Mrs. Warren’s Profession: The Author's Apology Summary & Analysis

In The Author’s Apology, George Bernard Shaw responds to the critical response to the first performances of Mrs. Warren’s Profession, which occurred in 1902, eight years after the play’s completion. Shaw says he knew when he wrote the play that it would be censored by the Lord Chamberlain because it indicts society and describes its complicity in the institution of prostitution.

Shaw contends that theater critics expect to see the subject of prostitution portrayed through a very specific lens and, when they saw it portrayed differently, accused him of advocating for prostitution. Shaw argues that, to the contrary, the standard portrayal of prostitutes as beautiful, tragic young girls who either kill themselves or repent of their ways makes prostitution as attractive as any other fate to poor women without other good options. His play, on the other hand, is a piece of moral propaganda meant to make people think about the real roots of prostitution.

Shaw continues to compare his play to other plays that pass muster with the censor and are more favorably viewed by theater critics. He says that the Lord Chamberlain allows plays to be staged that give a more positive portrayal of prostitution than his, because people like to be excited by tales of prostitution. Meanwhile, the Lord Chamberlain has no jurisdiction over classic plays that have been approved during other time periods, although these plays often contain very explicit references to sex. The censor also allows plays containing scenes of rape and incestuous lust, so long as they don’t show scenes of adultery, prostitution, or incest. Shaw contends that any censorship will skew the way a topic can be portrayed. Censorship is meant to protect current prejudices and systemic inequities.

Shaw gives a tongue-in-cheek apology to members of the audience who saw Mrs. Warren’s Profession in the hopes of being excited. He says that the Lord Chamberlain’s censorship of the play set up the expectation that it would be sexually arousing. Shaw also says his play must have disappointed those looking for a thrilling drama. He says that dramas should leave the creation of sublime aesthetic sensations to musicians and should instead concern themselves with how different people will interact when confronted with social problems.

Shaw says that those critics who criticize his characters as unrealistic are used to seeing characters behave predictably, instead of irrationally and based on temperament like real people do.

Shaw says that there are many critics who decided not to see Mrs. Warren’s Profession on the grounds that it is indecent. To these reviewers, he says that the play was produced only because women believed it was an important play to have staged, which suggests that the play’s perspective on issues impacting women resonated with them.

Next, Shaw takes on critics who contend that he didn’t make Mrs. Warren enough of a villain. This, he says, is precisely the point of her character. He intended to indict British society at large, not brothel owners in particular. To that end, he had Mrs. Warren argue that she had not chosen an immoral life, but had chosen one form of immorality over another, by choosing to live comfortably as a prostitute instead of starving and diseased in another occupation.

Another critic saw Reverend Gardner’s character as an attack on religion. Instead, Shaw explains, the depiction of the clergyman is an attack on the society that pushes men who aren’t suited to be clergymen into that profession. Shaw also means to highlight that Reverend Gardner produces a good-for-nothing as a son, while Mrs. Warren produces a hardworking, moral daughter. In this way, he hopes to point attention to the fact that to succeed as a brothel owner one must be intelligent and a good manager, while clergymen are selected based only on their social status and often have no moral authority whatsoever.

Shaw finishes his “Apology” by thanking the actors and supporters who decided to buck the Censor and put on the play despite many difficulties. The play is full of difficult roles, because they go against the usual stereotypes. Both Vivie and Mrs. Warren are unusual as heroines because they are practical Englishwomen, not Italian prima donnas. The villain (Crofts) is completely indifferent to his own moral failings. The kind and romantic lover of art (Praed) is portrayed as a silly middle-aged man who has never confronted the world as it really is. And the clever children Vivie and Frank have no respect for their elders, which will make children who do respect their elders worry that they are not clever and older people uncomfortable at what the younger generation must think of them.