Monologue

Mrs Arbuthnot Monologue from A Woman of No Importance

From A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

female · defiant · 1:48 min

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I do not know it. I do not feel it, nor will I ever stand before God’s altar and ask God’s blessing on so hideous a mockery as a marriage between me and George Harford. I will not say the words the Church bids us to say. I will not say them. I dare not. How could I swear to love the man I loathe, to honour him who wrought you dishonour, to obey him who, in his mastery, made me to sin? No: marriage is a sacrament for those who love each other. It is not for such as him, or such as me. Gerald, to save you from the world’s sneers and taunts I have lied to the world. For twenty years I have lied to the world. I could not tell the world the truth. Who can, ever? But not for my own sake will I lie to God, and in God’s presence. No, Gerald, no ceremony, Church-hallowed or State-made, shall ever bind me to George Harford. It may be that I am too bound to him already, who, robbing me, yet left me richer, so that in the mire of my life I found the pearl of price, or what I thought would be so.

About this piece

Mrs. Arbuthnot confronts the moral implications of her past and her refusal to enter a marriage she finds repugnant, expressing her inner turmoil and resolve against societal expectations.

40s · determination · marriage · betrayal · identity · freedom

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