Lady Windermere’s Fan is a witty commentary on the wiles of social properness in late 19th century England. Oscar Wilde was a flamboyant homosexual understandably critical of the norms of his day. Within the play, lie subtle and overt contradictions about the “properness” of the high born upper-class. During the Victorian period, strict rules governed mannerisms, protocol, etiquette, decency, etc. This decorum became too oppressive for Wilde’s taste. The morality of the upper-class is supposedly the standard of the day, to which everyone is evaluated. However, in this play, the morality of the main characters pivots more on the situation instead of social status. Independent from inner intentions, all characters are only moral when its self-serving. Obvious examples are Lady Windermere and the Duchess. Lady Windermere tries to be superlative at the expense of being realistic. The Duchess pretends to be proper but is exposed by her contradictory statements. Less overt examples include Lord Windermere and Lord Darlington. (Secretly, I think Lord Darlington is Wilde himself.) Lord Windermere tries to uphold his family name through dubious relations with a scandalous woman. While Lord Darlington does not represent himself as a proper person, he becomes conveniently judgmental when he feels he has a chance with Lady Windermere. On the bottom of the social pyramid lies the characters who do not pretend to be proper: Lord Augustus Lorton, Mr. Cecil Graham and Mrs. Erlynne. All of these characters admit their transgressions (gossip, scandals, etc) and make no apology for themselves. On the top of the pyramid lie the epitome of properness: Lady Plymdale, Lady Stutfield, and Lady Jedburgh. These are the stuck-up characters that make up the top tier of the three layered social strata represented in the play. Notice, they are also the smallest of the three layers. Just like in real life!As far as the caliber of actin...
