Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde. It provides a thorough exploration of the play’s plot, characters and main themes, including the use of satire, the role of women in society and Victorian morality. 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 48-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Oscar Wilde
• Presentation of Lady Windermere’s Fan
• Summary of Lady Windermere’s Fan
• Character study
  • Lady Windermere
  • Lord Windermere
  • Mrs Erlynne
  • Lord Darlington
  • Duchess of Berwick
• Analysis of Lady Windermere’s Fan
  • The settings of Lady Windermere’s Fan
  • “A Play About a Good Woman”
  • Satire and society

About Lady Windermere’s Fan

Lady Windermere’s Fan was one of Oscar Wilde’s earliest theatrical successes. This morality play is centred on the titular character of Lady Windermere, who hears rumours that her husband is having an affair with a woman called Mrs Erlynne. When Mrs Erlynne shows up in person at Lady Windermere’s birthday party, she becomes increasingly despondent due to what she sees as this confirmation of her husband’s infidelity. The deeply ingrained hypocrisy of Victorian society is thrown into sharp relief as Lady Windermere tries to get to the truth of the matter, with unexpected results…

About Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was one of the best-known writers of the 19^th 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.