Monologue

Lord Caversham Monologue from An Ideal Husband

From An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

male · inspirational · 1:41 min

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Talk in your sleep, sir? What does that matter? You are not married. (LORD GORING: No, father, I am not married.) Hum! That is what I have come to talk to you about, sir. You have got to get married, and at once. Why, when I was your age, sir, I had been an inconsolable widower for three months, and was already paying my addresses to your admirable mother. Damme, sir, it is your duty to get married. You can’t be always living for pleasure. Every man of position is married nowadays. Bachelors are not fashionable any more. They are a damaged lot. Too much is known about them. You must get a wife, sir. Look where your friend Robert Chiltern has got to by probity, hard work, and a sensible marriage with a good woman. Why don’t you imitate him, sir? Why don’t you take him for your model? (LORD GORING: I think I shall, father.) I wish you would, sir. Then I should be happy. At present I make your mother’s life miserable on your account. You are heartless, sir, quite heartless.

About this piece

Lord Caversham is urging a younger man to marry, emphasizing the importance of duty and societal norms over personal pleasure.

60 and up · determination · marriage · duty · societal expectations · role models

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