A Woman of No Importance
Oscar Wilde
During a house party at a country estate, the charismatic Lord Illingworth offers a secretary position to young Gerald Arbuthnot. However, Gerald’s mother, Rachel, recognizes Illingworth as the man who seduced and abandoned her twenty years earlier. The play pits the cynical, witty world of the upper class against Rachel’s quiet, steadfast morality. It is a biting critique of the gender double standards of the era, where a man’s indiscretion is ignored while a woman’s fall is unforgivable. Wilde uses the contrast to highlight the hypocrisy of a society that values style over substance and reputation over character.
Lord Illingworth: A charming, amoral aristocrat whose brilliant wit and cynical philosophy on life mask a deep lack of responsibility and a disregard for others' feelings. Mrs. Arbuthnot: A woman who has lived a life of quiet atonement for her past, struggling to protect her son from his father’s corruptive and cynical influence. Gerald Arbuthnot: An innocent, ambitious young man caught between the glamorous, opportunistic world offered by Illingworth and the rigid, moralistic devotion of his protective and secretive mother.
First Performance: 1893, at Haymarket Theatre, London
Great success; solidified Wilde's reputation for writing society plays that were both entertaining and socially subversive.
Original Actors: Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Mrs. Bernard Beere