Lady Windermere's Fan

Lady Windermere’s Fan, by Oscar Wilde, is a play in four acts that begins at Lady Margaret Windermere’s home, where she is arranging flowers—roses—for a party to celebrate her birthday that evening. She receives a visit from Lord Darlington, who flirts with her. She scolds him because she is married, but he insists that she has the right to console herself, seeing as how her husband is unfaithful. She does not realize his meaning though, and continues to ignore his persistent flirting.

After he leaves, the Duchess of Berwick arrives with her daughter, Lady Agatha Carlisle. She tells Margaret that Lord Windermere has been spending time with—and money on—one Mrs. Erlynne, a woman of questionable social status. However, the Duchess intends no slight to Margaret, and states that her own husband has been unfaithful in the past and presumes it is just that men are incapable of living moral lives. Before leaving, she expresses to Margaret her eagerness to marry Agatha off, despite men’s immorality.

Margaret peeks in her husband’s desk, where she finds records of payments to Mrs. Erlynne. Lord Windermere comes in and catches her, becoming cross. His request to invite Mrs. Erlynne to their party is met with outright refusal from Lady Windermere. Despite this, he invites her anyway. Margaret vows to hit Mrs. Erlynne with her fan, which angers her husband. She storms off. Lord Windermere tells the audience that he dare not tell his wife who Mrs. Erlynne is, for it would shame her.



Act 2 kicks off with Margaret’s birthday party. The Duchess insists her daughter dance with Mr. Hopper, a possible suitor from Australia. The Duchess’s brother, Lord Augustus Lorton, talks with Lord Windermere. He inquires how Mrs. Erlynne can become respectable so that he can marry her, and is relieved to know she has been invited to the party.

Mrs. Erlynne arrives and greets each guest, paying particular attention to the men—much to their wives’ chagrin. Margaret, angry still with her husband, flirts with Lord Darlington, who professes his love and offers to take her away with him. She is shocked and begs that she have time to see if her husband will renew his loyalty to her. Darlington is crestfallen, and tells Margaret that he leaves England the next day.

The Duchess praises Mrs. Erlynne to Margaret, but suggests that she separate her from Lord Windermere all the same. Meanwhile, Mr. Hopper has proposed to Agatha, and Lord Lorton proposes to Mrs. Erlynne. Lorton also requests an annual payment from Windermere, who reluctantly accepts and leaves with her to iron out the details.



Margaret decides she will run away with Darlington after all, and leaves a letter of farewell on her husband’s desk, where Mrs. Erlynne finds it. When Lord Augustus enters, Mrs. Erlynne asks him to take Darlington to his club and not return until morning.

Meanwhile, Lady Windermere is in Darlington’s room, her mind still not made up. Mrs. Erlynne arrives and tells Margaret she is not in a relationship with Lord Windermere, and begs her to return to her husband. When Mrs. Erlynne reminds Margaret about her child, she decides to stay, but the two have to hide when Augustus, Darlington, Windermere, and a few others arrive after Augustus and Windermere were turned away from their club. The men settle in to play a game of cards, and find Margaret’s fan. Windermere threatens to search the room, so Mrs. Erlynne steps out of their hiding place and pretends to have mistakenly grabbed Margaret’s fan.

At the beginning of Act 4, Margaret is ruminating over Mrs. Erlynne’s willingness to throw her reputation into the mud to save hers. Lord Windermere suggests a trip to the countryside and criticizes Mrs. Erlynne, whom Margaret praises. Margaret insists on seeing the other woman before they leave. Mrs. Erlynne is planning to leave, but she wants a photograph of Margaret and her child. While Margaret goes to fetch one, Mrs. Erlynne and Lord Windermere speak in private.



Mrs. Erlynne reveals that she is Margaret’s mother, but does not reveal herself to Margaret. Rather, she advises her daughter not to tell her husband that she was thinking of leaving him. When Lord Augustus arrives at the end of the play, Mrs. Erlynne insists she was looking for him in Darlington’s rooms, and so he proposes again. Margaret comments that Augustus is marrying a good woman.

Oscar Wilde’s work is known for his wit and aestheticism. Some of his notable works, in addition to Lady Windermere’s Fan, include The Picture of Dorian Gray, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest. Shortly after producing these critically-acclaimed works, Wilde found himself in legal trouble. He ended up imprisoned for two years and, after his release, he was broke, and his life was shrouded by scandal.