Morality of the Upper Class in Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermeres Fan Lady Windermere's Fan is a witty commentary on the wiles of social properness in late 19th century England. Oscar Wilde was a flamboyant homosexual understandably critical of the norms of his day. Within the play, lie subtle and overt contradictions about the "properness" of the high born upper-class. During the Victorian period, strict rules governed mannerisms, protocol, etiquette, decency, etc. This decorum became too oppressive
Gray, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and The Importance of Being Earnest seem quite disparate. The first is horror, while the latter two are comedies; the first is a novel, while the latter two are plays; the list of the differences between the works could continue. The striking thing about these works, however, is that despite their differences, Wilde manages to unify their themes. Wilde uses the symbolism in each work—images of self in The Picture of Dorian Gray, the fan in Lady Windermere’s Fan, and the
Oscar Wilde’s social comedies are often said to have weak plots supported by brilliant dialogue and as far as scholars can exam, this criticism is valid (Ganz, 16). Throughout Wilde’s play, Lady Windermere’s Fan, various characters dialogue proves to be more brilliant and enriching than any depiction of the plot itself. The play is set and written during the Victorian era, and Wilde communicates the behaviour at that time "as it moves ethically toward transformative realizations about the limits
Oscar Wilde Symbols: Lady Windermere’s Fan and Earnests Handbag In the plays Lady Windermere’s Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde uses simple household items as symbols of complex themes and major plot points throughout his plays. Lady Windermere’s Fan represents her trust and the handbag Jack was found in is a symbol of family and lineage. The fan in the play Lady Windermere’s Fan is a symbol of Lady Windermere’s trust. It was first given to her by her husband, who she trusted
Point | Quote from Lady Windermere’s Fan | Analysis | Quote from Mrs. Warren’s Profession | Analysis | There are double-standards on society’s judgement of morality towards men and women | Action taken towards Lord Windermere when suspecting his involvement with Mrs. Erlynne-“take Windermere away at once to Homburg or to Aix, where he’ll have something to amuse him” and “feed the wretches well”vs. society’s view on Mrs. Erlynne upon suspecting her scandal-“these wicked women get our husbands away
Algernon and his butler, Lane, and from this point on the subject never disappears for very long. Algernon and Jack discuss the nature of marriage when they dispute briefly about whether a marriage proposal is a matter of “business” or “pleasure,” and Lady Bracknell touches on the issue when she states, “An engagement should
The Anomaly of Success that Leads to Failure “In this world, there are only two great tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” Originally coined by Oscar Wilde in his play “Lady Windermere’s Fan” is said by a character who is consoling another after being rejected by a girl, saying that getting what they want is the greater tragedy of the two and not getting it should be considered a more fortunate outcome. The history of the United States is comprised of the government
ENG 1001: ‘Nothing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you that. Yes, yes, it’s the most comical thing in the world’ (Samuel Beckett). Wilde, Shakespeare and Beckett incorporate two genres in their plays that nursed a strong intrigue-interest (Jones, pg 26) – comedy and tragedy. According to Aristotle in his Poetics, tragedy in a play is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude composed of plot, character, thought, diction, melody and spectacle, (Myers, pg
In Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde, Wilde reveals the changing nature of the late 19th century Victorian society through the characters values of gender roles, eliteness, and marriage. Through these values, Wilde exhibits gender inequality, the flaws of the socioeconomic classes, and the foolishness of marriage during Victorian times. Wilde uses humor with the Duchess of Berwick’s values to uncover the gender inequality during Victorian times. The Duchess of Berwick states, “Our husbands would
In Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, Lord Windermere must sacrifice his wife's trust in order to keep Mrs. Erlynne's secret. Lord Windermere is a devoted husband who would do anything for his young and beautiful wife. Unfortunately, this is how the plot's conflict begins to arise. The longer he keeps the secret of his wife's true origins, the more tangled the web of lies gets. Trust is one of the most important aspects of any marriage. Without it, the foundations will crumble, and doubts begin