Monologue

Sir Robert Chiltern Monologue from An Ideal Husband

From An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde

male · anguished · 1:32 min

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And, after all, whom did I wrong by what I did? No one. (LORD GORING: Except yourself, Robert.) (After a pause.) Of course I had private information about a certain transaction contemplated by the Government of the day, and I acted on it. Private information is practically the source of every large modern fortune. (LORD GORING: And public scandal invariably the result.) (Pacing up and down the room.) Arthur, do you think that what I did nearly eighteen years ago should be brought up against me now? Do you think it fair that a man’s whole career should be ruined for a fault done in one’s boyhood almost? I was twenty-two at the time, and I had the double misfortune of being well-born and poor, two unforgiveable things nowadays. Is it fair that the folly, the sin of one’s youth, if men choose to call it a sin, should wreck a life like mine, should place me in the pillory, should shatter all that I have worked for, all that I have built up. Is it fair, Arthur?

About this piece

Sir Robert Chiltern grapples with the repercussions of a youthful mistake that threatens to destroy his reputation and career, seeking validation and fairness from his friend Arthur.

30s · despair · identity · honor · redemption · betrayal

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