Lady Windermere's Fan

By Oscar Wilde

"Lady Windermere's Fan" is Oscar Wilde's classic comedic play set in London in the late 19th century. It is the story of Lady Windermere who becomes jealous of her husband's interest in Mrs. Erlynne. Lady Windermere suspects her husband of infidelity, however unbeknownst to her, Mrs. Erlynne is really Lady Windermere's divorced mother who for the last 20 years was thought to be dead.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781596252844

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was a Dublin-born poet and playwright who studied at the Portora Royal School, before attending Trinity College and Magdalen College, Oxford. The son of two writers, Wilde grew up in an intellectual environment. As a young man, his poetry appeared in various periodicals including Dublin University Magazine. In 1881, he published his first book Poems, an expansive collection of his earlier works. His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was released in 1890 followed by the acclaimed plays Lady Windermere’s Fan (1893) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).

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LADY WINDERMERE'S FAN

By Oscar Wilde

A Digireads.com Book

Digireads.com Publishing

Lady Windermere's Fan

By Oscar Wilde

ISBN: 978-1-4209-2593-7

This edition copyright © 2005

This book and many others are also available in electronic format.

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CONTENTS

Biographical Introduction

CHARACTERS

THE SCENES OF THE PLAY

ACT I

ACT II

ACT III

ACT IV

Biographical Introduction

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is one of the most widely recognized names in British literature. An accomplished journalist, poet, storyteller and playwright, Wilde is also well known as the leader of the Fin de siècle (end of the century) aesthetic movement that helped shape modern Britain. But Wilde’s legacy is not merely about his aesthetic, as his dramatic personal life has sometimes overshadowed his literary accomplishments. He published widely, often to critical acclaim, before his life combusted in a controversial trial for indecent homosexual activity – a trial that saw the ruin of Wilde’s personal and professional success. Often, Wilde’s art imitates his life, both are complex and insistently demand the audience’s attention, and undoubtedly this dramatic demand is what fuels Wilde’s legacy today. Since his death in 1900, interest in Wilde’s private life, particularly his sexuality, his criminal offences and his imprisonment, have never waned. One critic sums up Wilde’s life by saying, His story is like a vivid Victorian soap opera with shocking twists and turns in plot lines, taking in on the way love, hate, sex, treachery, fame, success, conspiracy, blackmail, dramatic courtroom scenes, prison, redemption and finally death (Marshall).

Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1854 Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was the second son of the eccentric Sir William and Lady Jane Wilde. Sir William Wilde was a renowned philanthropist and surgeon, Lady Jane was a poet and fierce supporter of the Irish Nationalist Movement. In the mid 1860’s, Lady Jane published a series of poems denouncing the Irish potato famine, dedicating the collection to her two sons, Willie and Oscar. Lady Jane had always wanted a daughter, so following popular practice of the time she dressed Oscar solely in girls’ clothing for the first few years of his life. Wilde lived a quiet family life, marred only by the unexpectedly tragic death of his younger sister at the age of nine. He moved to Trinity College to study the classics at the age of 20. From there, Wilde went to study at Oxford, dropping his unfashionable Irish accent in favor of a stately English tone, and took a keen interest in fashion, particularly formalwear. He joined the Freemasons, as his father had done before him, and established himself as a dramatic aesthetician brimming with bitingly sarcastic wit.

Wilde thrived in London’s superficial, artistic circles. While his literary work was not well received, Wilde was in high demand at dinner parties due to his sparkling wit. Wilde later reflected that during this period of his life he strove to honor the Pater quote, To burn always with this hard, gemlike flame, to maintain this ecstasy, is success in life (Black). He strove to maintain its message in even the most mundane daily activities, which he desired to make beautiful. For the majority of his life, Wilde surrounded himself with elements of beauty, of art, and arguably, of surface vanity. He wore his hair long, decorated his home with peacock feathers and the frivolities of lilies and sunflowers alongside imported blue china. At the time, British culture did not like to be seen taking art seriously, and liked even less an artist who took himself seriously, as Wilde clearly did. Many critics of the aesthetic movement found interest in interior design, fashion, and art to be vacuous, and their arguments were only strengthened when Wilde made comments like, I find it harder and harder every day to live up to my blue china (Cohen). Despite the critics’ arguments, Wilde toured through Britain and then America lecturing on the value of aesthetics, beauty, and art. He earned a fair sum and returned to England with the hopes of propelling his future with literary works that would challenge the hypocrisy of society and embrace the delicate intricacies of artistic beauty.

Upon returning home, Wilde married an acquaintance, Constance Lloyd, and fathered two sons: Cyril and Vyvyan. Wilde adored his children and was a doting father to them, loving nothing better than conjuring up fairy tales to send them to sleep. After becoming editor of Woman’s World Magazine (for which he wrote a plethora of reviews and journalistic essays), Wilde published a variety of short stories and novels, including The Happy Prince and Other Tales, and later, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

On the surface, Wilde seemed to have it all: a successful job, a beautiful wife, two charming children. But underneath, his life was beginning to fray. After years spent lecturing aestheticism to the masses, Wilde’s home was expected to be at the cutting edge of fashion. But true fashion never comes cheap. Despite Constance’s generous £250 annual allowance (equivalent to £19,300 today) in addition to Wilde’s lectureship fees, the family struggled financially. Wilde lost interest in playing husband to Constance, and his homosexual predilections circled as scandalous rumors throughout his social circles.  In 1888, Wilde met the seventeen-year-old student Robert Ross and, despite their sixteen-year-age-difference, engaged in a romantic relationship with him. As Wilde gave in to his homosexual desires, throngs of young men, whom historians have said needed only be young, handsome, and in awe of Oscar’s wit and wisdom, gathered to make his acquaintance (Marshall). Remarkably, Constance appeared to have no knowledge of her husband’s homosexual dalliances.

In 1891, Wilde released the theatrical success, A Play About a Good Woman to such critical acclaim that he quickly became the most sought-after artist in all of Britain. This same year, Wilde met Lord Alfred Douglas (known as Bosie to his family) – the lover who would lead to his downfall. Bosie, who was known to be promiscuously homosexual, quickly introduced Wilde to the rough trade rent boys who would do almost anything for a quick buck. Many of these trade boys were seasoned blackmailers, and Wilde seemed to embrace the imminent threat of being discovered. Of his relationships with the prostitutes, Wilde famously said, It’s like feasting with panthers. The danger is half the excitement (Hyde). Many of Wilde’s close friends were alarmed by his seeming recklessness in the public sphere, and by the toxic influence Bosie

Reviews for Lady Windermere's Fan

[danielstj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This was Oscar Wilde's first success theatrically. I'm not usually a fan of comedies-- this one is no exception. The writing, although some parts of it were descriptive and dream-like, were generally lacklustre and unintriguing. I didn't feel connected to the characters in the least and the whole thing felt flat. I don't recommend this one.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5***

Lady Margaret Windermere has just come of age and is planning a birthday ball. A bachelor friend, Lord Darlington comes to call and she shows him the fan her husband has given her. The Duchess of Berwick arrives and tells Lady Windermere about the gossip that Lord Windermere is seeing a Mrs Erlynne on the side, and giving her large sums of money. Lady Windermere defends her husband against such malicious rumors, but as soon as the Duchess departs, Lady W searches her husband’s desk and finds a bank book with evidence that he HAS been supporting “that” woman!

Of course, this only sets up the series of misunderstandings, innuendo, rumor, coincidences and awkward situations to come.

Wilde was a master at writing this genre of play: a comedy of manners. The dialogue is witty and acerbic. The situations may be somewhat over-the-top, but they rely on the strict societal rules of Victorian England, when a married woman might receive a gentleman friend in her home, but would be publicly shamed and ruined if she was known to call on that same gentleman in his apartment. Neither would a divorced woman be received in any proper household.

I’ve had the pleasure to see this play performed on the stage and it was a complete delight. Reading it definitely suffers in comparison to the full experience of watching it, though I had my memories of the performance to think on. Much as I love Oscar Wilde’s plays, I don’t think this is his best effort. I much prefer An Ideal Husband (which has a very similar plot twist) or The Importance of Being Earnest. Still, if you have a chance to see one of Wilde’s plays performed, don’t pass up the opportunity.

[judithproctor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A lot of well known quotes, but I think I'd enjoy it more if I saw it on stage.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I love Oscar Wilde, but this, his first play, is lacking a little of his trademark comedy and wit. It is a comedy, does have some witty lines, but some of the satire is lost today. Maybe this is just a play that works better on stage than page.

[ctpress_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"I can resist everything except temptation.""Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.”After hearing L. A. Theatre Works production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” I had to try another one.Lady Windermere suspects her husband of having an affair with newcomer to town, Mrs. Erlynne - and then Windermere meet the woman the same evening at her birthday ball - but who is Mrs Erlynne? And should lady Windermere run away with the attractive Lord Darlington who is secretly in love with her?Lady Windermere’s Fan is typical Oscar Wilde - another comedy of manners in London upper class society with funny one-liners and witty conversation.The story is rather thin compared to “Earnest”, but I enjoyed every bit of it. Again I must praise L. A. Theatre Works for these audiobooks. I have already downloaded more of their productions at Audible.

[aulsmith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I usually find Oscar Wilde's plays to be written in a kind of gay code so that they look like one thing on the surface, but underneath are about the lives of queer people in Edwardian England. On the surface Lady Windermere's Fan looks like the story of a happily married couple whose life together is almost destroyed by a grasping yet loving woman. But it's really about having to live with secrets that, if known, would destroy your standing in middle-class Victorian society.

[hemlokgang · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A well-written coming of age tale. Witty repartee, a young wife's coming of age, and a mother's sacrifice combine for a touching drama. Wilde makes a clear statement about the impossible standards human beings believe they should be able to live up to.

[cmbohn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This play wasn't what I expected. I think I was expecting something like The Importance of Being Earnest, which is such a light and fluffy bit of fun. This one wasn't like that. There were still some very funny lines, like the familiar "I can resist everything except temptation," but the subject was more serious and the funny lines were just thrown in around the action.Lady Windermere has only been married 2 years. She and her husband married as a love match. But now gossip has linked her husband with an older woman. Lady Windermere can't forgive or listen to her husband's attempt to explain that it's not really like that. A tangle of complicated situations that can't ever be explained follow, with mixed results. I might enjoy it more if I saw it onstage. As it is, it was fun reading, but nothing more.

[varwenea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” — Lord Darlington“Lady Windermere’s Fan” is Oscar Wilde’s first successful society comedy from 1892. Though it is not as popular as his other works, it showcased Wilde’s sharp wit with numerous quotable quotes. Written as an epigram that explores the ideas of good vs. bad, rather the good can have bad qualities, and if the bad can ever do good, we find Lady Windermere in the leading role, pitted against the suspected lover of her husband, Mrs. Erlynne. In twenty hours’ time, the truth about Mrs. Erlynne is revealed, the temptation of Lady Windermere is resolved, and the views of men and women in then society is debated by Lords and Ladies. Wilde loved this play so much that he notoriously announced during the Premiere, “Ladies and Gentlemen. I have enjoyed this evening immensely. The actors have given us a charming rendering of a delightful play, and your appreciation has been most intelligent. I congratulate you on the great success of your performance, which persuades me that you think almost as highly of the play as I do myself.”I read the book before seeing the play performed, and I read it again afterwards. With the right cast and production, the words come alive and sparkle with comedic gems. Though the main plot isn’t applicable in today’s time (thank goodness), the numerous zingers deliver laughs and are at times thought-provoking. The characters are not deeply explored, which is not surprising given the play is fifty-two pages with sixteen characters. The play itself felt a bit silly initially but likely because I couldn’t get it through my thick head that it’s a no-no for a woman to be at a man’s home alone in 1892. Read the play if you have a chance to also see it; it is so much better that way. 3.5 stars in literature form + 0.5 stars in production formQuotes/Zingers!On Good vs. Bad:Lord Darlington: “Oh, now-a-days so many conceited people go about society pretending to be good, that I think it shows rather a sweet and modest disposition to pretend to be bad. Besides, there is this to be said. If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad, it doesn’t. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism.”Lord Darlington: “Do you know I am afraid that good people do a great deal of harm in this world. Certainly the greatest harm they do is that they make badness of such extraordinary importance. It is absurd to divide people into good and bad.”On Temptation:Lord Darlington: “I couldn’t help it. I can resist everything except temptation.”On Being a Wife:Duchess of Berwick: “…Our husbands would really forget our existence if we didn’t nag at them from time to time, just to remind them that we have a perfect legal right to do so.”On Life:Lord Darlington: “Because I think that life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it.” On Men:Duchess of Berwick: “… Now I know that all men are monsters. The only thing to do is to feed the wretches well. A good cook does wonders…”On Aging:Cecil Graham: “…My father would talk morality after dinner. I told him he was old enough to know better. But my experience is that as soon as people are old enough to know better, they don’t know anything at all…”Dumby: “The youth of the present day are quite monstrous. They have absolutely no respect for dyed hair.”On Marriage:Lady Windermere: “London is full of women who trust their husbands. One can always recognize them. They look so thoroughly unhappy.”On Women:Humorous given the epigram of this play – Lady Plymdale: “…It takes a thoroughly good woman to do a thoroughly stupid thing…”Lord Augustus: “I prefer women with a past. They’re always so demmed amusing to talk to.”Cecil Graham: “Well, you’ll have lots of topics of conversation with her…” (referring to Mrs. Erlynne)On Gossip:Cecil Graham: “Oh, gossip is charming! History is merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality. Now I never moralize. A man who moralizes is usually a hypocrite, and a woman who moralizes is invariably plain…”On Dating:Cecil Graham: “Now, my dear Tuppy, don’t be led astray into the paths of virtue. Reformed, you would be perfectly tedious. That is the worst of women. They always want one to be good. And if we are good, when they meet us, they don’t love us at all. They like to find us quite irretrievably bad, and to leave us quite unattractively good.”On Cynic vs. Sentimentalist:Cecil Graham: “What is a cynic?”Lord Darlington: “A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”Cecil Graham: “And a sentimentalist, my dear Darlington, is a man who sees an absurd value in everything, and doesn’t know the market price of any single thing.”On Experience:Cecil Graham: “…Experience is a question of instinct about life. I have got it. Tuppy hasn’t. Experience is the name Tuppy gives to his mistakes….”Dumby: “Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes… Life would be very dull without them.”On Ideals vs. Realities:Mrs. Erlynne: “Ideals are dangerous things. Realities are better. They wound, but they are better.”On Living Life with Good and Evil:Lady Windermere: “…There is the same world for all of us, and good and evil, sin and innocence, go through it hand in hand. To shut one’s eyes to half of life that one may live securely is as though one blinded oneself that one might walk with more safety in a land of pit and precipice.”

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

{rereading Lady Windermere's Fan, Feb. 2016} I am altering my rating of this play from 4* to 4½* (see my print edition of "The Plays of Oscar Wilde" for review) -- I had forgotten how many wonderful lines there were in the dialogue of this play. These raise it up but I still don't think it is as good as my favorite, The Importance of Being Earnest so I can't give it 5*.While my opinion of the play itself has been increased by this reread, I found some of the cast of narrators were not great. Nobody was dreadful but Mr. Hopper in particular was poor and I found Lord Windermere spoke too slowly and deliberately. Mrs. Erlynne (voiced by Elizabeth Klett) was excellent.

[alcracka · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not Wilde's best. The plot was pretty lame - done before, and with lots of those rom-com situations where you think "This would all be cleared up if they'd just talk to each other like normal humans" - but it's still Wilde, so it's still plenty fun to read and has lots of things you probably would have put as your high school yearbook quote if you'd read it back then.

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

"Experience is a question of instinct about life."

"There's nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It's a thing no married man knows anything about."

[clancy.coonradt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a wonderfully visual play that kept me interested in not only the outcome, but the very nature of each of the characters. The condensed nature of the intense revelations is both abrasive, and welcome. It allowed for a fast and easily understood plot that thickened like churned milk.

[atreic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oh, like so many comedies of manners you do just end up wanting to bang all their heads together, but this is clever and witty and at one and the same time heartwarming, yet deeply depressing. Is Lady Windermere doomed to repeat the mistakes her mother made?

[gmillar_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The best part is in the third act where the men are smart-mouthing and bouncing off each other. I like the cleverness of the conversation and the "Englishness" of the whole thing. It was a nice change for a play of this type to not finish in fairytale style.

[kakadoo202 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

not as entertaining to read as his other play. Dragged a bit.