Monologue

Lady Hunstanton Monologue from A Woman of No Importance

From A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

female · contemplative · 1:51 min

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Ah, that is in the family, dear, that is in the family. And there was also, I remember, a clergyman who wanted to be a lunatic, or a lunatic who wanted to be a clergyman, I forget which, but I know the Court of Chancery investigated the matter, and decided that he was quite sane. And I saw him afterwards at poor Lord Plumstead’s with straws in his hair, or something very odd about him. I can’t recall what. I often regret, Lady Caroline, that dear Lady Cecilia never lived to see her son get the title. (MRS. ARBUTHNOT: Lady Cecilia?) Lord Illingworth’s mother, dear Mrs. Arbuthnot, was one of the Duchess of Jerningham’s pretty daughters, and she married Sir Thomas Harford, who wasn’t considered a very good match for her at the time, though he was said to be the handsomest man in London. I knew them all quite intimately, and both the sons, Arthur and George. (MRS. ARBUTHNOT: It was the eldest son who succeeded, of course, Lady Hunstanton?) No, dear, he was killed in the hunting field. Or was it fishing, Caroline? I forget. But George came in for everything. I always tell him that no younger son has ever had such good luck as he has had.

About this piece

Lady Hunstanton reflects on family matters and the peculiarities of a clergyman, revealing a sense of nostalgia and loss regarding her late friend and her family legacy.

40s · melancholy · family · identity · madness · loss

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