
An Ideal Husband
by Oscar Wilde
'An Ideal Husband' Summary
The play opens during a dinner party at the home of Sir Robert Chiltern in London's fashionable Grosvenor Square. Sir Robert, an esteemed member of the House of Commons, and his wife, Lady Chiltern, are hosting a gathering that includes his friend Lord Goring, a dandified bachelor and close friend to the Chilterns, Mabel Chiltern, and other genteel guests. During the party, Mrs. Cheveley, an enemy of Lady Chiltern from their school days, attempts to blackmail Sir Robert into supporting a fraudulent scheme to build a canal in Argentina. Apparently, Mrs. Cheveley's late mentor and lover, Baron Arnheim, induced the young Sir Robert to sell him a Cabinet secret - which enabled Arnheim to buy shares in the Suez Canal Company three days before the British government announced its purchase of the company. Arnheim's payoff was the basis of Sir Robert's fortune, and Mrs. Cheveley has Robert's letter to Arnheim as proof of his crime. Fearing the ruin of both career and marriage, Sir Robert submits to her demands.
When Mrs. Cheveley pointedly informs Lady Chiltern of Sir Robert's change of heart regarding the canal scheme, the morally inflexible Lady Chiltern, unaware of both her husband's past and the blackmail plot, insists that Sir Robert renege on his promise to Mrs. Cheveley. For Lady Chiltern, their marriage is predicated on her having an "ideal husband"—that is, a model spouse in both private and public life whom she can worship; thus, Sir Robert must remain unimpeachable in all his decisions. Sir Robert complies with the lady's wishes and apparently seals his doom. Also toward the end of Act I, Mabel and Lord Goring come upon a diamond brooch that Lord Goring gave someone many years ago. Goring takes the brooch and asks that Mabel inform him if anyone comes to retrieve it.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1899Authors

Oscar Wilde
Ireland
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, the early 1890s saw him become...
Books by Oscar WildeDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books

Crystal Stopper by Maurice Leblanc
The Crystal Stopper is a thrilling crime novel that follows the adventures of the legendary thief, Arsene Lupin. When a crime is committed during a bu...

Perfect Frame by William Ard
Dane, a private investigator, finds himself framed for murder and must race against time to clear his name and uncover the truth behind a web of black...

Fräulein Else by Arthur Schnitzler
Fräulein Else is a psychological novel that explores the complex moral and social pressures faced by a young woman in 19th-century Vienna. Else, the d...

The Secret House by Edgar Wallace
A stranger and foreigner arrives at the offices of a small publication in London only to be faced by the “editor” whose face is completely swathed in...

Adelgitha; or, The Fruits of a Single Error by Matthew Lewis
Set in the tumultuous era of the High Middle Ages, "Adelgitha" plunges the reader into a world of political intrigue and personal despair. The play re...

Monsieur Beaucaire by Booth Tarkington
Monsieur Beaucaire is a charming and witty novel that tells the story of a French nobleman, disguised as a barber, who finds himself entangled in the...

Colonel's Dream by Charles Waddell Chesnutt
'Colonel's Dream' by Charles Waddell Chesnutt delves into the harsh realities of Reconstruction in the post-Civil War South. It paints a bleak picture...

Square Emerald by Edgar Wallace
In 'Square Emerald,' a seemingly simple blackmail case unravels into a complex web of intrigue and danger for a resourceful female detective working f...

House of the White Shadows by B. L. Farjeon
The House of White Shadows by B. L. Farjeon is a gripping story of suspense and moral conflict. The protagonist, a defense attorney, finds himself def...

Filibusterismo (The Reign of Greed) by José Rizal
El Filibusterismo, a sequel to Noli Me Tangere, plunges readers into the tumultuous Philippines under Spanish rule. The novel paints a stark picture o...
Reviews for An Ideal Husband
No reviews posted or approved, yet...