Book Review: A Woman of No Importance - A Play by Oscar Wilde

A review of Oscar Wilde's play 'A Woman of No Importance.'

A Woman of No Importance - A Play by Oscar Wilde.

• Book Title: A Woman of No Importance
• Author: Oscar Wilde
• Language: English
• Genre(s): Play, Drama, Comedy, Humour, Feminism
• Original Year of Release: 1894
• Format that I read the book in: E-book
• Publisher: Project Gutenberg
• Book length: 96 pages

SUMMARY:

Oscar Wilde's audacious drama of social scandal centres around the revelation of Mrs Arbuthnot's long-concealed secret. A house party is in full swing at Lady Hunstanton's country home, when it is announced that Gerald Arbuthnot has been appointed secretary to the sophisticated, witty Lord Illingworth. Gerald's mother stands in the way of his appointment, but fears to tell him why, for who will believe Lord Illingworth to be a man of no importance?

Key characters:

• Mrs. Arbuthnot aka Rachel (Titular character)
• Lord Illingworth
• Gerald Arbuthnot (son of Mrs Arbuthnot)
• Hester aka Miss Worsley

Quote(s) I loved:

"Men always want to be a woman's first love. That is their clumsy vanity. We women have a more subtle instinct about things. What we like is to be a man's last romance."

 - Mrs. Allonby, Second Act.

"One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age. A woman who would tell one that, would tell one anything."

- Lord Illingworth, First Act. 

REVIEW

My take on the book  (WITHOUT SPOILERS):

Although this play can be generalised as one belonging to the comedy genre, it majorly explores the theme of feminism. This is quite significant considering the era in which the playwright Oscar Wilde must have written it. The book describes the English society as it was during the late nineteenth century - the elites with their narcissistic sense of self-importance, and also the distinction between men and women that existed in those times.

The book introduces us to a bunch of intriguing characters. Wilde's characters are always rather interesting, be them either main or supporting, and the same can be said of the ones in this play. The First Act focuses more on the supporting characters - such as - Mrs. Hunstanton, at whose residence the first three acts play out; Lady Catherine, the four-time married woman who bosses around her husband Sir John; Mrs. Allonby, with her hilariously twisted views on how the relationship between spouses should ideally be like; and Lady Stutfield, who is ever-so-inquisitive.

The conversations that take place between these ladies give us an insight into the class distinction between the Lords and the Commons in the Victorian age, through their views on life, work, and marital bonds. The reader can't help but laugh out loud at the brilliant dialogues that have been assigned to these characters. Lady Catherine and Mrs. Allonby have funny yet outrageous opinions that influence the clueless Lady Stutfield, while Lady Hunstanton seems to be the most normal among the lot. Apart from these women, the First Act also marks the entries of Lord Illingworth, Gerald Arbuthnot, and Miss Worsley.

Gerald is a naive twenty-year old lad who is psyched about his future on being offered a promising job by Lord Illingworth to work as his lordship's secretary. The prospect of him working under Lord Illingworth makes up the main subject of the play. Gerald has a good heart, and is respectful of women, especially of his mother, but when blinded by emotions he is unable to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. His character struggles to decide whether to take an independent stand or to listen to what others have to say.

Lord Illingworth is a haughty, patronising man who thinks that he can get away with anything he does due to his position in society. He is given undue reverence by the elite ladies in the play and even by Gerald, who is indebted to him because of the job offer. I absolutely abhorred his character, and so will anyone who reads this book. He is your typical male chauvinist pig who feels that he can charm any woman with his flamboyance and she in return must indulge him even if it is against her wishes. With the kind of psychology he has, I felt that he is the accurate representation of sexual predators who have been outed in the #MeToo movement. Only, such a thing didn't exist back then.

Miss Worsley, the young American woman, is strong-headed and someone unafraid to speak her mind. She calls out the English society for their fascination with the riches by comparing it with her all-inclusive American society (doubtful as to how true this is, but this is what she says), thereby ruffling some feathers. As opposed to the British ladies in the book, Hester is more thoughtful and reflects greater intellectual capabilities. She also doesn't give in to sexism as can be seen from an incident that occurs to her in the play. I loved her character. She is the feminist that we all need to be.

Mrs. Arbuthnot plays the titular role of the woman of no importance. She brings conflict to the story line by objecting to Gerald's employment under Lord Illingworth. When the reader discovers the reason later in the Second Act, she or he will begin to admire her. Despite having had a rough past, she is no weakling - she rose up from her unfortunate situation like a phoenix reborn from the ashes, and decided that she needed no man to support herself and her son. Nobody, not even her own son, can influence her to do something for the sake of societal norms if it goes against her principles. Even though she doesn't want Gerald to take up the job, she isn't a control-freak. She just cannot be fooled. Rachel's character is way too ahead of her time and there is so much that today's women in unfulfilling relationships can learn from her.

Since this is a play, the characters are just as important as the plot itself, which is why I have presented an analytical sketch of the characters. Of them all, Mrs Arbuthnot and Hester are the ones who demonstrate feminism and progressive ideas. There are a couple of other characters in the play that I haven't mentioned because I deemed them insignificant.

The play has been divided into four acts - the first is introductory, the second creates conflict, the third brings along the twist, and the fourth one resolves the conflict. The plot of the play is rather simple but the message that it conveys is crucial. All the dialogues are well-written and most of them are so witty that they always brought a smile to my face. The play starts out as a comedy but ends on a serious note. And the conclusion is highly satisfying - one that reinforces every woman's self-respect. Some readers say that it has a weak story, but I beg to differ. I may not have enjoyed it as much as Wilde's other popular play 'The Importance of being Earnest,' but I definitely liked it. And it is not at all lengthy, so it is a must-read.

Will I read it again?

Yes I will. I am becoming a fan of Oscar Wilde! I am now also looking forward to read his other play 'An Ideal Husband,' as well his only novel 'The Picture of Dorian Gray.'

Reasons to read this book:

1. Witty dialogues.

2. Interesting characters.

3. Strong theme presented in a light-hearted, non-preachy manner.

4. Makes for a brisk read.

Reasons to not read this book:

1. Most of the supporting characters aren't pivotal to the story line - they have only been included so as to represent the English elite class of the Victorian age.

2. Being message-oriented the play may not be as funny as Oscar Wilde's other works.

Final Verdict: ✪✪✪✪ / 5

Also read: Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

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