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رد: third year english student second term
Q-4- how is the play a modern play? – thematically: the problem of man in the modern society- Victorianism versus anti-Victorianism- some philosophers affect Oscar Wilde's characterization: · Jeremy Benthan- Utilitarian · Hadonist · Immanuel Kant – technically: implications of expressionism – subtle drama- witty dialogue – mystery- ambiguity is a praise not a blame – anti- classical features: 4 acts- no classical allusion- neither prologue nor epilogue Modern drama it appeared as a reaction against classicism because it takes people backwards in ideas. the techniques , forms, themes and everything in modern drama is anti classists, nontraditional , against the traditional forms of drama. modern drama is always less than 5 acts. it is anti- classical as in classical , plays are divided into 5 acts. Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan is four –act play. Modern drama is implicit whereas classical drama is explicit. Modern drama is implicit and it contains subtle language, conveying subtle ideas, it is ambiguous , involving mystery and secrets. a modern play it is written for cultured audience In modern plays, There are open endings , or an unconcluded end it mostly have a few number of characters, that it could be reduced to one character or none. Oscar Wilde was a popular modernist. His modernist aesthetics appear in his works His aesthetics is non-mimetic, it is about a surface that distorts and lies. It is an aesthetics that rejects the notion of a genuine self, and that focuses attention on the woman of fashion/female-aesthete. The protagonist of Lady Windermere's Fan (1892), Mrs. Erlynne, is a female aesthete.
Also, I see Wilde's contribution as important because, by theorizing fashion and popular theater in terms of an aesthetics of surface, Wilde is able to conceptualize superficial ornament and public image in positive terms. He therefore enables a type of "modernist" art that can find a congenial setting in modern commercial culture. By looking at Wilde as a popular modernist, we can make sense of the curious fact that this bohemian anarchist ended up writing West End comedies about high fashion and elite society.
In plays, dialogue is often relied upon in order to reveal the morals, and values of its characters. Dialogue also plays a very important role in establishing the nature of the society the place takes place in. In Oscar Wilde’s satire Lady Windermere’s Fan, the dialogue is effective in doing just this, giving the reader the opportunity to make great incites regarding the inner workings of the three characters who speak.
One of the characters with dialogue in Lady Windermere’s Fan is Lord Darlington. Based on what he says, as well as what others say about him, Darlington is a rather laid back, carefree individual. This is backed up with his statement to Lady Windermere “I think that life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.” This quote can lead to the assumption that Darlington is a man who lives for pleasure. Darlington is also obviously very playful. This is seen in his reaction to when the Duchess of Berwick jokingly calls him wicked, where he quips “Don’t say that Duchess. As a wicked man I am a complete failure.” Throughout the course of the excerpt, he makes known the fact that he is a rogue.
Of the three characters who speak, Lady Windermere appears to be the most proper, stating “I will have no one in my house about whom there is any scandal.” Her prim nature is supported when she abruptly corrects the Duchess of Berwick when she refers to Windermere’s party as a ball, with the statement “Oh, you musn’t [sic] think it is going to be a ball, Duchess. It is only a dance in honour [sic] of my birthday. A small and early.” This statement suggests that Lady Windermere rejects the unstable atmosphere of big parties in favor of calmer, more stable ones.
Of all the characters, the Duchess of Berwick is the hardest one to analyze. She has limited lines of substance. However, this does not mean that she lacks any sort of character revelations in the excerpt. She is shown to be quite protective of her daughter, Agatha, stating that there are very few parties she feels comfortable taking her too. She is also shown to believe that it is in the nature of men to dominate over women, and as a result, women are forced to nag them in order to retain some sort of importance.
Aside from allowing for analysis of the characters, the dialogue reveals a great deal about the play’s setting as well. As revealed by the Duchess of Berwick, “I don’t know what society is coming to. The most dreadful people seem to go everywhere.” This statement means that society seems to be getting sleazier, with bad people becoming ever more common at parties, and thus more prevalent in society.
Oscar Wilde’s satiric play Lady Windermere’s Fan is a great source of dialogue which serves a great purpose in the overall dynamics of the story. Through the play’s dialogue, analysis can be made regarding its characters’ morals and ethics, as well as nature of the society they live in.
Q- 5- who influenced the play? Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was the preacher of Hedonism in the nineteen century. He called the British government to respect individual utility that brings happiness to oneself. According to his utilitarian philosophy, the welfare of the individual leads to the welfare of society.
Indeed, the issue of pleasure occupied the minds of both the Naturalist and Aesthetic thinkers in the 19th century. On the one hand, Naturalist hedonists seek physical beauty. On the other hand, Aesthetic hedonists search for spiritual beauty.
Lord Darlington and Margaret in Oscar Wild’s Lady Windermere’s Fan are both aesthetic hedonists who seek spiritual pleasure. They are inspired by the transcendental philosopher Immanuel Kant who claimed that one can transgress the physical laws and reach the sublime which is the utmost spiritual pleasure. Darlington is a nineteen-century dandy who stands for Oscar Wilde himself. He does not think of the moral issue while judging any action because he seeks spiritual pleasure. In act 1, he tries to convince Margaret that if her husband betrays her, it is her right to console herself by having another lover. Margaret is an aesthetic hedonist like Darlington. However, she is torn between aesthetic hedonism and Puritanism. Margaret’s puritan affiliation makes her think of the moral issue. She thinks if her husband betrays her, she would not betray him with another man for the sake of revenge. She believes sacrificing herself in marriage, whether happy or un happy, pleases God. To her, the ideals of patience and sacrificing are keywords for spiritual pleasure. The aesthetes were influenced by the 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant who highlighted the sublime. He believes one reaches the utmost pleasure through extreme pain such as the experiences of delivery and death. When one sublimates, one goes beyond the physical barriers and becomes spiritually high. In Lady Windermere's Fan, Mrs. Erlynne Sublimates when she sacrifices her mirage from Augustus and ruins her dream of regaining social respectability to save Margaret from disgrace. Technically, Mrs. Erlynne's sacrifice can be viewed as a symbolist device in the sense that the expiates her past sin when she has left her first husband and daughter Margaret for a lover. So, she relieves her guilty soul by self sacrifice. From a different point of view, Mrs. Erlynne's sacrifice is an impressionistic device for it presents ideal motherhood. She has been a bad irresponsible mother, but she plays the best role of a mother in Margaret's life. as an aesthetic writer and a hedonist we will find these characteristics in some characters of the play. We have somebody called lady Plymdale, she tries to talk to Arthur and Arthur is running after his wife . because he knows that he has upset her and he invites Mrs. Erlynne against her will . all the time he is running after her he wants to make sure that she does not make a scene, lady Plymdale said a comment that echoed the ideas and thoughts of Oscar wild when she criticizes society and says that there are no happy marriages in the Victorian society, Arthur is running after his wife everywhere as if they are happy together, so she says that she knows that there are no happy marriages in the 19th century Victorian society. marriages are built on betrayal . Oscar wild's voice is echoed here, his authorial voice is clear in lady Plymdale's criticism of the society. ( this part can be used in answering the question- How the play is impressionistic.)
This means that wild's style of writing is subjective, he uses lady Plymdale as his mouth piece to echo his ideas this is the opposite of the naturalistic drama completely . because Oscar Wilde is an aesthete , he is subjective . He expresses his feelings and he uses mouth pieces like his use of lady Plymdale.
Lady Plymdale is a married woman and we will know that she has an affair with Mr. Dumby. He is following her begging her not to make a scene to Mrs. Erlynne because he has invited her against her will. According to the Victorian principles Margret has to obey her husband she is suppressed she cannot say her opinion. she uses her fan to express her feeling .the fan becomes a tool for self expression .while Arthur is calling her, she goes and gives Darlington her fan . she goes to talk to Arthur giving Darlington the message and impression that she is infatuated with him. When she talks to her husband he irritates her ,because he talks favorably and well about Mrs. Erlynne. he forces her to deal nicely with her.
Margret goes back to Darlington and she was very angry, she took the fan from him and she dropped it in front of Arthur. She expresses her anger by dropping her fan in front of Arthur .the fan here is symbolizes Arthur's love as if she drops Arthur's love from her heart. Arthur picked up the fan and gave it back to Margret.
Then we have a conversation between Arthur and Mrs. Erlynne , this conversation is subtle this is a proof that our play is implicit:
[They converse together. LORD WINDERMERE moves uneasily about the
room watching MRS. ERLYNNE.]
He is unhappy of her presence. She becomes pale. She told herself a cowered she cannot insult Mrs. Erlynne. she went out to talk to Darlington and she complains to him about Arthur that he puts her under pressure. she starts to think that the idea of Darlington is right that he told her in act one , that if a lady is being betrayed by her husband she has the right to betray him. he is bohemian .he does not care that marriage is sacred. she starts to think about sin lightly because Arthur buts her under pressure . she starts to think about not taking sin as an issue of morality or immorality . she thinks of sin as a consolation to herself as a means to realize and achieve spiritual happiness .
In the 19th century, the British philosopher Jeremy Bingham proclaims his philosophy of utilitarianism .Bingham said that the government must respect the individual utility because individual utility produces pleasure and the individual pleasure leads to public pleasure. Jeremy Bingham has an influence on literature. There are utilitarian characters and hedonist characters, utilitarian characters like Darlington. He uses Margret to achieve his own pleasures. He loves her and he wants her although she is a married woman. He does not think of her family and her child. He only thinks about himself, and he uses the chance that she is very mad with Arthur. when she is angry with Arthur he instigates her to leave the house.
Q-6- how is the play classical? Neoclassical theatre follows what are called the unities. There are 3 unities. Unity of time, place and action. Unity of time means that Events in the play must be realistically able to occur within a 24 hour time span. Unity of place means that Setting for the play takes place in a single location for the entirety of the play. Unity of action means that There is only supposed to be one plot line in the play. There should be no subplots. Oscar Wilde wrote the play to challenge many common conceptions about theatre in the 1890s,” he said.
“Lady Windermere's Fan is a classic tale that was ahead of its time and has so many of the familiar Oscar Wilde characters that are always a joy to watch.
Lady Windermere’s Fan’ is an Oscar Wilde classic that showcases his trademark wit and is known as a charming, touching piece.
Oscar Wilde’s t play confronts the hypocrisy of public ‘morality’ compared with genuine, private kindness. The reasons for its popularity are not difficult to identify the play’s witty dialogue, its stylish setting provides opportunities for elegant presentation, and its cast of memorable characters play out a story which is genuinely moving.
Like many of Wilde's comedies, it is a satire on the morals of Victorian society. It has only one plot. The story is about Lady Windermere who discovers that her husband has an affair with another woman. She confronts her husband but he instead invites the other woman, Mrs. Erlynne, to her birthday ball. Mad at her husband, Lady Windermere leaves him for another lover. After discovering what has happened, Mrs. Erlynne follows Lady Windermere and attempts to persuade her to return to her husband.
The fan in the title can refer to both the physical object - which Lord Windermere buys for her as a 21st birthday present - and to her admirer, Lord Darlington - who gives her deeply flattering compliments and eventually reveals his love for her
Like many of Wilde's comedies, it is a biting satire on the morals of Victorian society, particularly marriage. The story concerns Lady Windermere who discovers that her husband may be having an affair with another woman. After she confronts her husband, he invites the other woman, Mrs. Erlynne, to her birthday ball. Angered by her husband's unfaithfulness, Lady Windermere leaves him for a lover. After discovering what has transpired, Mrs. Erlynne follows Lady Windermere and attempts to persuade her to return to her husband. In the course of this, Mrs. Erlynne is discovered in a compromising position. She sacrifices herself and her reputation in order to save Lady Windermere's marriage.
The two pillars of Oscar Wilde's dramatic writing, linguistic humor and social criticism, usually go hand in hand to make the readers laugh out loud and then shamefully admit that they in fact laugh at themselves, their own habits, faults, weaknesses and, let us admit it, lack of morality. Lady Windermere's Fan is one of his earlier dramas, so the plot is fairly simple and straightforward, with a little twist.
Wilde's drama takes place in a period of less than twenty-four hours, the play keeps the three unities. Concerning the unity of place, the scenes of the play are restricted to three locations (two rooms in the Windermere residence and Lord Darlington's rooms),
But in fact no one except for Mrs. Erlynne gives in to temptation, though she only did once in the past, that is before the play takes place, and would never repeat ‘’the error’’ having caused her so much pain, as she lost her only daughter (Lady Windermere), whom she abandoned as a little child to follow her lover. Lady Windermere unaware of all of this, was afterwards brought up with a strict moral education and is now the perfect reflection of her times moral thinking, but… she will have to know better …
concerning the unity of time, The comedy, (or shall we call it tragedy?) covers a span of no more than two days. Enough to Oscar Wilde, to ridicule the moral principles of English society and especially of marriages, o
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