# Frank Gardner — Mrs. Warren’s Profession character guide

> Frank Gardner in Mrs. Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Frank, Mr. Frank Gardner, Mr. Frank, Mister Frank, little Frank

**First appearance:** 0002-act-i

## Snapshot

A charming, penniless idler who woos Vivie with poetry and baby-talk, Frank is witty, feckless, and far more knowing than he lets on.

## Who they are

Frank drifts through the rectory and Vivie's Chancery Lane office with a schoolboy's insolence and a gambler's instinct for other people's secrets. He claims a 'freemasonry among thoroughly immoral people' that lets him understand Mrs. Warren as Vivie cannot, and his flirtation with Vivie is half genuine longing, half performance. His refusal to work and his readiness to marry for money make him both a foil to Vivie's discipline and a mirror of the world she is trying to escape.

## Relationships

### [Vivie Warren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se/characters/vivie_warren)

_romantic_

Frank pursues Vivie with flirtatious persistence, but she remains skeptical and independent, creating a tension-filled courtship.

### [Sir George Crofts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se/characters/sir_george_crofts)

_rivalry_

Frank and Crofts are romantic rivals for Vivie, with Frank mocking Crofts and Crofts viewing Frank as a frivolous obstacle.

### [Mrs. Warren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se/characters/mrs_warren)

_social_

Frank is charming and familiar with Mrs. Warren, but their relationship is tinged with underlying tension due to his pursuit of her daughter.

### [Rev. Samuel Gardner](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se/characters/rev_samuel_gardner)

_family_

Frank is the son of Reverend Gardner, and their relationship is marked by filial disrespect and Frank's mocking attitude toward his father's hypocrisy.

### [The Warrens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se/characters/the_warrens)

_social_

Frank interacts with the Warren family collectively as a neighbor and suitor to Vivie, often with playful familiarity.

### [Honoria Fraser](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se/characters/honoria_fraser)

_social_

Frank knows Honoria as Vivie's friend, and their interactions are polite but superficial.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se/characters/frank_gardner
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mrs_warren_s_profession_se/characters