Monologue

Mrs Erlynne Monologue from Lady Windermere's Fan

From Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde

female · anguished · 1:31 min

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(With a gesture of despair.) Lady Windermere, Lady Windermere, don’t say such terrible things. You don’t know how terrible they are, how terrible and how unjust. Listen, you must listen! Only go back to your husband, and I promise you never to communicate with him again on any pretext—never to see him—never to have anything to do with his life or yours. The money that he gave me, he gave me not through love, but through hatred, not in worship, but in contempt. The hold I have over him— (LADY WINDERMERE: Ah! you admit you have a hold!) Yes, and I will tell you what it is. It is his love for you, Lady Windermere. (LADY WINDERMERE: You expect me to believe that?) You must believe it! It is true. It is his love for you that has made him submit to—oh! call it what you like, tyranny, threats, anything you choose. But it is his love for you. His desire to spare you—shame, yes, shame and disgrace.

About this piece

Mrs. Erlynne pleads with Lady Windermere to reconsider her harsh judgments and return to her husband, revealing the complex and painful dynamics of their relationships.

40s · despair · betrayal · power · redemption · family

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