An Ideal Husband
By Oscar Wilde
()
About this ebook
"Sooner or later," Wilde notes, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." But he adds that, "No one should be entirely judged by their past." Together with The Importance of Being Earnest, it is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest, it is his most popularly produced play.
The play opens during a dinner party at the home of Sir Robert Chiltern in London's fashionable Grosvenor Square. Sir Robert, a prestigious member of the House of Commons, and his wife, Lady Chiltern, are hosting a gathering that includes his friend Lord Goring, a dandified bachelor and close friend to the Chilterns, Mabel Chiltern, and other genteel guests. During the party, Mrs. Cheveley, an enemy of Lady Chiltern from their school days, attempts to blackmail Sir Robert into supporting a fraudulent scheme to build a canal in Argentina. Apparently, Mrs. Cheveley's late mentor and lover, Baron Arnheim, induced the young Sir Robert to sell him a Cabinet secret - which enabled Arnheim to buy shares in the Suez Canal Company three days before the British government announced its purchase of the company. Arnheim's payoff was the basis of Sir Robert's fortune, and Mrs. Cheveley has Robert's letter to Arnheim as proof of his crime. Fearing the ruin of both career and marriage, Sir Robert submits to her demands.
When Mrs. Cheveley pointedly informs Lady Chiltern of Sir Robert's change of heart regarding the canal scheme, the morally inflexible Lady Chiltern, unaware of both her husband's past and the blackmail plot, insists that Sir Robert renege on his promise to Mrs. Chevely. For Lady Chiltern, their marriage is predicated on her having an "ideal husband"—that is, a model spouse in both private and public life whom she can worship; thus, Sir Robert must remain unimpeachable in all his decisions. Sir Robert complies with the lady's wishes and apparently seals his doom. Also toward the end of Act I, Mabel and Lord Goring come upon a diamond brooch that Lord Goring gave someone many years ago. Goring takes the brooch and asks that Mabel inform him if anyone comes to retrieve it.
In the second act, which also takes place at Sir Robert's house, Lord Goring urges Sir Robert to fight Mrs. Cheveley and admit his guilt to his wife. He also reveals that he and Mrs. Cheveley were formerly engaged. After finishing his conversation with Sir Robert, Goring engages in flirtatious banter with Mabel. He also takes Lady Chiltern aside and obliquely urges her to be less morally inflexible and more forgiving. Once Goring leaves, Mrs. Cheveley appears, unexpected, in search of a brooch she lost the previous evening. Incensed at Sir Robert's reneging on his promise, she ultimately exposes Sir Robert to his wife once they are both in the room. Unable to accept a Sir Robert now unmasked, Lady Chiltern then denounces her husband and refuses to forgive him.
Read this complete famous novel for further story....
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on the 16th October 1854 and died on the 30th November 1900. He was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest.
Read more from Oscar Wilde
The Picture Of Dorian Gray Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/550 Great Love Letters You Have To Read (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A House of Pomegranates Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Comedies: Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, A Woman of No Importance, and The Importance of Being Earnest Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Works Of Oscar Wilde Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Picture of Dorian Gray Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Christmas Stories of All Time: Timeless Classics That Celebrate the Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDe Profundis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Poems Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Importance of Being Earnest: A Play Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Complete Works of Oscar Wilde Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Picture of Dorian Gray Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/550 Beautiful Christmas Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlood, Sperm, Black Velvet: The Seminal Book Of English Decadence (1888-1908) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGothic Classics: 60+ Books in One Volume Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOscar Wilde: A Life in Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Own Dear Darling Boy: The Letters of Oscar Wilde to Lord Alfred Douglas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Penny Dreadfuls MEGAPACK ®: 10 Classic Shockers! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to An Ideal Husband
Related ebooks
An Ideal Husband Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Ideal Husband (Warbler Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Ideal Husband: A Play Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Ideal Husband: Bestsellers and famous Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreatest Works of Oscar Wilde (Deluxe Hardbound Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Ideal Husband - Oscar Wilde Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Ideal Husband: A comedic stage which revolves around blackmail and political corruption Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Absentee Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Psychology Behind Hashish Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Woman of No Importance: A Play Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fontainbleau; a comic opera. In three acts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPride and Prejudice, a play Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe E.M. Forster Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFontainbleau Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord Arthur Saville's Crime: “I don't want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there.” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDryden's Works Vol. 3 (of 18) Sir Martin Mar-All; The Tempest; An Evening's Love; Tyrannic Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Inquisitor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrince Fortunatus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLove Works Wonders A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Letters of Her Mother to Elizabeth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Milady in Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Punch, Or The London Charivari, Volume 102, March 26, 1892 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Woman of No Importance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShe Stoops to Conquer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Marry Or Not To Marry: 'But if you knew the intended bridgegroom'' Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord Arthur Savile's Crime: Short Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
YA Drama For You
Dead Inside: A True Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Four Short Plays for Young People Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy: Jenny Han Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Plays for Youth Theatres and Large Casts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTime You Let Me In: 25 Poets under 25 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Triptych: Three Plays for Young People: Inspired by the Art of Paula Rego Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAct Against Bullying Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for An Ideal Husband
0 ratings0 reviews