illusion to realityon an allegoricallevel, she descendsfrom ignorance to illusionon a realisticlevel. In the meantime,her mother's great vitalityand unconventionalityascends throughout the play with emotionalpower and forcesa collisionof principlesat the end whichapproximates tragedy. When early in Act I Praed admires Vivie'soutstanding record in mathematicsat Cambridge,she dis- claimsits value as " grind,grind, grind," asserting that it has left herignorant of everythingbut mathematics.From this basis of ignoranceand mathematicsshe is suddenlythrust into a complex moralposition which for any balanced judgment requires substan- tialknowledge of the world. Naturally she turns to thetools she has at hand,which are mental and analytical.In heremotional world shewavers into sentimentalism toward her mother and babytalk withFrank, but invariablyshe catchesherself short, because to herstringent mental nature this is an area of retreat,of uncer- tainty,of hazardous loss of self-control. Since the various tempta- tionsshe encountersall requirethat to someextent she give up purerationalism and selfcontrol, she repulsesthem through fear

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions of a loss of reasonableorder. She recoilsfrom the worldof religion,of marriage,of artand hermother, less because she knows theirnature truly and intrinsicallythan because they are foreign to herand, instinctively, she does not likethem. Her antipathy is based on ignorance,not knowledge.She can perceivethem intellectually,and on these groundsshe passes judgment,but shecan in no sensetrust herself to knowthem emotionally. She claimsthat she is preparedto take lifeas it is, as a womanof business,permanently single, unromantic, with no illusions. In truth,when the moral complexityof her motherconfronts her, she finallyfalls in line withVictorian moral principles and rejects it. She deniesherself emotional involvement with her motheror Frank,turning to work and mathematicsas a young nun turns to devotionand God. Her Gospel of GettingOn is a rejection of life as illusory,an avoidance of that sensitiveimmersion in lifewhich is conduciveto a knowledgeableabsorption of it, that firststep whichis necessaryfor a true transcendence. Mrs. Warrensays that Vivie has been taught wrongon pur- pose, that she has been instilledwith a false view of lifewhich is quite removedfrom reality. This is manifestlytrue, and Vivie's awakeningis too abrupt forher to absorb the world,so she rejects the beautiesof Ostendand Brusselsmerely because thereare "private hotels" in those cities. The Brothelsof society blind her perspective.In facts,figures and morals she can draw sure lines,but in affairsof the heart she is uncertain,weak, and dis- trustfulof herself.Like Don Juan in Man and Superman,she equates the sentimentalworld with hell and illusion,and seeks a purerlife in the mind. But, less like Don Juan,there is a sterility and loss in herretreat, an evasion of the difficultiesand ambigui- ties of existence. Whereas on an allegoricallevel she findsher soul in mindand work,on the level of the worldshe loses her soul to cold calculationsand a negationof human emotion,inflicting ascetic contractionupon her own personalityand crueltyupon others.She thusis a near-saintand veryfoolish girl at the same time-interestingly,and ironically,not unlike Saint Joan, but withoutJoan's bold vision,warmth, strong compassion, and without Joan'sGod. The passages in Acts II and IV in whichMrs. Warrenreveals herselfto Vivie are two of the most notable instancesin Shaw in whichhe transcendsverisimilitude to powerfuleffect. By giving Mrs. Warrenheightened insight and eloquence,he achievesa bril-

400 Propaganda and Art in " Mrs Warren'sProfession "

This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions liant and penetratingportrayal of a vital humancharacter im- pressingitself upon the puttyof society.Early in Act II, Vivie had accusedher mother of being among wasters and withoutchar- acter.This misconception is speedily demolished, and Mrs. Warren emergesas themost dynamic individual in theplay, a true" career woman" antedatingVivie by at leasttwenty-five years. It would seemin Act II that Shaw's prefaceregarding the social causes of prostitutionis borneout: ratherthan the whiteleadfactory, thescullery, the bar, or evena jump offof WaterlooBridge, the mostsensible course for a poorand prettywoman is prostitution. Thereis moreself respect in sellingoneself, saving the proceeds, andliving to a comfortableold age thanin starvationand slavery. But by Act IV the premiseis modifiedif not quite refuted.It becomesapparent that Mrs. Warrenlikes her workand pursues it withmuch the same devotion and absorptionwith which Vivie pursueshers. Thus natural inclination emerges as nearlyas much a motiveas economics-lesssexual, perhaps, than some commen- tatorswould have- it, but surelyas deeplytied to a psychological need."' Vivie'sshocked reaction to thediscovery that her mother is still in the businessand her rejectionof her ultimatelytake two courses.On the one hand,she claimsnot to objectto the fact thatMrs. Warren must work in theline which destiny has thrown intoher path-each personhas his own occupationto follow- but,on theother, Vivie would not have lived one life and believed in another.Her motheris conventionalat heart,and thatis why Vivieis leavingher. But bothreasons are onlyhalf-truths, and revealVivie's actual eclipseinto irrationality.First, it is quite clearwhen she learnsfrom Crofts that her mother is stilla pro- curesspar excellencethat she experiences a revulsion close to Vic- torianpriggishness. In ActIV, sheclearly does blame her mother forcontinuing the trade: "Tell me whyyou continueyour busi- nessnow you are independentof it " (p. 102). Thereare all sorts oftraditional moral compunctions vibrating on thefringes of her reasoning.Second, it is clearthat indeed Mrs. Warrenis not a conventionalwoman at heart. She does cluckover Vivie like a Victorianmother hen, worrying about sunburn,marriage pros- pectsand daughterlyduty, but the foundationbehind all thisis scarcelyconventionality. Mrs. Warrenhas beatenthe Victorian 'I See BernardF. Dukore, " The Fabian and the Freudian,"Shavian, II (June, 1961), 8-11.

Charle8A. Berst 401

This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions systemat its own gameand knowsit. She has chosenan anti- social,anti-religious path, and thrivedon it in a " virtuous" society.The society,rather than repudiating her, sells itselfto her-prestige,comfort and luxuryare all to be had fora price. And Mrs. Warrenhas boughtthem for Vivie. A mother'saffec- tionin thiscontext is less conventionalthan it is biological.The conventionalwoman at heartmay be Aunt Liz, who sold out and wentinto respectable retirement. Perceptively, Mrs. Warren likensVivie to Liz-she has theair of a lady (p. 70). Certainly ifanyone is conventionalat heartit is Vivie. Mrs.Warren admits thatshe herself is toomuch of a vulgarian,too honest,too imbued withthe excitement of her work-in essence,she admits that she is less able to play the hypocriticalrole whichsociety demands as the priceof respectability.Ultimately, on thisrealistic level, shetriumphs over Vivie, calling the cards quite accurately, albeit over-emotionally:" Oh, I knowthe sortyou are . . . I can tell thepious, canting, hard, selfish woman when I meether. . . . I was a good mother;and because I made my daughtera good womanshe turnsme out as if I was a leper" (pp. 103-104). Bothemotionally and rationalisticallythe power of Mrs.Warren is feltafter she has leftthe stage. The justiceof the case has beenhers, if not the triumph. Shawhas filledMrs Warrenr'sProfession with cohesive parallels and themeswhich give the fabricof the play artistictightness. For example,the parallelsbetween Mrs. Warrenand Vivie tie the two togetherin a fineweb of paradoxesand ironies.Both have a compulsionto work,admire character and hate wasters; bothhave romanticillusions, Mrs. Warrenin motherhood,Vivie at firstin Frank,later in the purityof herwork; both desire to tell the truthabout prostitution;both condemn hypocrisy-and each sees it in the other.Recurrent themes of philosophicalim- portreverberate throughout: themes of who has characterand whohas not-Frank attributingit to Vivie,Vivie denyingit to Mrs. Warren,Mrs. Warrendenying it to commonprostitutes; whohas choiceand whohas not-Croftscorrupt because he had a choiceto investin theprofession or not, Mrs. Warren exonerated becauseshe had no choice;the theme of the profit of youth by the deathof elders-Frank by the deathof Reverend Gardner, Vivie by thedeath of potential husband Sir George,then by thedeath of hermother; and, finally,the frequentlyrecurring distinction betweenworkers and wasters.Both the structuralunity and

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions intellectualand estheticharmony of the play are enhancedby Shaw'sattention to suchdetail. Permeatingand subliminallycompromising both the morality playand therealistic level is a strongcomic element. G. K. Ches- tertoncalled the play " puretragedy," 12 but thisis onlya very partialview. Inherentlycomic potentialities of incongruityare rifethroughout: Reverend Gardner is the absurdcontradiction of a younggayblade grotesquely metamorphozed into an old clergyman;Crofts is a pathetic-comicrepresentation of the old lecherseeking to retrievevestiges of youth in a youngbride, much likeChaucer's January in The Merchant'sTale; Mrs.Warren is a vigorouswhore in the autumnof lifepursuing the ideal of Vic- torianmotherhood with as much tenacityas she pursuesher lucrativebusiness; and AuntLiz, a wealthyprocuress, is now a respectedlady ofWinchester, living near the cathedral, entrusted to chaperonegirls at the countyball. The comic elementof repetitionoccurs with wryness in a numberof instances:Crofts is backedinto cursing, " Damn you,"at Mrs. Warrenin Act II and again at Viviein Act III; on learningin Act III thatVivie knowsthe businessof the "private hotels" fromher mother, Croftsmutters " The old-" to whichVivie responds " Justso," and thesame pattern is repeatedwith Mrs. Warren and Viviein Act IV; the bandyingof the terms" wasters" and " character" in differentcontexts, achieving fine ironic ramifications, has been noted;and Vivie'sperception that her mother is tryingto entice herinto a lifeof luxurywith a repetitionof the same arguments she uses to allureyoung girls as a procuress,produces a lethal senseof contrast,incongruity, wry humor and horrorall at the same time. Humoralso appearswhen humans are likenedto animalsor inanimateobjects, such as in the repeatedreferences to Crofts'dog-like appearance, to Mrs.Warren as a sparrowand to Vivieas a steamroller. The sparrow,it willbe remembered, carriesconnotations of lechery. Most comicallytelling and important,however, is a sense of thehumorous which revolves around Vivie, jocularly compromis- ingthe seriousnessof herquest. Vivieis comicalin the manner whichHenri Bergson describes in " Laughter": any personbe- comescomic who loses vital,flexible contact with life and hu- manity,and takes on the attributesof an automatonor a machine.Vivie has vitality,and in thisthere is a degreeof growth

12 George Bernard Shaw (New York, 1962), p. 102.

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This content downloaded from 137.189.171.235 on Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:07:39 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions and seriousness,but herquest is ultimatelymore one of mental fixationthan of spiritualexpansion, and this fixationtends to reduceher image with comic overtones throughout the play, per- mittingthe dynamicemotional transcendence of her motherat theend. Fromthe first, she is theNew Womanwith a vengeance, lovingnothing better than a chair,whiskey, cigars and a detective storyfor her leisure, when she is notardently engaged in actuarial calculations.Her hardhandshake and hertough, uncompromis- ing,unesthetic attitudes make Frank's Act IV imageof heras a steamroller seem remarkably apt. In writinga novelas a sequel to Mrs Warren'sProfession, Sir HarryJohnston felt it necessary to makeher more human by repudiatingwhiskey and cigarsfor tea and cigarettes.13If a steamroller can rollover Crofts, Frank andPraed, what chance has a poorlecherous little sparrow? Mrs. Warrenis comicalin adoptingthe ill-fittingconvention of a Vic- torianparent, but thereis a warmth,a frailtyand humanityin herwhich trembles in the end at the rumbleof the mightyma- chine.Vivie rolls on to the conclusionwith her mental integrity scarcelybruised and heremotional integrity remarkably insular. In one sensethis makes her the victor.But it is a machine-like victory,and fundamentally absurd in a younglady. Mrs.Warren, withher more flexible and adaptablevitality carries ultimately the greatsympathetic insight, her dynamicsbeing more human andmore relevant to life. Each of thethree levels of moralityplay, realism and comedy in Mrs Warren'sProfession has its ownintegrity and consistency whileit compromisesand qualifiesthe others.The nobilityand purityof the moralityelement elevates the realismand the comedy,giving allegorical scope to the action,while at the same timethe realismand comedypull it downto life. The tragedy on therealistic level gains a good partof its poignancythrough the relativelyblind triumph of the allegory,yet bothare molli- fiedand givenperspective by contrapuntalcomic sensitivity. The comedyhas a lifeof its own.,but it is givena considerabledegree of pain-by the pathosof the realismand by its contrastwith theallegory, a pain which,perhaps, brings it closerto sympathy. The scope and depthof Shaw's artisticachievement, the play's finaleffect, lies in theesthetic tension of these divergent forces. Departmentof English, Universityof Alberta, Edmonton,Alberta, Canada

13Mrs. Warren'sDaughter: A Storyof the Women'sMovement (New York, 1920), p. 7.

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