Monologue

Lady Hunstanton Monologue from A Woman of No Importance

From A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

female · sarcastic · 1:28 min

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When Lord Illingworth knows Mrs. Arbuthnot better he will change his mind. I must certainly bring him here. (MRS. ALLONBY: I should like to see Lord Illingworth in a happy English home.) It would do him a great deal of good, dear. Most women in London, nowadays, seem to furnish their rooms with nothing but orchids, foreigners, and French novels. But here we have the room of a sweet saint. Fresh natural flowers, books that don’t shock one, pictures that one can look at without blushing. (MRS. ALLONBY: But I like blushing.) Well, there is a good deal to be said for blushing, if one can do it at the proper moment. Poor dear Hunstanton used to tell me I didn’t blush nearly often enough. But then he was so very particular. He wouldn’t let me know any of his men friends, except those who were over seventy, like poor Lord Ashton: who afterwards, by the way, was brought into the Divorce Court. A most unfortunate case.

About this piece

Lady Hunstanton reflects on her past experiences with societal norms regarding propriety and relationships, revealing her complex feelings about her husband's expectations and the consequences of social status.

40s · melancholy · identity · societal expectations · relationships · divorce

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