the Lady Windermere's Fan study guide. - Shaw Festival Theatre

LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN
A Play About a Good Woman
by Oscar Wilde
EDUCATION PARTNER

Shaw Festival
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At the SHAW FESTIVAL THEATRE, we celebrate the work of an incredibly gifted playwright
named GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (he shall henceforth be referred to as Bernard Shaw, as that
was his preference).
If BERNARD SHAW was anything, he was a RADICAL REBEL WITH A
CAUSE. At the Shaw Festival, we celebrate the work of this and other
rabble-rousers.
Shaw wrote to educate people about social and political issues and to
inspire people to DO SOMETHING about injustice and passivity about
their circumstances. He took great pleasure in ruffling the feathers of
the establishment and getting people to think about social and political
issues.
That makes him COOL.
BERNARD
SHAW
Because we celebrate that, the SHAW FESTIVAL is also, de facto, COOL.
He was a subversive provocateur, and by extension, we are too!
Shaw said “… a civilization
can not progress without
criticism.”
He wrote and educated
people about the injustices
he saw in society.
Sometimes injustice takes
place because nobody knows
about it. Sometimes injustice
persists because people don’t
know what to do about it.
Are you aware of some kind
of injustice in your life or in
the world around you? If you
had unlimited power to fix
any unjust situation, what
would you do?
Theatre can change the world...
Theatre can change people who
can change the world.
-Jackie Maxwell,
Artistic Director
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
I WOULD_________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
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Synopsis
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“I suppose society is wonderfully delightful. To be in it is merely
a bore. But to be out of it is simply a tragedy.”
Lady Windermere’s Fan is a comedy of manners* by Oscar Wilde. We meet the typical Wilde
set -men and women of class and titles who are more concerned about charm and social
graces than they are the world around them. Their world is one of propriety and elegance,
attractiveness and, most importantly, surfaces; but beneath the glamour of high status and
class lurks a dark truth about human relationships, gender double-standards in the Victorian
era, and social alienation.
Lady Windermere, a young woman who has recently married into the upper class, is making
preparations for her birthday party. Her husband, to her consternation, insists that she extend
an invitation to one Mrs Erlynne. But the Lady has just recently become privy to gossip about
her husband’s strange relationship with this woman of ill-repute, and she refuses to reach out
to her. Lord Windermere protests and invites Mrs Erlynne anyway.
“Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.”
Gossip abounds at Lady Windermere’s party about the suspicious Mrs Erlynne. Lady
Windermere’s concern grows: can her husband and this woman truly be having an affair? She
is still madly in love with Lord Windermere, and what’s more, they have a young son.
Devastated at the possibility, she considers a proposal from Lord Darlington, who loves her
deeply and passionately. To say yes to Darlington offers the promise of an escape from what
may very well be a doomed marriage. Then again, this new romance may too fade, and leave
her, so to speak, in the gutter.
As Wilde observes, class in the Victorian era is the most important thing, and to uphold appearances
and propriety is law. The threat of social expulsion is a recurrent theme in much of
Wilde’s work. Characters are obsessed with status and graces and are cautious not to step outside
of established social boundaries.
Coincidentally (or, perhaps ironically) this foreshadows Wilde’s own troubles later in his career,
when he was put on trial in the wake of his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas. Not
even the author was exempt from this rule, and Wilde never fully recovered. As one character
explains, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
*Comedy of manners: a comedy that satirizes behavior of a particular social group, especially
the upper classes.
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About the Playwright
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OSCAR WILDE
Lady Windermere’s Fan was Oscar Wilde’s first theatrical hit, but he made himself famous well
before he created any notable work of art by actually being a work of art. Before he graduated
from Oxford, Wilde had turned himself into a living example of something called the Aesthetic
Movement. It was an ideology that believed that art should not seek to convey a moral, sentimental
or educational message but should give sensual pleasure. The aim was “to exist beautifully”:
Art for Art’s sake.
Wilde grew his hair long, dressed in outlandish clothes and wore a fake green carnation in his
lapel. He became what is known as a Dandy; a cynical, witty, flamboyant, and well-dressed
man. He was a hit at dinner parties and a celebrity before he ever really created anything. So
much so, that when Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience, a satirical opera on British dandies and the
aesthetic movement, was preparing for a run on Broadway, the producers recruited Wilde to
do a lecture tour of the United States. Basically, dandies didn’t exist in the U.S., so Wilde was
sent ahead of the opera to talk about aesthetics across America, with the idea that when the
show did hit Broadway, its audience would know exactly who it was making fun of. But, instead
of making fun of him, the American public loved him. In a letter home he wrote “Great
success here. Nothing like it since Dickens they tell me.”
By the time he returned to London, Wilde was ready to start practicing what he preached. He
wrote a book of poetry, moved on to some literary essays, and then wrote the novel The
Picture of Dorian Grey, which was heavily criticized for its decadence and homosexual
allusions. The Daily Chronicle called it “poisonous,” and “heavy with mephitic odours of moral
and spiritual putrefaction.” Though nowadays, many consider this to be Wilde’s greatest work.
It wasn’t until the play Lady Windermere’s Fan that Wilde received the artistic acclaim he’d
been seeking. After that, Wilde rapidly followed the next three years with a series of other hit
plays climaxing with The Importance of Being Earnest.
Many of Wilde’s plays are about the consequences of being forced out of society through
scandal. This recurring theme foreshadowed Wilde’s own impending fall. He had no idea that
in a few short years his own life would become the scandal of the century. In 1895, at the
height of his fame and while The Importance of Being Earnest was in its opening run, Oscar
Wilde was tried, convicted and imprisoned for gross indecency. He was sentenced to two
years’ hard labour for his intimate involvement with other men. He never saw his children
again and three years after his release, he died, impoverished in a Paris hotel room. He was
46 years old.
Upon graduating, his Oxford classmates asked what he planned to do with his life, Wilde responded
“God knows; I won’t be an Oxford don anyhow. I’ll be a poet, a writer, a dramatist,
somehow or other, I’ll be famous, and if not famous, notorious.” As it turned out he managed
to accomplish all of these things, and oddly enough, in that order.
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Who’s Who
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Lord Windermere
Played by Martin Happer
Regarded as the ideal
husband— until people begin
to question his relationship
with the mysterious
Mrs Erlynne.
Lady Windermere
Played by Marla McLean
The puritanical, principled
young wife of Lord
Windermere. Her black and
white view of the world is
challenged when Mrs
Erlynne, who is supposedly
wicked, sacrifices her own
reputation to save Lady
Windermere from social
disgrace.
Mrs Erlynne
Played by Tara Rosling
She is trying to find her way
back into society’s favour
after years of being outcast
and abroad. She is
regarded with suspicion by
everyone but Lord
Windermere. The uncertain
nature of their relationship
is causing ripples throughout
society.
The Duchess of Berwick
Played by Corrine Koslo
An aristocrat. She pays a
visit to Lady Windermere on
her birthday to deliver the
news that Lord Windermere
is having an affair.
Lord Darlington
Played by Gray Powell
In love with Lady
Windermere. He hints that
her husband, Lord
Windermere, has been
unfaithful in order to gain
her affection.
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The World of the Play
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“...nowadays so many conceited people go about
Society pretending to be good…”
-Lord Darlington
Womanhood
The play takes place on Lady Windermere’s 21st birthday. She has already been married for two years
and has a young child. Lady Agatha is merely 17 and her mother, the Duchess of Berwick, is trying
desperately to marry her off. Womanhood arrives early in the Victorian era. There is no adolescence.
These young ladies may not be much older than you!
A ‘Good’ Woman
The popular Victorian ideal of a good woman was depicted as someone devoted to domestic life and
to her husband. She was expected to be charming, gentle, sympathetic, self-sacrificing, pious and
pure. Lady Windermere holds herself to this high ideal - that is, until she nearly runs away and
abandons her family. Luckily, Mrs Erlynne intervenes.
Hypocrisy
Oscar Wilde satirizes the rigidity and hypocrisy of Victorian upper class morality (represented by Lady
Windermere) as too simplistic. People don’t typically have as much to do with goodness as they claim
to. Ironically, those who society considers to be immoral (Lord Darlington and Mrs Erlynne) are
actually shown to have a tremendous capacity for goodness - perhaps more so than those who claim
to have ‘high’ moral standards. It is, in fact, the society outsider, Mrs Erlynne, who sacrifices herself to
save Lady Windermere from her own lapse of morality.
In J.B. Priestley’s book The Edwardians, he explains the hypocrisy like this:
“...society did insist upon social discipline, upon a certain level of behavior, upon appearances being
kept up, no matter what went on behind locked doors. Thus one of its men, discovering that his wife
had a lover, might refuse for years to speak to her in private, while still playing the devoted husband in
public. Old titled families insisted upon a noblesse oblige attitude at least as far as outward
appearances were concerned. These people were expected to be ‘loyal to their class’ which meant
that they had not to be sufficiently foolish to be found out so that all manner of dreadful envious
people might jeer at them. Hypocrisy wore the cloak of social, even political, responsibility, political
because so many of these men sat, when they felt like it, in the House of Lords.”
READ/WRITE/DISCUSS:
Post-Show
What do you think it means to be a ‘good woman’ in society’s eyes (then and now)? A ‘good’ wife? A
‘good’ mother?
Has Lady Windermere set an unattainable ideal?
Do you think Lady Windermere’s idea of a good woman changes over the course of the play?
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The World of the Play
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The Season
The ’season’ refers to the social season, an annual period (May to July) when it was customary for elite
members of society to occupy themselves with shopping, paying calls, attending concerts, sporting
events, balls, parties and charity events. People who were ‘in society’ typically had country estates but
moved to a townhouse in a fashionable part of London for the social season.
London became a marriage market during the season. The season coincided with Parliament being in
session, as many of the men were involved with meetings at the House of Lords, but the main purpose
of the season was to arrange marriages. Balls and parties were held so that young men and women of
suitable backgrounds could meet. The children of nobility were pronounced eligible for marriage to
other members of their class. Once presented, a prospective bride would attend numerous balls and
parties, and if she didn’t marry within two or three seasons, she was considered a failure, and at 30 a
hopeless spinster.
The women of the family put careful consideration into introducing young people with compatible
interests and social standings. There was no dating - young people from respectable families did not go
to places together except in the company of other people.
The social season ended when Parliament recessed and families returned to their country estates.
Until the next social season began.
Paying a Call
This is what upper class women did to socialize. Calls were short visits women paid to one another as
a means of seeking further contact.
A lady never called on a man under any circumstances. It was considered improper and, if discovered,
would likely result in scandal.
Post-Show
READ/WRITE/DISCUSS:
What kinds of power do men have in the Victorian world? What kinds of power do women have?
Honesty is typically held up as an ideal to aspire to. Lord and Lady Windermere carefully calculate
when to be honest … and with whom, and they are not always honest with each other. As a result of
their choices, they risk tragedy, but ultimately, may have been saved by their secrets.
After seeing the play, discuss the following moral and ethical choices:
1) Is the Duchess of Berwick right to tell Lady Windermere about Lord Windermere’s relationship with
Mrs Erlynne?
2) Is Lady Windermere justified in cutting open her husband’s private cheque book?
3) Is Lord Windermere justified in not telling Lady Windermere who Mrs Erlynne really is?
4) Is Lord Windermere justified in insisting that Lady Windermere invite Mrs Erlynne to the party?
5) Is Lady Windermere right in not insulting Mrs Erlynne when she arrives at the party?
6) Is Lady Windermere justified in running away from her husband?
7) Is Lady Windermere right to not reveal to her husband that she went to Lord Darlington’s
apartment?
8) Is Mrs Erlynne right in not revealing her true relationship to Lady Windermere?
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A Who’s Who of the British Peerage
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Lady Windermere’s Fan takes place in the world of England’s aristocracy, a ruling class that numbered
about 1500 families. There was a fixed order of ‘precedence’ which was always observed: the King or
Queen at the top, followed by dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons. The ‘peerage’ is this
system of formal titles, which represents the upper ranks of British nobility. The holder of a noble title
(a peerage) is known as a ’peer’. Hereditary peers such as these automatically held a seat in the House
of Lords. A peer’s title generally passed to his eldest son, though the term “Lord” might apply sometimes
to his other sons.
A ‘commoner’ is someone without a noble rank or title.
Below is a list of noble titles ranked in order from highest to lowest:
Duke and Duchess
Either a monarch ruling over a duchy or the highest ranking form of non-Royal nobility.
HOW TO ADDRESS A DUKE/DUCHESS: as ‘Your Grace’ or ‘His/Her Grace’. Never call a Duke a ‘Lord’ as
that would be terribly insulting, implying a lower title.
Marquess and Marchioness
A senior title. The second highest rank of dignity.
HOW TO ADDRESS A MARQUESS/MARCHIONESS: ‘The Marchioness of Winchester’ or ‘The Most
Honorable The Marchioness of Winchester’.
Earl and Countess
The third-highest rank of dignity in the peerage.
HOW TO ADDRESS AN EARL/COUNTESS: He is addressed as ‘The Earl of Sandwich’ or , if you were good
friends with him, you could call him ‘Lord Sandwich’. She is addressed as ‘The Countess of Sandwich’
or ‘The Right Honorable The Countess of Sandwich’.
Viscount and Viscountess
The second lowest rank of peerage. Viscounts do not have an ‘of’ in their title.
HOW TO ADDRESS A VISCOUNT/VISCOUNTESS: Lord/Lady Coldwater
Baron and Baroness
The lowest rank of dignity in the peerage.
HOW TO ADDRESS A BARON/BARONESS: ‘Lord’ and ‘Lady’
A Lady who is a Baroness in her own right, can be referred to as Baroness as well as Lady.
In direct address they can also be referred to as ‘My Lord’, ‘Your Lordship’, or ‘Your Ladyship’, but
never as ‘My Lady’.
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Wildean Wit
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WILDE EPIGRAMS
An epigram is a brief saying or remark that expresses an idea in a way that is clever, witty and/
or memorable. Oscar Wilde was famous for his epigrams. Find a small sampling below.
Read the following Wildean epigrams aloud:
“There are moments when one has to choose between living one’s own life, fully, entirely,
completely - or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its
hypocrisy demands.”
“In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other
is getting it.”
“Misfortunes one can endure - they come from outside, they are accidents. But to suffer for
one’s own faults - ah! - there is the sting of life.”
“What is the difference between scandal and gossip? Oh! Gossip is charming! History is merely
gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.”
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
“I think life too complex a thing to be settled by these hard and fast rules.”
“A man who moralizes is a hypocrite, and a woman who does so is invariably plain.”
“If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad, it
doesn’t. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism.”
READ/WRITE/DISCUSS:
Post-Show
Divide students into groups of two. Assign a quote from above to each group.
Groups break out and discuss the meaning of the quote.
Put the quote into contemporary language, using your own words.
Each group leads a discussion with the class about its meaning.
Is there any truth in the saying? Why or why not?
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This painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, influenced the set design for the first act of Lady
Windermere’s Fan. The painting, more commonly known as Whistler’s Mother, was created by American
born painter James McNeill Whistler.
What are your general impressions of this woman as a mother?
Do you think she is affectionate? Warm? Distant? A disciplinarian?
In what ways does the use of this image in the first act illuminate your understanding of Lady
Windermere’s journey?
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This painting, Mother Berthe Holding Her Baby (1871) by Mary Cassatt, influenced the set design for the
Final Act of Lady Windermere’s Fan.
What are your general impressions of this woman as a mother?
Do you think she is affectionate? Warm? Distant? A disciplinarian?
In what way does the use of this image in the Final Act illuminate your understanding of Lady
Windermere’s journey?
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The Title: Lady Windermere’s Fan
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The play is entitled Lady Windermere’s Fan, suggesting that a ‘fan’ is of no small importance to
the plot. What is the importance of this seemingly trivial object? In the program essay for our
production, written by Neil Bartlett, he suggests that, like many of the objects presented in
the play which seem harmless enough (a locked bankbook, a sealed letter, a calling card, a
photograph), Lady Windermere’s fan proves to be very dangerous. As these objects are
passed from hand to hand during the play, they lure, mislead, blackmail and betray their
owners - they all contain secrets and lies. Even an object as trivial as a dance card can have
dire consequences - after a little manipulation by the Duchess of Berwick, a dance card condemns
Mr Hopper to a lifetime as her son-in-law!
The world that Lady Windermere inhabits is one where objects can’t be trusted, “a world built
over the gap between what things look like and what things mean”.
Note: every time someone picks up the fan it is accompanied by a threat or a lie.
A fan is designed to conceal or reveal its owner. It is an instrument of flirtation, but also one
which can be turned into a weapon - as Lady Windermere threatens to use it against Mrs
Erlynne.
What does Lady Windermere’s fan conceal? What does it reveal?
How does Lady Windermere’s fan betray her sentiments?
What does Lord Windermere’s bankbook conceal? What does it reveal? How does the
discovery of Lord Windermere’s locked bankbook betray his sentiments?
In whose possession is Lady Windermere’s fan at the end of the play?
PROP TABLEAU
Number of People: 3
Items Necessary: Props (3) (a fan, a letter, a bankbook)
Prompts Needed: 1 topic
• In groups of 3, players discuss the most exciting moment in the ‘life’ of their prop.
• Create a tableau about that moment.
• Create a before and after tableau that tells the story of the prop.
• Students present their 3 tableaux with a segue moment to connect the 3 tableaux.
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Glossary of Terms
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Vanities– excessive pride or admiration of one’s appearance or achievements.
Puritan– a member of the Protestant church, advocating strict religious discipline.
Sacrament– a religious ceremony or act of the Christian Church that is regarded as a sign of
divine grace.
Mercenary– motivated by the desire for monetary or material gain.
Mayfair– a fashionable district in the West End of London.
Oxford– a university located in Oxford, England.
Incessant– continuing without pause or interruption.
Aberration– a departure from what is normal or expected, typically one that is unwelcome.
Squander– waste in a reckless and foolish manner.
Entreat– ask earnestly or anxiously for something.
Egad– exclamation of surprise, anger or affirmation.
Deuced– used for emphasis to express disapproval or frustration.
Tory– a member of the British Conservative party.
Dowagers– a widow with a title or property derived from her deceased husband.
Entreaties– an earnest or humble request.
Hypocrisy– professing to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does
not conform.
Grosvenor Square– a large garden square in an exclusive district of London.
Infamy– an extremely poor reputation brought on by a shameful, criminal or shocking act.
Tyranny– unrestrained exercise of power; abuse of authority.
Insolent– showing a rude or arrogant lack of respect.
Expiation– compensation for a wrong.
Wire– a telegram.
Ignominy– deep personal humiliation, disgrace.
Blunder– a stupid or careless mistake.
Hansom– a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage.
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Sources
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Books
Priestley, J.B. The Edwardians. New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers, 1970.
Websites
SOCIETY
http://www.roverdramawerks.com/06_PastShows/gal_LWF/StudyGuides/Society.pdf
THE PEERAGE
http://www.avictorian.com/nobility.html
http://www.marysidneysociety.org/supper2006/peerage-table.html
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