A Feminist Analysis of George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession: "The Concept of New Woman"

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Karabulut T.

Akdeniz 9th International Conference on Social Sciences, Adana, Türkiye, 01 Nisan 2023, ss.34, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Adana
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.34
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Mrs. Warren’s Profession is a problem play written in 1893 by the Irish critic and dramatist George Bernard Shaw, who introduced social realism to the British stage. First performed in 1902 in London, the text is a social commentary critiquing and satirizing the stereotypical Victorian norms. It introduces a “New Woman” type who rebel against the stereotyped female representation and male-chauvinistic conventions of the 19th century. Besides the themes of women rights, poverty, moral corruption and social and economic disparities, the play mainly centers on a controversial taboo topic, prostitution. Shaw dramatizes this profession over the two untraditional female characters, Kitty Warren, an audacious woman running a brothel to provide her daughter with a better life and education, and Vivie, a highly-educated and independent young woman, expostulating her mother for her profession. Reflecting Shaw’s feminist ideals, the text contributes to the development of the feminist movement and stresses that it is the social, economic and moral ills of the society, such as social oppression, lack of education, harsh working circumstances and low wages, which leads women to choose this profession. This paper closely analyses the text from the feminist perspective and links these two polar characters from separate classes to navigate the ways through which the concept of “New Woman” is represented. It is argued that these characters protest against the stereotypical female roles imposed on them, and struggle for an autonomous and self-sufficient way of life in order to survive and gain an identity as a “New Woman” within society.