Two Characteristics of A Woman of No Importance

徐艳

摘 要：奥斯卡·王尔德是19世纪后期英国唯美主义的代表人物之一。他的戏剧《一个无足轻重的女人》备受人们青睐并在文学界引起强烈的反响。该作品新的突破就在于它的喜剧性。首先剧本基调是喜剧性的，他以夸张的手法刻画展现出一群丰富的并独具个性的喜剧人物形象，此外本剧的情节进展也是喜剧性的。 这部喜剧还有一个特点是展示独特的双重性。这种双重性体现在道德上和情感上引起的反应是矛盾的。

关键词：喜剧性；人物；情节发展；双重性

中图分类号：I561.073 文献标识码：A 文章编号：1005-5312（2016）24-0061-01

一、Introduction

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde （1854 -1900） was an Irish playwright， poet and author of numerous short stories. Known for his biting wit， he became one of London's most successful playwrights in the early 1890s. He devoted himself to the”Art for Arts Sake” movement， and had influenced the British literary field for the whole century. Oscar Wilde not only became one of the members in the poets corner in Westminster Abbey but also is accepted and welcomed by more readers.

A Woman of No Importance was one of his famous social comedies， it has a provincial， country-house setting and includes the use of Norfolk place names in its” actual” location at Hunstanton Chase； it represents a society that is sexually segregated with the men operating in one sphere and the women in another； it also toys with the suggestion that Lord Illingworths interest in Gerald is sexually motivated.

二、Comical Features

（一）Characters

Mrs. Caroline presented first at the beginning of the play. On the surface， she was very concerned about her fourth husband， Sir.John， to remind him of this or that. “John， you should have your muffler. ”（Wilde，2）”John， the grass is too damp for you. You had better go and put on your overshoes at once.”（Wilde，4） However， when looking more carefully， you will understand the real motive behind concerning.” You must allow me to be the best judge of that， John. Pray do as I tell you. ” （Wilde，4） She said "what should be"， "don't do that"， is essentially a control of her husband， because she does not trust Sir.John. Mrs. Caroline also tries to avoid direct confrontation with Sir.John. She wants to control him and regards him as her slave， though she behaved as goes on well with her husband. Whats more， Mrs. Caroline is extremely hypocritical and unsound in psychology. But in the third act，” Jane， have you see John anywhere ” ”I think I had better look after John.”（Wilde，29） “It is very curious. It is time for him to retire.”（Wilde，34） When Sir. John left， she was crazy looking for him， just as he was a thing belong to her， showing her extremely hypocritical character and unsound psychology.

Mrs. Allonby， is also portrayed as a comedic character like this. She is a flirtatious woman who has a bit of a reputation for controversy. She is not the stereotypical female character and exchanges witty repartee with Lord Illingworth， indeed she could be viewed as a female dandy. It is she who dares Illingworth to "kiss the Puritan." However， when talk about the relationship with man， she seems ridiculous. “Curious thing， plain women are always jealous of their husbands， beautiful women never are！”（Wilde，9） She said she wanted to get rid of man. “What a comfort it is to have got rid of the men for a little.”（Wilde，12）. That was what she said to others. But what does she really think about Actually， she wanted to be controlled by man， be abused by ideal man. From their conversation about the ideal men， Mrs. Allonby said a lot of requests of being an ideal man. She wanted to be with such an ideal man and looked down on her husband which she thinks too earnest. Her attitude to men is such a kind of an attitude towards game.

（二）Plot Development

The plot development also consists of comedic features. At the beginning， bank clerk， Gerard， managed to get promotion opportunity， this is great news for Gerald， as being Lord Illingworth's secretary would be the young man's first step to a life of financial/political success. His mother Mrs. Arbuthnot was informed to come， Gerald wanted her to meet employer Lord Illingworth ， we saw a favorable turn for Gerard to have better life here. But in the third act， after Mrs. Arbuthnot seeing the new employer， she immediately asked the son to quit this lucrative job， what let Gerard very puzzled， things fell into a trough. Another coincidence also happens to appear in this time， Lord Illingworth forced to kiss Hester who then fled to Gerard， Gerard was angry and wanted to fight with Lord Illingworth ， but was prevented by his mother. And Gerald knew who his father， he lost the future opportunity. Here is an important turn point， the climax of the story.

However， Gerard did something unexpected， he takes the chance， he wanted to call his mother and Lord Illingworth to remarry for his mothers sake， but mothers firmness and the emergence of Hester， completely changed his mind， He stood on the mother's side， the whole story changed. The end of drama was filled with comedy， too. Gerard lost a bright future， but got the mother and the love with Hester； Hester， changed the original concept of harsh， having a tolerant attitude now； Lord Illingworth lost son， but owned the original glory.

三、Chapter 3 Duality

The duality in the drama is the contradictory in reaction caused by the morality and emotion. Morally， the comedy eulogizes Mrs. Arbuthnots greatness of a mother's love and her victory， as well as she insisted the severity of the moral requirements. To Lord Illingworth who betrayed Mrs. Arbuthnot， and without moral rules， was portrayed as “a man of no importance” at last. He was a dandy in this drama. But at the same time， Wilde also appreciates his cleverness， his ironic lovely words towards the upper class.

Mrs. Arbuthnot is one of the women that embodied most strict moral standards in Wildes plays. When she was young and ignorant of what life really is， she was attractive Lord Illingworth， they fell in love， but Lord Illingworth abandoned her and their child， Gerald. She brought up her son with hardship， and unswervingly did practical actions to show her great maternal love， also practiced the good virtue. In reality， Mrs. Arbuthnot still stuck to their moral line， resolutely prevented her son affected by immoral father， Lord Illingworth. She “A woman of No Importance”， eventually kicked Illingworth out of their life， and let Lord Illingworth be "A man of No Importance". This work eulogizes Mrs. Arbuthnots noble qualities， her serious attitude to life and beautiful life ideal. Mrs. Arbuthnots positive image is shaped by the author； she embodies the women's greatness， and defends the dignity of the mother.

The author also shows sympathy to Lord Illingworth， who made Mrs. Arbuthnot suffer a lot. The author uses the most unique way of language in him. It is contradictory and living with his appreciation of Mrs. Arbuthnot. Lord Illingworth is a typical “dandy” image， despite of countless moral defects， so dissolute life， the author appreciated his talent， his language is most Oscar Wilde type of language features. Such as：“The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past， and every sinner has a future.”（Wilde，29） “For the world has been made by fools that wise men should live in it！ ”（Wilde，40） This witty， humorous， bizarre way of dialogue， adds a peculiar charm for the entire script. In the drama， witty， humorous， grotesque dialogue is everywhere. From these conversations， its easy to see Oscar Wildes appreciation of the “dandy”.

四、Chapter 4 Conclusion

A Woman of No Importance， though not the master piece by Oscar Wilde， it has embodied the main ideas of the author. This paper analyzed two characteristics of A Woman of No Importance ----comical features and duality from the context itself. Through close reading， it can be seen easily that how Wilde portrayed those main characters， how this drama conduct， and how the characters reflect his feelings. Not only the characters the author portrayed but also the plot he made up， all these illustrates Oscar Wildes comedy elements. And the duality of the drama also reflected Wildes contradiction on morality and emotion.

Works Cited：

[1]Beckson， Karl，ed， Oscar Wilde： The Critical Heritage：London： Routledge and Kegan Paul， 1970.Print.

[2]Oscar， Wilde. “Five major plays”：New York： Airmont Pub.Co.1970.Print.

[3]郝向阳.奥斯卡·王尔德戏剧中的浪荡子[D].石家庄：河北师范大学，2011.

[4]孙昕昕，朱岫方.试析王尔德喜剧的共性特点[J].华章，2010（17）.