A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

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A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

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By Gianna Alvarez Posted on Jan 12, 2026

In Category - Asian Literature

Authors: Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900 Published By : Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900

Book Language: English

Hey, have you read Oscar Wilde's 'A Woman of No Importance'? It's not just witty banter—though there's plenty of that. It's about a secret that blows up a posh English house party. Picture this: a powerful politician meets a brilliant young man and offers him a dream job. But the young man's mother recognizes the politician from her past, and a hidden scandal threatens to ruin everything. It's a sharp, funny, and surprisingly moving look at how society treats men and women very differently when they make the same mistakes.

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ACT IV. _Sitting-room in Mrs. Arbuthnot’s House at Wrockley_. TIME: _The Present_. PLACE: _The Shires_. _The action of the play takes place within twenty-four hours_. LONDON: HAYMARKET THEATRE _Lessee and Manager_: _Mr. H Beerbohm Tree_ _April_ 19_th_, 1893 LORD ILLINGWORTH _Mr. Tree_. SIR JOHN PONTEFRACT _Mr. E. Holman Clark_. LORD ALFRED RUFFORD _Mr. Ernest Lawford_. MR. KELVIL, M.P. _Mr. Charles Allan_. THE VEN. ARCHDEACON DAUBENY, D.D. _Mr. Kemble_. GERALD ARBUTHNOT _Mr. Terry_. FARQUHAR (_Butler_) _Mr. Hay_. FRANCIS (_Footman_) _Mr. Montague_. LADY HUNSTANTON _Miss Rose Leclercq_. LADY CAROLINE PONTEFRACT _Miss Le Thière_. LADY STUTFIELD _Miss Blanche Horlock_. MRS. ALLONBY _Mrs. Tree_. MISS HESTER WORSLEY _Miss Julia Neilson_. ALICE (_Maid_) _Miss Kelly_. MRS. ARBUTHNOT _Mrs. Bernard-Beere_. FIRST ACT SCENE _Lawn in front of the terrace at Hunstanton_. [SIR JOHN _and_ LADY CAROLINE PONTEFRACT, MISS WORSLEY, _on chairs under large yew tree_.] LADY CAROLINE. I believe this is the first English country house you have stayed at, Miss Worsley? HESTER. Yes, Lady Caroline. LADY CAROLINE. You have no country houses, I am told, in America? HESTER. We have not many. LADY CAROLINE. Have you any country? What we should call country? HESTER. [_Smiling_.] We have the largest country in the world, Lady Caroline. They used to tell us at school that some of our states are as big as France and England put together. LADY CAROLINE. Ah! you must find it very draughty, I should fancy. [_To_ SIR JOHN.] John, you should have your muffler. What is the use of my always knitting mufflers for you if you won’t wear them? SIR JOHN. I am quite warm, Caroline, I assure you. LADY CAROLINE. I think not, John. Well, you couldn’t come to a more charming place than this, Miss Worsley, though the house is excessively damp, quite unpardonably damp, and dear Lady Hunstanton is sometimes a little lax about the people she asks down here. [_To_ SIR JOHN.] Jane mixes too much. Lord Illingworth, of course, is a man of high distinction. It is a privilege to meet him. And that member of Parliament, Mr. Kettle— SIR JOHN. Kelvil, my love, Kelvil. LADY CAROLINE. He must be quite respectable. One has never heard his name before in the whole course of one’s life, which speaks volumes for a man, nowadays. But Mrs. Allonby is hardly a very suitable person. HESTER. I dislike Mrs. Allonby. I dislike her more than I can say. LADY CAROLINE. I am not sure, Miss Worsley, that foreigners like yourself should cultivate likes or dislikes about the people they are invited to meet. Mrs. Allonby is very well born. She is a niece of Lord Brancaster’s. It is said, of course, that she ran away twice before she was married. But you know how unfair people often are. I myself don’t believe she ran away more than once. HESTER. Mr. Arbuthnot is very charming. LADY CAROLINE. Ah, yes! the young man who has a post in a bank. Lady Hunstanton is most kind in asking him here, and Lord Illingworth seems to have taken quite a fancy to him. I am not sure, however, that Jane is right in taking him out of his position. In my young days, Miss Worsley, one never met any one in society who worked for their living. It was not considered the thing. HESTER. In America those are the people we respect most. LADY CAROLINE. I have no doubt of it. HESTER. Mr. Arbuthnot has a beautiful nature! He is so simple, so sincere. He has one of the most beautiful natures I have ever come across. It is a privilege to meet...

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The Story

The story kicks off at a fancy country estate. Lord Illingworth, a charming but cynical aristocrat, meets Gerald Arbuthnot, a bright young man, and is so impressed he offers him a job as his private secretary. It's a huge opportunity for Gerald. His devoted mother, Mrs. Arbuthnot, is overjoyed—until she meets Lord Illingworth. She recognizes him as the man who seduced and abandoned her years ago, leaving her to raise Gerald alone as a 'fallen woman.' The polite party turns into a tense showdown as Mrs. Arbuthnot must choose between securing her son's future and exposing the painful truth of his parentage.

Why You Should Read It

Yes, the dialogue is sparkling and full of Wilde's famous one-liners ("The Book of Life begins with a man and a woman in a garden... It ends with Revelations."). But what got me was the heart underneath the wit. The play shows the brutal double standard head-on. Lord Illingworth's past misconduct only adds to his worldly allure, while it destroyed Mrs. Arbuthnot's reputation and life. Her struggle feels real and raw. You get the comedy of manners in the drawing room scenes, and then this powerful, emotional core that makes you think.

Final Verdict

Perfect for anyone who loves clever conversation and stories with a social conscience. If you enjoy seeing Victorian hypocrisy get a good, witty dressing-down, but also appreciate a compelling maternal drama, this is your book. It's shorter than some of Wilde's other plays, but it packs a punch that stays with you.

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