The Difficulty of Sympathizing: Wilde’s Presentation of Sir Robert and Lady Chiltern in Acts One and Two of An Ideal Husband. Ella Lacey 12th Grade

In Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, the narrative of drawing room interactions is used as a vessel to portray Wilde’s discussion of private versus public moral integrity and human nature through wit and a comedy of manners regarding upper-class of late Victorian England. The plot focuses in particular on Sir Robert Chiltern, a publicly respected upstanding politician, and his morally impeccable wife, Lady Gertrude Chiltern, after being blackmailed with a damning letter from his past, thus revealing certain facets of Sir Robert’s personality which went previously undiscovered by those closest to him. Acts One and Two delve into the characteristics of upper-class society and the issues relating to morals and humankind as both Sir Robert and Lady Chiltern unfold deeds of the past and struggle with the consequences at present. Wilde presents both prominent characters in a manner that prevents the reader from truly sympathising with either of them; Lady Chiltern’s unfaltering moral code and inability to compromise portrays her as cold and impersonal, while Sir Robert’s past actions prove questionable in comparison to his current public appearance.

In Act One, the tone is initially set for both Sir Robert and Lady Chiltern by Mrs...