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An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde summary and context
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This presentation contains notes on the play's summary, the author and the historical context.
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An Ideal HusbandRevision guide
, Summary
It all starts at a big, high-culture party. The wine is flowing, the lights are flattering, and the diamonds are twinkling. Sir Robert and Lady Gertrude
Chiltern, rising star couple on the political scene, greet the Who's Who of 1890s London as they mill about delivering bon mots. The surprise main
event is the arrival of Mrs. Cheveley. She's one of those women that gets talked about; she looks outrageous and radiates menacing charm. It
turns out that both Lady Chiltern and Lord Goring, the dandified philosopher in the play, know this lady from days gone by. They're not fans. But
Mrs. Cheveley doesn't care – she's not here for fun or friendship.
As everyone goes in to dinner, Mrs. Cheveley sits Sir Robert down and informs him that unless he reverses his public position on the Argentine
Canal she's invested in, she will blackmail him. She has a letter proving that as a young man, he built his fortune on the sale of state secrets. She
will happily show it to the press. Sir Robert freaks out and agrees to do what she wants. When Lady Chiltern finds out about his change of heart –
not knowing anything about the blackmail, or about Sir Robert's past missteps – she pressures him to go back on his promise to Mrs. Cheveley.
She won't allow him to compromise his principles.
So Sir Robert is caught between a rock and a hard place. If he does what Mrs. Cheveley wants, he'll lose his wife. If he doesn't do what Mrs.
Cheveley wants, he'll be exposed, losing his position – and probably his wife, too. Lord Goring thinks he should come clean to Lady Chiltern, but
Sir Robert doesn't have the chance. Mrs. Cheveley calls to inquire about a brooch she lost at the party. Lady Chiltern doesn't have it. (Lord Goring
does; he recognized and collected it the night of the party.) Irritated by Lady Chiltern, Mrs. Cheveley reveals Sir Robert's past: he built his fortune
on a crime. Lady Chiltern attacks Sir Robert and says she can't love a dishonest man. He counterattacks that she should never have put him on a
pedestal, that no man could survive her idealistic love.
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