Nick's Discussion Prompts for June 28th

Discussion Questions 28/06/11

Lady Windermere’s Fan pp. 385-430

1.	In our discussions of The Picture of Dorian Gray what it had to say about youth and experience were one of the focal points of discussion. In Lady Windermere’s Fan the topics of age and experience again crops up. In particular on page 418, Cecil suggests that age has nothing to do with experience. In contrast to The Picture of Dorian Gray what, if anything, does Wilde say about age in the play?

2.	The character of Mrs. Erlynne is an interesting one. She clearly is described as having sex appeal and of having a strange kind of control over the majority of the male characters in the play. Yet by page 425 we see the youth of her character is a façade and she just looks somewhat young. What do you make of Oscar Wilde giving so much power and beauty to an aging character?

3.	On page 430 Wilde concludes the play with lord Windermere declaring that Lord Augustus is “marrying a very clever woman!” While Lady Windermere states that he is “marrying a very good woman!”  What might Wilde be saying about Mrs. Erlynne here? Is Wilde trying to say something about the function of morality versus intelligence?

4.	Continuing On the topic of morality, throughout the novel characters make disparaging remarks about morality as Cecil does on page 416. Yet these comments often are made in good humor. When more serious discussion is had like on page 427 Mrs. Erlynne says that “Ideals are dangerous things. Realities are better,” and on page 429 when Lady Windermere warns against ignorance of either good or evil. Wilde seems to be discussing morality in not nearly such a black and white manner. Yet throughout the novel many remarks are made at the expense of the serious person. Do you think Wilde would have us believe the serious or not so serious conversations on morality?

5.	In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde had few female characters and treated those that he did have poorly. In Lady Windermere’s Fan, both the protagonist, and many of the secondary characters are women. The character most in control of events in the play, at least at times, is Mrs. Erlynne. Yet the play also draws contrasts between the sexes, especially when it comes to morality. What is the place of women in Lady Windermere’s fan and has their position improved from The Picture of Dorian Gray?

6.	Near the end of our discussion yesterday Dr. Foss mentioned that many critics saw a very strong commentary on the upper class in Victorian Society in Wilde’s society plays. Lady Windermere’s Fan takes place almost exclusively among the upper ranks of British society. Oscar Wilde, as lavish as his life style was, is not really a member of the upper class. Do you see Wilde more as the outsider looking in at the frivolity and absurdity of the upper strata of Victorian Society or is Oscar far more involved, inserting himself into the work and seeing himself as part of the upper class?

7.	Continuing on this line of reasoning, being a proponent of style, lavish living, and the aesthetic and decadent movements himself, do you see the play being more a critique of Victorian society, a purely aesthetic work, or a little of both?

8.	Marriage is a topic of discussion throughout the play and the reader is exposed to a variety of marital situations. Lady Windermere and Lord Windermere married for love but struggle none the less, the match of Lady Agatha and Mr Hopper is ambiguous, but seems to be far less about love, Lord Augustus has been married and divorced on several occasions and Mrs Erlynne left her husband for another man who then left her. Yet in the end all marriages seem to end happily enough. What is Wilde trying to say, if anything, about the institution of Marriage?