I think George Bernard Shaw was mocking the socialist opinions of the time regarding women's place in life. I also feel he was mocking people who believed that money was what made them a "somebody". We see this many times in the play when Mrs. Warren preached to Vivie about the importance of financial well being. Not only to be able to support yourself, but to enable yourself to marry someone "worthy", meaning someone who …showed first 75 words of 424 total…

…showed last 75 words of 424 total…and sometimes not. Either way, it is ok by them. The second category is Mrs. Warren and Crofts. They want to be in a better social standing in the world, but they only way they know how is to make more money and show it off. All in all, I think Shaw was showing his contempt for the Mrs. Warren's of the world. I believe Viv, Frank and Pared better represented his thoughts and feelings.