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An Ideal Husband: Sir Robert - Coggle Diagram
An Ideal Husband: Sir Robert
AO3: Contextual information
literary
Sir Robert is a similar character to Dorian in
The Picture of Dorian Gray
- being corrupted by Baron Arnheim (
Anne Varty
as seen in conversation with Goring in Act II
Constance kept Wilde's homosexuality concealed in their marriage
social
fin de siècle
was a time of decadence and wealth, perpetuated by the aesthetic movement
the language of the fan and mask wearing are both examples of concealing secrets in society
The canal scheme scandal in 'An Ideal Husband' relates to the real-life Suez and Panama Canal schemes. The Panama Canal scheme founded in 1889 had massive debts and unaccounted-for expenditures, caused a national scandal in France. There was legal actions against the speculators, who were revealed to have involved senators and deputies in the corruption.
'What this century worships is wealth. The God of this century is wealth. To succeed one must have wealth. At all costs one must have wealth.' Act II.90
'the gospel of gold'... 'tapestries, enamels, jewels, ivories' from colonialism, imperialism of the British empire and Victorian era
AO1: Content
arguably the eponymous hero of the play
protagonist; a 'man with a past' - subverts gender roles as it was traditionally the woman with a past
begins the play as the ideal husband as he is a wealthy and successful politician, later changes as his corruption is revealed
Robert priortises having power over anything - "power over the world was the one thing worth having" (Act II, line 146), conforms to the typical representation of masculine values. Completely unremorseful of what he did in Act II, as he appreciates his power and influence.
Act II to Act IV: Sir Robert changes from feeling no guilt to being completely remorseful
'I tell you that there are terrible temptations that it requires strengh, strength and courage, to yield to.' Act II.185
AO4: Comparison with Rossetti
Sir Robert, the man with a past (a subvertion of normal stock characters), similar to Maude Clare who is the traditional stock character of a woman with a past
Comparison with the speaker in 'Winter: My Secret', both Sir Robert and this speaker are holding secrets, and even if their secrets are different, they are both withholding them to keep from being ruined in Victorian society.
Goblin Market: succumbing to temptation actually 'requires strength, strength and courage, to yield to.' Lizzie is strong by giving in to temptation? Laura is in fact courageous?!
AO5: Critical views
Wilde 'made more complex and unpredictable protagonists' than in the
piece bien fete
for instance
Sos Eltis
‘Wilde exposes the weakness of ideals, whether they are ideal husbands, ideal wives, or ideal virtues.’
(Anne Varty, EMC Magazine Dec. 2019)
'Corruption, Wilde implies, is inescapable in a money-mad society' -
Michael Billington