Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde,

first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first
published in 1893. Like many of Wilde's comedies, it bitingly satirizes the morals
of Victorian society, particularly marriage.

The story concerns Lady Windermere, who discovers that her husband may be having an affair
with another woman. She confronts her husband but he instead invites the other woman, Mrs
Erlynne, to his wife's birthday ball. Angered by her husband's unfaithfulness, Lady Windermere
leaves her husband for another lover. After discovering what has transpired, Mrs Erlynne follows
Lady Windermere and attempts to persuade her to return to her husband and in the course of
this, Mrs Erlynne is discovered in a compromising position. It is then revealed Mrs Erlynne is Lady
Windermere’s mother, who abandoned her family twenty years before the time the play is set.
Mrs Erlynne sacrifices herself and her reputation in order to save her daughter's marriage. The
best known line of the play sums up the central theme:

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
—Lord Darlington
Contents

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 1 Composition

 2 Synopsis
o 2.1 Act I

o 2.2 Act II

o 2.3 Act III

o 2.4 Act IV

 3 Productions
o 3.1 Premiere

 4 Themes

 5 Media

 6 Adaptations

 7 In Music

 8 References

 9 External links

Composition[edit]
By the summer of 1891 Wilde had already written three plays, Vera; or, The Nihilists and The
Duchess of Padua had found little success, and Salome had been censored. Unperturbed, he
turned from tragedy to comedy and decided to write another play.[1] He went to the Lake District in
the north of England, staying with a friend and later meetingRobert Ross there. Numerous
characters in the play appear to draw their names from the north of England: Lady Windermere
from the lake and nearby town Windermere, the Duchess of Berwick from Berwick-upon-Tweed,
Lord Darlington from Darlington (though Wilde had used "Windermere" earlier in Lord Arthur
Saville's Crime).[2] Wilde, at the prodding of Sir George Alexander, the actor manager of St
James's Theatre, began writing the play.[3] By October the play was finished and he offered it to
Alexander.[4] Alexander liked the play, and offered him an advance of £1,000 for it. Wilde,
impressed by his confidence, opted to take a percentage instead, from which he would earn
£7,000 in the first year alone (worth £644,500 today).[5][6]

Alexander was a meticulous manager and he and Wilde began exhaustive revisions and
rehearsals of the play. Both were talented artists with strong ideas about their art. Wilde, for
instance, emphasized attention to aesthetic minutiae rather than realism; he resisted Alexander's
suggested broad stage movements, quipping that "Details are of no importance in life, but in art
details are vital".[7] These continued after the opening night, when at the suggestion of both
friends and Alexander, Wilde made changes to reveal Mrs Erylnne's relationship with Lady
Windermere gradually throughout the play, rather than reserving the secret for the final act.
[8]
Despite these artistic differences, both were professional and their collaboration was a fruitful
one.

There exists an extant manuscript of the play and it is held in the William Andrews Clark Memorial
Library at the University of California in Los Angeles.[9]

Synopsis[edit]
Act I[edit]
The play opens in the morning room of the Windermeres' residence in London. It is tea time and
Lady Windermere—who is preparing for her coming of age birthday ball that evening—has a visit
from a friend, Lord Darlington. She shows off her new fan: a present from her husband. She
explains to Lord Darlington that she is upset over the compliments he continues to pay to her,
revealing that she is a Puritan and has very particular views about what is acceptable in society.

The Duchess of Berwick calls and Lord Darlington leaves shortly thereafter. The Duchess informs
Lady Windermere that her husband may be betraying her marriage by making repeated visits to
another woman, a Mrs Erlynne, and possibly giving her large sums of money. These rumours
have been gossip among London society for quite a while, though seemingly this is the first Lady
Windermere has heard about it.

Following the departure of the Duchess, Lady Windermere decides to check her husband's bank
book. She finds the book in a desk and sees that nothing appears amiss, though on returning she
discovers a second bank book: one with a lock. After prying the lock open, she finds it lists large
sums of money given to Mrs Erlynne.

At this point, Lord Windermere enters and she confronts him. Though he cannot deny that he has
had dealings with Mrs Erlynne, he states that he is not betraying Lady Windermere. He requests
that she send Mrs Erlynne an invitation to her birthday ball that evening in order to help her back
into society. When Lady Windermere refuses, he writes out an invitation himself. Lady
Windermere makes clear her intention to cause a scene if Mrs Erlynne appears, to which Lord
Windermere responds that it would be in her best interest not to do so.
Lady Windermere leaves in disgust to prepare for the party, and Lord Windermere reveals
in soliloquy that he is protecting Mrs Erlynne's true identity to save his wife extreme humiliation.

What shall I do? I dare not tell her who this woman really is. The shame would kill her.
—Lord Windermere
Act II[edit]
Act II opens in the Windermeres' drawing room during the birthday ball that evening. Various
guests enter, and make small-talk. Lord Windermere enters and asks Lady Windermere to speak
with him, but she brushes him off.

A friend of Lord Windermere's, Lord Augustus Lorton ("Tuppy"), pulls him aside to inquire about
Mrs Erlynne, with whom he is enamoured. Lord Windermere reveals that there is nothing
untoward in his relationship with Mrs Erlynne, and that she will be attending the ball, which comes
as a great relief to Lord Augustus as he was worried about her social standing.

After an unsuccessful attempt to make peace with his wife, Lord Windermere summons the
courage to tell the truth to her, but at that moment Mrs Erlynne arrives at the party, where she is
greeted coldly by Lady Windermere, spoiling his plan.

Alone, Lady Windermere and Lord Darlington discuss Mrs Erlynne's attendance. Lady
Windermere is enraged and confused and asks Lord Darlington to be her friend. Instead of
friendship, Lord Darlington takes advantage of Lady Windermere's tragic state and professes his
love to her, offering her his life, and inviting her to risk short-term social humiliation for a new life
with him. Lord Darlington sets her an ultimatum to try to convince her to take action immediately,
while still in a state of shock. Lady Windermere is shocked by the revelation, and finds she does
not have the courage to take the offer. Heartbroken, Lord Darlington announces that he will be
leaving the country the next day and that they will never meet again, and leaves.

The guests begin to leave, and say their goodnights to Lady Windermere—some remarking
positively about Mrs Erlynne. On the other side of the room Mrs Erlynne is discussing her plans
with Lord Windermere; she intends to marry Lord Augustus and will require some money from
Lord Windermere.

Later, Lady Windermere, in spite of her earlier reluctance, decides to leave the house at once for
Lord Darlington, and leaves a note to that effect for Lord Windermere. Mrs Erlynne discovers the
note and that Lady Windermere has gone, and is curiously worried by this. While reading the
note, a brief monologue reveals that she is in fact Lady Windermere's mother and made a similar
mistake herself twenty years previously. She takes the letter and exits to locate Lady
Windermere.

How can I save her? How can I save my child? A moment may ruin a life. Who knows that better
than I?
—Mrs Erlynne
Act III[edit]
Lady Windermere is alone in Lord Darlington's rooms unsure if she has made the right decision.
Eventually, she resolves to return to her husband, but then Mrs Erlynne appears. Despite Mrs
Erlynne's honest attempts to persuade her to return home to her husband, Lady Windermere is
convinced her appearance is part of some plot conceived by her and Lord Windermere. Mrs
Erlynne finally breaks Lady Windermere's resistance by imploring her to return for the sake of her
young child, but as they begin to exit they hear Lord Darlington entering with friends. The two
women hide.

The men — who include Lord Windermere and Lord Augustus — have been evicted from
their gentlemen's club at closing time and talk about women: mainly Mrs Erlynne. One of them
takes notice of a fan lying on a table (Lady Windermere's) and presumes that Lord Darlington
presently has a woman visiting. As Lord Windermere rises to leave, the fan is pointed out to him,
which he instantly recognises as his wife's. He demands to know if Lord Darlington has her
hidden somewhere. Lord Darlington refuses to co-operate, believing that Lady Windermere has
come to him. Just as Lord Windermere is about to discover Lady Windermere's hiding place, Mrs
Erlynne reveals herself instead, shocking all the men and allowing Lady Windermere to slip away
unnoticed.

I am afraid I took your wife’s fan in mistake for my own, when I was leaving your house to-night. I
am so sorry.
—Mrs Erlynne
Act IV[edit]
The next day, Lady Windermere is lying on the couch of the morning room anxious about whether
to tell her husband what actually happened, or whether Mrs Erlynne will have already betrayed
her secret. Her husband enters. He is sympathetic towards her and they discuss the possibility of
taking a holiday to forget the recent incident. Lady Windermere apologises for her previous
suspicion of her husband and behaviour at the party, and Lord Windermere makes clear his new
contempt for Mrs Erlynne — warning his wife to stay away from her.

Mrs Erlynne's arrival is announced along with the return of the fan, and despite her husband's
protestations, Lady Windermere insists on seeing her. Mrs Erlynne enters and states that she
shall be going abroad, but asks that Lady Windermere give her a photograph of herself and her
son.

Whilst Lady Windermere leaves the room to find one, the story is revealed: Mrs Erlynne left her
husband for a lover shortly after Lady Windermere's birth. When her new lover abandoned her,
Mrs Erlynne was left alone and in disrepute. More recently, using the assumed name of Mrs
Erlynne, she has begun blackmailing Lord Windermere in order to regain her lifestyle and status,
by threatening to reveal her true identity as Lady Windermere's shameful mother — not dead, as
Lady Windermere believes. Lord Windermere laments not having told his wife the whole story at
once and resolves to tell her the truth now. Mrs Erlynne forbids him to do so, threatening to
spread shame far and wide if he does.

Lady Windermere returns with the photograph which she presents to Mrs Erlynne, and requests
that Lord Windermere check for the return of Mrs Erlynne's coach. Now that they are alone, and
being owed a favour, Mrs Erlynne demands that Lady Windermere not reveal the truth about the
events of the previous night to Lord Windermere, and Lady Windermere promises to keep the
secret.
After Lord Windermere's return, Lord Augustus enters. He is shocked to see Mrs Erlynne after the
events of the night before, but she requests his company as she heads to her carriage, and he
soon returns to the Windermeres with news that she has satisfactorily explained the events of the
evening, and that they are to marry and live out of England.

[Taking her husband’s hand.] Ah, you’re marrying a very good woman!
—Lady Windermere
Their marriage is restored, but both Lord and Lady Windermere keep their secrets.

Productions[edit]
Premiere[edit]
The premiere at the St James's Theatre was followed by a notorious speech given by Wilde.
When Wilde answered the calls of "Author!" and appeared before the curtains after the third act,
critics were more offended by the cigarette in his hand than his egotistic speech:

Ladies and Gentlemen. I have enjoyed this evening immensely. The actors have given us
a charming rendition of a delightful play, and your appreciation has been most intelligent. I
congratulate you on the great success of your performance, which persuades me that you
think almost as highly of the play as I do myself.[10]

The play's Broadway première on 5 February 1893 at Palmer's Theatre was also the first
Broadway performance for stage and screen actress Julia Arthur, who played Lady Windermere.
Mrs. Erlynne was originated by Marion Terry, and Lady Windermere by Winifred Emery.

Themes[edit]
By showing in St. James's, Wilde was targeting a fashionable, upper-middle class audience and
Wilde maps out the geography of their world, Grosvenor Square, Curzon Street, the park, with
precision.[11] Peter Raby has also highlighted Lady Windermere's Fan as a good example of
Wilde's most successful dramatic technique: the juxtaposition of the comic and the serious. "Once
the absurd and the patently false have been established, the serious emotions and ideas which
are explored have been given a setting which prevents them from ever becoming too serious".[12]

Scholar Paul Fortunato describes Oscar Wilde as a modernist, who used his modern aesthetics
so as to direct him into the realm of mass culture. Wilde's huge popularity as a playwright began
with his production of Lady Windermere's Fan, his recherché attitude and personal aesthetics
reflected in his writing. Fortunato elaborates on the facets of his aestheticism- an aestheticism
that distorts and lies on the surface, rejects any notion of an authentic self, and centers on the
female aesthete and woman of fashion. As he describes, understanding Wilde as a modernist
through his writing of Lady Windermere's Fan can help us understand the disparity between mass
culture and high society. Wilde bridges this by theorizing his modern aesthetics beneath the
ornamental surface of fashion and elite society. The fan that strings together the play's scenes
simultaneously evokes a traditional symbol of modesty while revealing a truly modern current of
infidelity.[13]