To what extent does Lady Windermere’s Fan offer serious criticism of contemporary social and sexual conventions? In Lady Windermere’s Fan, Oscar Wilde bitingly satirizes and ridicules the morals of Victorian London High Society and focuses particularly on the aspects of marriage. The play is a juxtaposition both comical and serious subject matters. Wilde examines sexual morality and gender politics throughout the play, especially through both of the characters of Cecil Graham, a typical caricature of the upper class and Mrs Erlynne, a lost character who is no longer accepted into society due to her reputation. Wilde criticizes the society he lives in during the time he wrote the play and uses characters to emphasize the inequalities of double standards mainly between the gender roles and how London High Society during that particular era was hard to get in to but easy to become an outcast.
That piece a wonder, now” (Mitchell 74). When he says “piece of wonder”, he shows that he appreciates the objects in art rather than the subject itself. Instead of calling the portrait “it” the Duke calls it “she” and “her” as if the painting is alive. Browning has a conflict between” the work of man and creativity the divine in man” (Mitchell 74).He believes his last Duchess was so perfect that he says his next bride will be “my object”. This expression means that nobody will compare to his last wife.
This concept is reflected and challenged in “Porphyria’s Lover”. The persona’s passive tone in “she put my arm around her waist and made her shoulder bare” shows how she’s in power and he is being controlled. This challenges the Victorian Era perceptions of women who are meant to be submissive. However, this power is later shifted when he strangles her. The repetition of “mine” in “that moment she was mine, mine”, shows how the persona views Porphyria as his possession.
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest mocks Victorian love and marriage through different characters in 19th century England, which is wittingly displayed using satire. Aristocrats such as Gwendolen and her mother Lady Bracknell both hold contrasting views, which includes what they feel is required in a life partner. Lady Bracknell strongly believes marriage is just a financial agreement and will not let her daughter marry a man who has no status in society. On the other hand, Gwendolen believes love triumphs over wealth, but Wilde seems to change her meaning of love. So is marriage really a result of love or can it be possible that it is simply just a business contract?
Through quotes from the book, the observation of womanhood is negatively seen by men in the play. It is true in history, women in royal families are somewhat sold to other nobles of state to aid their relationships diplomatically. Marriages by politics are common during thetime. It is used as a bond secondary to sending fortunes to increase the bond between nations and furthermore alliance. As Cordelia is sent to Duke of Burgundy as being banished from England, it is likely to say that she is banned from her father and her nation.
The duke’s rapacious nature can be seen many times throughout the poem, one of these moments can be seen from line 1 to 10 in the poem where he talks about who painted the painting and their reputation in the artistic world more than the subject of the painting. These references show how much the duke values wealth. After the duke has finished admiring the artwork of artist he goes on to talk about the innocent face of the duchess. Many strangers observe the painting and admire the honest, depth and passion of the duchesses face however in the quote “But to myself they turned” shows that the duke had completely different thoughts about the painting. The messenger wasn’t the first person to talk about the duchesses face and whenever people ask about the face he replies in a very intimidating manner.
LAdy Bracknell: Her major concerns where class and money. She did not like Jack because he didn’t know who his parents where making him not to know his social class. Mrs. Bracknell did not want her daughter to be married to a low social class man who could just be "interested in her daughters money". Later throughout the reading I was introduced to Cecily who was Jacks ward. She was "in love" with Algernon who was acting as if he was Earnest(i.e.
Through this, Charlotte Bronte implies that the women who rebelled against their role in society had a hard time finding people to relate to or be friends with. It is also clear that Jane’s desire to have an equal power relationship, which has homosexual undertones, with another masculine personality, is another reason for Jane’s failed female relationships, especially her negative relationship with Mrs. Reed. By showing Jane’s inability to have a female friendship with any women of her acquaintance, Charlotte Bronte implies that equality in Victorian society is rare or even impossible. Jane’s female cousins are not capable of having an intense relationship with Jane that fulfills the criteria of Jane’s ideal relationship. While Jane and her cousins appear to have a strong relationship with each other as they enjoy participating in the same activities and having the same opinions in their conversations, which Jane claims to find “a reviving
In ‘My last duchess’ love is shown as a very strong emotion because of the Duke’s possessive love for his ‘last duchess’. He showed disapproval when she smiled at other men or when her ‘looks went everywhere’. The Duke felt that as he had gifted her ‘his nine-hundred-years-old name’, she was his possession and that her smiles and her beauty should only be for himself. This shows how the Duke’s love was very selfish and arrogant as he thought of her as a trophy to show off as if he did not truly love her. This may have been the case as in the 14th to 16th century when the poem was set, women were treated like this and a man would choose his wife taking great consideration into the wealth of her and her family.
The above quote is basically saying that women are inferior and should be treated as such. This mind set ruins his relationship with an actress, Sibyl Vane, when he completely shuts her out because she put her Heitzwebel 2 love for him above her love of acting. His rejection leads her to commit suicide, which Henry later says that he envy’s; he wished a woman would be so foolish as to kill herself for love. Undoubtedly, Dorian becomes the embodiment of Lord Henry’s philosophies of the artistic life. As Francois de La Rochefoucauld