An ideal husband analysis. An Ideal Husband Act II Summary and Analysis 2022-10-10
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"An Ideal Husband" is a play written by Oscar Wilde in 1895. It is a comedy of manners that centers around the themes of honesty, morality, and marriage. At its core, "An Ideal Husband" is a commentary on the expectations placed on men and women in Victorian society, and the ways in which those expectations can conflict with personal desires and values.
The main character of the play, Sir Robert Chiltern, is a successful politician and the epitome of an "ideal husband" according to societal standards. He is handsome, intelligent, and well-respected in his community. However, his perfect image is threatened when a woman named Mrs. Cheveley arrives on the scene with a damning secret from Sir Robert's past. Mrs. Cheveley reveals that Sir Robert made his fortune by selling a government secret, and she threatens to expose him unless he supports a fraudulent scheme she is backing.
Sir Robert is faced with a moral dilemma: he can either betray his principles and support Mrs. Cheveley's scheme, or he can risk ruining his reputation and career by telling the truth. Ultimately, he decides to come clean and confess his wrongdoing to his wife, Gertrude. Sir Robert's decision to be honest with his wife and take responsibility for his actions is a key moment in the play, as it showcases his growth and development as a character.
One of the central themes of "An Ideal Husband" is the idea that honesty and integrity are essential qualities for a truly "ideal" husband. Sir Robert's initial decision to keep his secret demonstrates his willingness to prioritize his reputation and career over his personal values. However, through the course of the play, he comes to understand the importance of honesty and confesses his mistake to his wife. This decision ultimately strengthens their marriage and allows them to rebuild trust in each other.
Another theme of the play is the role of gender expectations in Victorian society. Mrs. Cheveley is a scheming and manipulative character who uses her femininity and sexual appeal to try and get what she wants. On the other hand, Gertrude is a more traditional and supportive wife who stands by her husband even when he makes mistakes. These portrayals of women highlight the ways in which gender roles were rigidly defined in Victorian society, and the pressure placed on women to conform to certain expectations.
Overall, "An Ideal Husband" is a thought-provoking and entertaining exploration of the complexities of marriage and morality. Its themes of honesty, integrity, and gender expectations are still relevant today, making it a timeless classic that continues to captivate audiences.
An Ideal Husband Act II
And now you have got to pay for it. Sir Robert cannot buy his way out of his predicament and Mrs. His wife could demand that he rent a cave somewhere for them to live in so he's not tempted by power again. The two often quarrel about the role of women in society, creating a deliberate juxtaposition to illustrate the differences in Victorian and Edwardian views of women. I thank heaven poor Lord Radley died without knowing that I betrayed him. I think of their loathsome joy, of the delight they would have in dragging you down, of the mud and mire they would plunge you in.
CHEVELEY elevating her eyebrows : Then life has taught you nothing? For example, the detail of the incriminating letter from the past and the blackmail scheme on which the plot turns are melodramatic flourishes. His purpose in the play appears to be to have given the English audiences of the time something French to snicker at. Act 1 The action of An Ideal Husband takes place within about twenty four hours. And perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not. He has committed an immoral act in order to insure his social success.
The reader never views Hedda directly. This suggests she is real and earthy as opposed to the artificial Watteau women. Sir Robert passionately proclaims that this was her mistake, and one that all women make. The magazines that chronicled the goings on about town in London began to satirize and parody Wilde. As Lady Chiltern orders her to leave, Sir Robert enters from behind.
Historic Context: An Ideal Husband Study Guide (Oscar Wilde) — BookCaps
Cheveley, having spent many years in Vienna, all too sweetly expresses her eagerness to meet Sir Robert. Wilde's characters' wit is often epigrammatic. Thus both Lord Goring and Sir Robert Chiltern should be seen as representing different aspects of Wilde's own character. Wilde criticizes this philosophy throughout the play by effectively making wealth useless. And yours is a very nasty scandal. Source: Robert Keith Miller, "Feasting with Panthers: The Rise and Fall of Oscar Wilde," in Oscar Wilde, Frederick Ungar Publishing, 1982, pp.
Lord Caversham Character Analysis in An Ideal Husband
Re-establishing the conjugal household, this resolution numbers among the more sentimental and conservative of Wilde's day. The huge success of the play brought Oscar Wilde into the forefront of theatre, and that same year he released The Importance of Being Earnest, his most successful play. Although considerably longer than either Lady Windermere's Fan or A Woman of No Importance, it proved to be an enormous success. Cheveley now appears, and believing that this must be the woman his employer is expecting, the butler ushers her into the drawing room. Get him to tell you how he sold to a stockbroker a Cabinet secret. The past qualifies man's pride; it gives an objective picture of any man's life. But, luckily for Chiltern, Lord Goring, his faithful friend, is able to foil Mrs.
Phipps, Lord Goring's butler, is described as a "mask with a manner," one who "represents the dominance of forms. Goring, described as a "flawless dandy" by Wilde, provides an interesting and highly instructive counterpoint to Sir Robert. Cheveley has invested is a scam, but Lord Chiltern's project was not. While participating in postmodernity's deconstruction of these narratives, the author also dialectically links them to the non-discursive or material reality at the time of their initial production; i. This was the result of his years as a dandy and his entire adult life as a cutting wit. Whilst after a decade, women started to step away from what was considered the norm, what was considered the ideal life. However, his relationships with men scandalized his narrow-minded contemporaries, and after serving a two-year prison sentence, he died in poverty and obscurity in Paris in 1900.
She introduced Wilde to Irish poetry and neo-classical painting and sculpture at an early age. He was put into this public position due to the success of his plays which challenged Victorian earnestness while being hilariously funny. The past, in the form of Mrs. A house, everything in which has been paid for by fraud. You all go over like ninepins—one after the other. Most recent books on Wilde by literary scholars tend to focus on narrow, specialized subjects.
Lady Chiltern wants an ideal husband, which is a man who fulfills his husbandly role perfectly and who is, as well, an ideal human, i. However, before he can do this, his father is announced. Sir Robert Chiltern speaks in character when he insists on the idea of a compartmentalized life: "… public and private life are different things. Cheveley forms the basis of the plot for An Ideal Husband. Obviously, the perfect specimen of any given thing is an ideal specimen of the thing. Lady Chiltern also believes that when women love men they worship them; by doing so, such women require that their men conform to their ideals of what is great.
