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Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Act 2
Explanation and Analysis—Bed of Roses:
In Act 2, Vivie gets into a vicious argument with her mother about Mrs. Warren's past as a sex worker. In response to her daughter's upset, Mrs. Warren attempts to explain her point of view. In part of her justification, she utilizes both simile and metaphor to describe the realities of sex work to Vivie:
MRS WARREN. But she has to bear with disagreeables and take the rough with the smooth, just like a nurse in a hospital or anyone else. It's not work that any woman would do for pleasure, goodness knows; though to hear the pious people talk you would suppose it was a bed of roses.
In the above excerpt, Shaw features a simile ("nurse in a hospital") and related metaphor ("bed of roses"). These paired bits of figurative language serve to contrast pragmatism and romance. Mrs. Warren notes that "pious" people believe the sex work profession to be a "bed of roses"—an appealing source of temptation. The image calls to mind courtly love and passion. These images of sex work are misguided, Mrs. Warren observes—she approaches her profession not as a romantic, but as a realist, caring for her clients with the same clinical removal as a nurse might.
Related Themes:
Act 3
Explanation and Analysis—Stuck Like Bricks:
In Act 3, Frank contends with the clash between his family members and Vivie's. His mother, in particular, is a pious woman, renowned for her charity and good deeds as a Reverend's wife. Frank uses a simile to describe her:
FRANK. I don't know. Her journey to town looks as if she did. Not that my mother would mind in the ordinary way: she has stuck like a brick to lots of women who had got into trouble. But they were all nice women. Thats what makes the real difference.
In the above simile, Frank analyzes the contentious relationship between his own mother and Vivie's mother. While Frank's mother typically "[sticks] like a brick" to women who are in bad situations and in need of help, she makes an exception for Mrs. Warren. Even as a practiced philanthropist, Frank's mother finds it difficult to fulfill her religious missive of neighborly care when it comes to Mrs. Warren. This is perhaps due to the flagrant and unapologetic nature of Mrs. Warren's behavior. She is proud, in a manner of speaking, of her profession: it has permitted her financial freedom, along with the ability to support and educate her daughter. Mrs. Warren is far from repentant, a fact that likely grates at a pious woman like Mrs. Gardner.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Youth:
Toward the beginning of Act 3, Vivie and Frank discuss the matter of Mrs. Warren. During this conversation, Frank takes the opportunity to attempt to distance Vivie from her mother. In the following passage, Shaw uses simile in the stage directions as a means of characterizing both Frank and Vivie:
FRANK. [babyishly, lulling her and making love to her with his voice] Mustnt go live with her.
Little family group of mother and daughter wouldnt be a success. Spoil our little group.VIVIE. [falling under the spell] What little group?
FRANK. The babes in the wood: Vivie and little Frank. [He nestles against her like a weary
child]. Lets go and get covered up with leaves.VIVIE. [rhythmically, rocking him like a nurse] Fast asleep, hand in hand, under the trees.
FRANK. The wise little girl with her silly little boy.
In this excerpt, Shaw uses figurative language to compare both Vivie and Frank to small children: Vivie "[rocks Frank] like a nurse," while Frank's tone towards Vivie is described as "babyish," and he nestles against Vivie "like a weary child." This moment represents an interesting regression—both characters return to their youth, even as Vivie expresses her anguish at the thought that she will be forced to abandon her mother for the sake of propriety. Generational barriers assert themselves here, as though Vivie cannot help but return to her childhood self when faced with confronting Mrs. Warren.
Related Themes:
