Mrs. Warren’s Profession

by George Bernard Shaw

Mrs. Warren’s Profession: Situational Irony 1 key example

Act 2
Explanation and Analysis—Divine Sanction:

In the following excerpt from the end of Act 2, Mrs. Warren interacts tenderly with her daughter, though mostly for her own reassurance. She looks to Vivie for confirmation that she was a good mother; then, in a moment of situational irony, she promptly seeks validation from God:

MRS WARREN [fondly] I brought you up well, didn't I, dearie?

VIVIE. You did.

MRS WARREN. And youll be good to your poor old mother for it, won't you?

VIVIE. I will, dear. [Kissing her) Good-night.

MRS WARREN [with unction] Blessings on my own dearie darling! a mother's blessing! [She embraces her daughter protectingly, instinctively looking upward for divine sanction.]