MRS Warren’s Profession’dan Press Cuttings’e: George Bernard Shaw’un Oyunlarinda Kadin Sorusu

Abstract

George Bernard Shaw, who introduced social realism to the British stage, is considered to be the most significant playwright of the Victorian era. In his plays, he challenged the typical Victorian representation of female characters and introduced a new woman type who stands as a powerful and independent figure. Shaw's female characters can be analysed in line with the suffragette movement, the fight given by British women to gain their right to vote. In this regard, Shaw's play Mrs Warren's Profession exemplifies a female character who can be considered as an advocate for female liberation and power. On the other hand, his play Press Cuttings, which was specifically written to support the suffragette movement, neither exemplifies the new woman image presented by Shaw in his plays nor contributes to the suffragette movement. Hence, this study aims to discuss the theme of the rights of women and to focus on George Bernard Shaw's Mrs Warren's Profession and Press Cuttings by means of Shaw's involvement in and support for the suffragette movement from the Victorian to the Edwardian era.