Oscar Wilde does seemed to have had an seemingly endless amounts of witticisms coupled with lots of common sense. In this play, he again shows his uncanny ability to ferret out truth and apply the everyday ideas of what makes sense in the happenings of people and their relationships to one another. I always so enjoy his dedication to the concept of truth winning out in the end.

In this play, Wilde again presents us with the upper crust of society and shows it produced the very good along with the not so good. He also shows that oftentimes when we judge a person, even one who is a member of our own family, we oftentimes draw conclusions that could not be further from the truth. Wilde does like to explore the idea of marriage and in this play we do meet the happy couple where the wife idolizes her husband because of his integrity. The husband it so turns out was not so ideal as a youth, and the play deals with the couple coming to terms with what really constitutes love and acceptance.

I have to say, I am so happy to have been on the Wilde binge lately. I have so enjoyed reading him and thinking about how very clever and erudite he was. He certainly, for all his supposed faults, had a wonderful way of knowing people and discerning their faults and good points. Onto the next Wilde story for me as I have not for a second been bored by what I have read so far.

I read this one out of order because I started it, found it boring, and skipped it for a while. When I’d finished all his other plays I came back to it and persevered, and I’m so glad I did because I ended up really enjoying it! Slow just to begin with, then clever, witty, humorous and dramatic.

This was really good and I'm totally mad about it. Apparently I've gone soft with my ratings and give everything five stars now. But, whatever – here you go, Oscar Wilde, take your five stars for An Ideal Husband and go. I hope you're happy.

The Secrets of the Honourable Man
17 March 2019

tBefore I get into looking at this play, let us pay tribute to man of genius, and endless wit, who sadly died way too soon. A man that really doesn’t seem to fit the mould of your typical Victorian gentleman (though we should remember that he was actually Irish):



tI should also mention that I actually had the pleasure of seeing this play performed by the Melbourne Theatre Company last year and I have to say that it was delightful. Like all plays that I have seen, I have written a commentary on it in my blog (and a duplicate of it is also here, just in case Blogger goes the way of Google+). The thing is that I suspect that a lot of what I’ll say here has probably already been covered in my blog post, though I probably shouldn’t say that because it sounds as if I am suggesting that Oscar Wilde is shallow, and if there is one thing that the master of wit is certainly not, and that is shallow and one dimensional.

tYes, if there is one thing that Oscar Wilde is famous for and that is his wit. Yeah, sure, Shakespeare is just as quotable, and he has certainly influenced our language more than any other writer has done so (with, maybe, the exception of the King James Bible), but the major difference between Shakespeare and Wilde is that Wilde’s language is much, much closer to our own, meaning that it is so much easier to chuckle at. For instance, consider this one:

I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself

Or maybe this one:

Ah! The strength of women comes from the fact that psychology cannot explain us. Men can be analyzed, women...merely adored.

And then there is this one:

When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.

Yes, that is truly the genius of Oscar Wilde, and I probably could go on, but there is a whole page on Goodreads dedicated to quotes just from this one play, so I should leave it at that.

tI guess there is a bit of a problem with this play, and that that is that some parts of it are a little dated. The story is that our ideal husband, Lord Robert Chilton, a man of honour who is above reproach, has a rather dirty secret – basically he made his fortune by betting on the construction of the Suez Canal, when nobody else knew about it, and it was, well a state secret. However, it turns out that this scheme of his wasn’t exactly hidden, and a old acquaintance turns up threatening to expose him as the fraud that he is, unless he backs her project for a canal across Argentina.

tWell, while the Panama Canal has been around for about a century now, back in those days it was still not only a pipe dream, but considered to be nothing short of impossible, which is why supporting such a scheme would have been political suicide – much like Brexit seems to be turning out to be. Yet there is more to the play than just this one thing, because we also have Lord Goring, a guy who is living the good life, is being pressured by his father to get married. Oh, and then there is this whole thing about the ideal husband, and that is the fact that Lady Chilton thinks so highly of her husband, that if the truth were to come out then she would be shattered.

tI guess it would be fair to say that everything turns out well in the end, but one of the interesting things is that the idea is that people who seem perfect rarely are, and people who aren’t perfect, well, are probably less stressed out. The reason I say that is that we have dark and dirty secrets inside all of our closets, and the thing is that we really don’t want to be exposed. As they say, it takes a lifetime to build a reputation, and only a brief moment to completely destroy it. I guess that is why it can actually be better when our reputation has been destroyed because we still have the future to look forward to, whereas for the honourable person, they are always looking to the past, looking behind their back.

`tLord Goring is also a rather interesting fellow. He sort of stands out from your typical still and cold English Gentleman. The problem is that there is only so long that he can live the life that he is living. I can appreciate that, because the longer we live the life of freedom the older we get, and the less of an opportunity we have to settle down and, well, have a family. I guess that is a regret I have, because I never settled down, but in a way I still don’t really want to settle down – I like to travel. I guess the contrast here is that there is an expectation on Lord Goring, and that is for him to carry on the family name. I guess Lord Goring is quite fortunate that his father is so wealthy that he can afford to live an idle life, except for the fact that his father does have some expectations of him – namely to settle down and get married. Though this is something that I expect from most people living in the upper class, though it certainly seemed that Prince Harry enjoyed himself immensely before tying the knot with Megan.

tInterestingly, the idea of there being love in a marriage relationship is certainly scoffed up by Wilde. I’m not surprised though, because marriage has been for a long time considered as a means of legitimising children. This is no longer the case, which I consider to be a rather good thing because for too long too many people were excluded simply on the grounds of them being illegitimate. I still remember there being a time that if a couple became pregnant out of wedlock, they would hurriedly get married so that the child wouldn’t be considered illegitimate.

tYet in many cases, marriage is still considered to be something of a convenience, or at least it is in this play. It is something that people go into reluctantly, or at least people like Lord Goring do. Still, we have a look at the contrast with Lord and Lady Chiltern – they admire and love each other immensely, something that Goring seems to consider to be rather soppy. Mind you, I am still rather surprised that Lord Chiltern decided to confide in Lord Goring, because he certainly didn’t seem to be the type of person that I’d find all that trustworthy. Then again, that probably shows something of my prejudice considering that there is the indication that they do happen to be rather good friends.

Witty & clever dialog, but the play between Ideal/Idle/Idol doesn't work quite as well as Ernest/ernest/earnest - maybe because they're not quite homophones.

And a few bits of it feel forced, such as the timing of Mabel & Lord Goring's engagement, and the too-easy resolution of the letter plot, with Mrs. Chiltern's letter not having a salutation.

And, I think I would have liked to know what ultimately happened to Mrs. Cheveley. That particular plot thread was just left dangling once her blackmail schemes fell through.

This might be a play I'd enjoy more in production rather than reading it, since the witty dialog would stand out better and they might be able to make the pronunciation differences between ideal/idol/idle less obtrusive. I did attempt the Librivox recording, but it just didn't come close to capturing the humor, so I gave up partway through the first act and switched to print.

I have either read this previously, or perhaps watched a movie. This time I listened to it. It started sounding very familiar, and pretty soon I was was guessing what would happen.

Lady Windermere’s Fan is a much better play. This was okay, but apparently not that memorable.

When the name "Oscar Wilde" is brought into company, most people immediately think of "The Importance of Being Earnest," or "That fellow who was so witty," or "Oh, wasn't he really, really gay?"

What most people DON'T seem to think of is that Wilde's work was far from trifling (Earnest), more than witty, and often centered quite firmly around the difficulties of heterosexual relationships.

"An Ideal Husband" is a comedy. It's important to remember that when watching recent versions which like to make it too arch AND simultaneously too sinister. To read the play, one can enjoy all the witticisms and bon mots for which Wilde is justly famous. But beneath that clever exterior is more than a child in a handbasket (a la Earnest) but the difficulties, obligations, and complications with being a MAN in society.

Like Wilde's best work (Salome, Dorian Grey, etc.) the hero in "An Ideal Husband" is no saint, although he's perceived as one. And his youthful demons come back to haunt him in the form of blackmail. However, Sir Robert Chilton is a respected politician, a public figure whose whole persona is based around integrity. MORE, though - since we do not travel to Parliament with him, Oscar Wilde makes Robert a seeming paragon at home: a foil to his foppish friend, supporter of his sister-in-law, nearly worshipped by his wife.

Perfection is too much to bear. After trying to hide his past from his wife, Robert is forced by Lady Chilton to reveal the truth of his own shameful past. One cannot help but consider Wilde's own domesticity, his public persona - and what heartbreaking conversations were had behind closed doors. In one particularly moving speech, Robert begs his wife to allow him to be human, to be imperfect, and t be loved nonetheless. BUT - and here's what people forget about Wilde, presuming him to be nothing but a lush, Robert also asks his wife for help to overcome his current opportunity to backslide into his former depravity.

Wilde's personal voice always comes through the clearer in such soul-searching plays as these. His is the perpetual story of the woman caught in adultery, thrust at Christ's feet, who is ultimately spared, forgiven, and rebuked. I highly recommend anyone studying Wilde's works NOT to neglect reading them, not only in conjunction with the many biographies available, but ALSO in the light of his poems which he wrote in Rome, that are particularly revealing.

What's beautiful about Wilde is that he knew how to make us cry, even in the middle of our cultivated smiles.

eAudio from the library

Catching The Classics Group BOTM: Short Story Selection (Though actually it is a play)

Classic Bingo 2017: B2 Classic Comedy or Satire

This is the third example of Oscar Wilde's writing for me and I really liked it.

Oscar writing in full drama queen mode. Loved it.

IQ Lord Goring: "'I quite agree with you, father. If there was less sympathy in the world there would be less trouble in the world'
Lord Caversham: 'That is a paradox, sir. I hate paradoxes'
Lord Goring: 'So do I, father. everybody one meets is a paradox nowadays. It is a great bore. It makes society so obvious'" Act III

My second-favorite of the Society Comedies, I love that it went for a political scandal which seems especially appropriate and relevant to our (my) time. Plus it has a plethora of quotable lines and well-rounded characters that bounce off the pages. Its almost like a thriller, I was actually constantly kept guessing as to who the characters were going to circumnavigate each other and get what they wanted while remaining unscathed. I selected the quote that I did because I feel that it makes an astute point, that people try to seem cynical and extra complicated in order to seem interesting. The above quote goes with the one below too;

Sir Robert Chiltern: "'But may I ask, at heart, are you an optimist or a pessimist? Those seem to be the only two fashionable religions left to us nowadays'
Mrs. Cheveley: 'Oh, I'm neither. Optimism begins in a broad grin, and Pessimism ends with blue spectacles. Besides, they are both of them merely poses.'
Sir Robert Chiltern: 'You prefer to be natural?'
Mrs. Cheveley: 'Sometimes. But it is such a very difficult pose to keep up'", Act One.

Wilde once again illustrates how confusing and rude women can be to each other, with the devastating line sniffed by Lady Basildon in Act I, "Please don't praise other women in our presence. You might wait for us to do that!" I'm almost not ashamed to say that I've felt like that before when my guy friends notice a super attractive girl. Its not something I'm proud of and I am working on it. Back to the political scandal/thriller aspect of the story though, I love that Wilde talks about how public officials are not perfect which might have disconcerted quite a few people in his audience. It details ambition and the high price of success. When Sir Robert utters that "Every man of ambition has to fight his century with its own weapons", is he delusional or is he right? It goes back to the whole 'do bad things for the greater good' kind of argument. Make deals with shady people to get in public office and help lots more people. Is that ok? Its a complex issue that goes around and around.

A great play that still rings true today with a wonderful amount of wit and plot twists.

Other great lines:

Lord Goring: "But no man should have a secret from his own wife. She invariably finds it out. Women have a wonderful instinct about things. They can discover everything except the obvious", Act Two. Again this statement is completely accurate, its so frustrating how oblivious we women can be when it comes to men.

Mrs. Cheveley: "I suppose that when a man has once loved a woman, he will do anything for her, except continue to love her?"

Mrs. Chevely: "How you men stand up for each other!"
Lord Goring: "How you women wage war against each other!" Touche sir

"An Ideal Husband" is an 1895 play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and discusses the themes of public and private honour. After "The Importance of Being Earnest", it is regarded as his most popular play, and considered his dramatic masterpiece.

And I totally agree, this play is a masterpiece, indeed. I would still consider "The Importance of Being Earnest" my favorite, because as a whole it is much more consistent and well-rounded, but the characters in "An Ideal Husband" have stolen my heart in a way that no characters have before. Goring and Mabel are my trash children and they will forever be in my heart.

That doesn't mean however, that "An Ideal Husband" doesn't have problems, because let me tell you, it does.

Personally, I didn't like the first two acts. Like at all. I wasn't interested in the plot, moreover the dialogue seemed to drag. It was all political talk and unimportant chatter. I felt betrayed, I came here to have a good time, and all Oscar was providing me with were mindless characters, a boring narrative and a lecture on the House of Commons – oh boy, how was I fooled, beginning with the third act the play took a turn that I will never forget, but more about that later (when I'll talk about my trash children).

The biggest drawback of this play is its shitty sexist message, especially if you're comparing this play to "A Woman of No Importance", a play which impressed me with its feminist message and showed that Oscar was well ahead of his time. At the end of "An Ideal Husband" Goring professes "A man's life is of more value than a woman's. It has larger issues, wider scope, greater ambitions. A woman's life revolves in curves of emotions.", and left me stunned, I mean BITCH WHAT THE FUCK? Oscar, you can do better than that. Don't mess this shit up now, and don't destroy my love for Goring five minutes before the curtain drops.

There is no apology for such a message, so I won't provide one, but since Oscar is my little trash child as well and I have a lot of love for the man, I reflected a lot on why Oscar would have incorporated such bullshit in his work of art. This is just my personal interpretation, but I genuinely believe that Oscar wanted to show the upper-class society in its true form, and thoughts like the one from Goring mentioned above prevailed at the end of the 19th century. Men were allowed to work and vote, they took up all the places in the government, so yeah, they were seen as more ambitious and capable. Upper-class women were confined to dinner-parties, the hunt for a suitable husband and eventually her duties as a wife. So, by incorporating such messages in his play Oscar actually managed to show an honest picture of his reality, but still, it's shitty that he didn't refute it in the least, and as I said in the beginning, not excuseable.

So why has this play still gotten 4 stars from me? Well, one thing you have to know about me is that once I discover true greatness in a story, it changes me. It changes my views on literature. It changes the standards which I set for the literature that I consume. And let me reassure you, I found greatness in this piece.

I am not big on romance. I don't ship people. Everytime a possible love interest comes up in a story, I roll my eyes and hope that this particular sub-plot will be discarded by the author so that we can focus on much more important and exciting stuff. BUT Lord Goring and Mabel Chiltern swept me off my feet. Witnessing their flirtatious banter made me giddy, like giddy in the sense of "I cannot control myself, this is fucking adorable". I was grinning from ear to ear. It took me half an hour to read two pages because I marveled at every sentence. I laughed and laughed, and felt all warm and fuzzy inside. During Goring's proposal I wanted to be Mabel Chiltern, yup, pretty embarrassing for someone with a heart of stone, but I was all there for the romance. I am in awe at the chemistry and cheekiness that Oscar managed to create, I will never forget these two.

The reason why I love Lord Goring so much is that he is, supposedly, the dandy of the play, but he's just a dandy on the surface. Once we get to see his true character, it becomes clear that he is actually the most kind and vulnerable man ever, and that he loves Mabel in all earnestness. I loved his indignation after Mabel professed that his proposal had been the second proposal she received that day: "The second to-day? What conceited ass has been impertinent enough to dare to propose to you before I had proposed to you?" – MY HEART! And in the following lines when he begs her to be serious, because she just loooooves to tease him, you can totally see how anxious and unsure of himself he really is, and my heart just melted just then and there.n  

MABEL: Do you mean to say you didn't come here expressly to propose to me?
GORING: No; that was a flash of genius.
MABEL: Your first.
GORING (with determination): My last.

nOh my fuck, I can't breathe. The cuteness is killing me. *clears throat* I swear, I am trying my hardest to keep my shit together but these two... *swoons*

Another reason why I adored this play is its humour. Especially, well almost exclusively (lol), in Acts III and IV. I loved Goring's relationship with his father, Lord Caversham, and that his father always expressed his disappointmen in him in such a dry fashion:

n  MABEL: Oh! I hope you are not going to leave me all alone with Lord Goring? Especially at such an early hour in the day.
CAVERSHAM: I am afraid I can't take him with me to Downing Street. It is not the Prime Minister's day for seeing the unemployed.n

LMAO. That's my humour right there.

Lastly, I wanna talk about the autobiographical or foreshadowing touch of the play, because it deeply moved me. Throughout the entire play there is this theme of people being judged for their past mistakes, and that sooner or later everyones has to pay for past choices. "An Ideal Husband" was not only published at the height of Oscar's success, no, it was also published at the height of Oscar's excess – his sexual affair with Lord Alfred Douglas was in full swing, and would soon be coming to blows. Just three months after the opening night of "An Ideal Husband" Oscar was arrested for "gross indecency" (that is for his homosexuality). Stressing the need to be forgiven for past sins, and the irrationality of ruining lives of great value to society because of people's hypocritical reactions to those sins, he may have been speaking to his own situation, and his own fears regarding his (then still secret) affair.

As a primary propagator of aestheticism, Oscar rebelled against Victorian sensibilities, calling for a world judged by the beauty of its artifice rather than its moral value. The aesthete opted to forgo his dreary duties to society in the name of individual freedom and the pleasures of style and affectation. "An Ideal Husband" dramatizes this clash in value systems rather explicitly, continually posing the figure of the dandy against a set of more respectable characters. Oscar expressed his anti-uppar-class sentiments quite freely in this play. Lady Basildon and Lady Markby are consistently portrayed as absurdly two-faced, saying one thing one moment, then turning around to say the exact opposite to someone else. The overall portrayal of the upper class in England displays an attitude of hypocrisy and strict observance of silly rules.

So even though this play has some major flaws, I love and appreciate it very, very much for all of the happy feelings it evoked in me whilst reading it, and, of course, I will forever love the little rebel that was my little trash child, Oscar.

Very enjoyable. Very witty.