An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (Book Analysis)
An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (Book Analysis)
Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide
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This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. It provides a thorough exploration of the play’s plot, characters and main themes, including forgiveness, the role of women in society and the tension between outer appearances and inner depths. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.
This clear and detailed 54-page reading guide is structured as follows:
- Biography of Oscar Wilde
- Presentation of An Ideal Husband
- Summary of An Ideal Husband
- Character study
- Sir Robert Chiltern
- Lady Gertrude Chiltern
- Mrs Cheveley
- Lord Goring
- Mabel Chiltern
- Analysis of An Ideal Husband
- Surface vs. depth
- Women, power and the domestic sphere
- The plea for social forgiveness in context
About An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband opens at a dinner party hosted by the respected politician Sir Robert Chiltern and his wife, Lady Chiltern. Although everything initially seems to be going smoothly, Sir Robert’s life is thrown into turmoil when he is approached by the conniving Mrs Cheveley, who informs him that she has found proof that he once sold government secrets to launch his career, and that she is intending to use this knowledge to blackmail him. Knowing that the success of his marriage rests solely on his wife’s consideration of him as an ‘ideal husband’, Sir Robert finds himself at a loss. It is down to the quick-witted Lord Goring, a friend of the Chilterns and an authorial stand-in for Wilde himself, to outfox Mrs Cheveley and save both Sir Chiltern’s reputation and his marriage.
About Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was one of the best-known writers of the 19th century, with works such as The Picture of Dorian Gray widely recognized as classics. He was a central figure of fashionable London society, known as much for his witticisms as for his writing. In spite of his apparent superficiality, he was an insightful critic and perceptive observer of human nature, as can be seen in his many works across a wide range of genres. 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.
Product details
ISBN | 9782808015554 |
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Publisher | Plurilingua Publishing |
Collection | Brightsummaries.com |
Format | |
Pages | 54 |
File size | 2.1 MB |