An Ideal Husband
Ratings47
Average rating4
i had to read this for school and i knew i would like it but i didn't think i would love it and i rlly rlly did love it 10/10
Corruption! Blackmail! Scandals! Misunderstandings! Marriage proposals!
Reading An Ideal Husband was a lot of fun, and I bet this would be super fun to see the stage production. Mrs. Cheveley is such a good love-to-hate-her character, and Lord Goring was just enough of a dandy that I enjoyed him and his over-the-top personality without getting annoyed by him.
Also kind of amusing that I read this as we're in the midst of Trump's impeachment hearings, as the story hinges on Lord Chilton doing something illegal to get some wealth, and someone threatening to expose that thing, when Lord Chilton has a reputation of being Upstanding and Honorable, etc. (Okay, I guess most of that is irrelevant to impeachment, president, et al., in actuality, but I thought it was funny.)
My only eyebrow-raise is a kind of confusion about Wilde's intent. I mean, he's known as a satirist, so in the end when the women are all, “Men's lives are more important than ours, and if we say otherwise they might not love us!” ... I'm not sure if that's a sign of the times or Wilde poking fun. Maybe both!
Anyway, this was fun. :)
A short, yet thoroughly enjoyable look at how we value truth, idealism, and honour. Wilde's wit is as sharp as in his other works, and his insights into the social mores of Edwardian England remain incredibly relevant to contemporary times.
For some reason I'm always hesitant to pick up Oscar Wilde's plays, but after 10 minutes of reading them, I can never put them down. There is all the typical satire in An Ideal Husband, but it's also beautiful and insightful.