PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Lady Windermere's Fan Quotes
"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." -Dumby
(Wilde 46)
Dumby says this in reply to Cecil and he is saying that people gain experience and wisdom through trial and error.
"I can resist everything except temptation." -Lord Darlington (Wilde 9)
Lord Darlington says this to Lady Windermere meaning he is in love with her and he can't resist his temptations to be "her friend."
"No, we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." -Lord Darlington (Wilde 44)
Darlington says this and it displays his struggles with being in love with a married woman.
"Why should I interfere with her illusions? I find it hard enough to keep my own" -Mrs Erlynne
(Wilde 55)
This is said to Arthur as Mrs. Erlynne refuses to tell Lady Windermere who she actually is so it doesn't ruin the image she has of her mother.
"Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it." -Lord Darlington (Wilde 10)
Lord Darlington says this after Lady Windermere asks why he talks about life so trivially. This shows how Wilde viewed life.
"In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." -Dumby (Wilde 45)
This means that although you will be unhappy if you don't get what you want, getting it might not live up to your expectations.
"I don't like compliments, and I don't see why a man should think he is pleasing a woman enormously when he says to her a whole heap of things that he doesn't mean." -Lady Windermere (Wilde 6)
Lady Windermere says this to Lord Darlington to show him that she doesn't think his, or any man's compliments to women are actually sincere.
"All other women in the world become absolutely meaningless to one. Love changes one - I am changed"- Lord Darlington (Wilde 46)
Darlington says this about Lady Windermere and it shows how truly in love he is with her.
"Ideals are dangerous things. Realities are better. They wound, but they're better." -Mrs. Erlynne (Wilde 57)
Mrs. Erlynne considers telling Lady Windermere the truth, but she decides not to. Mrs. Erlynne is living in reality while Lady Windermere lives with the belief in ideals.
"Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong." -Cecil Graham (Wilde 44)
This shows how much Cecil things he's above everyone else. This shows the typical feeling of aristocratic Britain in this time.
Works Cited
Wilde, Oscar. Lady Windermere's Fan. State College, PA: Penn State Univeristy, 2012. Print.
