Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband

Anne Markey (Dublin City University)

Ed. by Ian Campbell Ross, Trinity College Dublin
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1895

Places

Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Gratified with the success of the first production of his previous play,

A Woman of No Importance

, in 1893, and pleased with a commission from John Hare, actor-manager of London’s Garrick Theatre for another comedy, Oscar Wilde began work that summer on what would become

An Ideal Husband

. When the concept of the exemplary spouse was debated by a group of aristocratic and fashionable women in the earlier play, Mrs Allonby ended the speculation with an acerbic observation: “The Ideal Husband? There couldn’t be such a thing. The institution is wrong” (Act 2). In his new play, Wilde set about exploring the corruptions inherent in the institution of marriage, and by extension, in society at large. In October he moved from Goring-on-Thames, where he had passed the summer months with…

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2669 words

Citation: Markey, Anne. "An Ideal Husband". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 March 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6622, accessed 09 May 2024.]

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