A Woman of No Importance, Final Act Essay

Wilde uses legion(predicate) instituteing periodtic effects passim the play to shock and amuse the listening and troopsy of them can be actualisen in this final guessing. The compass point that this conversation between Mrs Arbuthnot and victor Illingworth takes place in Mrs Arbuthnots house, her personal billet and territory puts her at an advantage and it shows that Lord Illingworth is surrendering his usual control oer his situations By Lord Illingworth referring to Mrs Arbuthnot as Rachel we ar once again made apprised that we are listening to two people who stomach a affectionate past relationship.She calls him George Harford while he uses her name far less oftentimes that in the persuasive Act 2. During this scene, Lord Illingworth speaks with awareness of the legal situation, he screws he can never make Gerald legitimate but he is go forthing to leave him property What more can a gentlemans gentleman desire in this world? and Mrs Arbuthnots response of N othing more, I am quite sure turns this in to a class confrontation. When Mrs Arbuthnot recounts I told you I was not interested, and I beg you to go. this is a threat to effected society and the hearing would digest been shocked by this.She treats Lord Illingworth as he once treated her, in purely financial equipment casualty and she tells him that Gerald no longer needs his m unrivaledy, You come too late. My son has no need of you. You are not necessary. She thence goes on to explain to him that Gerald and Hester are in love and they dont need his money because Hester already has money of her own. Lord Illingworth asks where they will go and Mrs Arbuthnots reply We will not tell you, and if you find us we will not know you. You catch outm surprised.What welcome would you get from the girl whose lips you tried to soil, from the boy whose manners you have shamed, from the mother who dishonor comes from you? is in truth melodramatic and it also relives the fact that Lord Illingworth tried to kiss Hester and this is when Gerald found out that he was his father, Lord Illingworth you have insulted the purest thing on Gods earth. This leaves Lord Illingworth to admit that he wants Gerald, Rachel, I want my son. Wilde uses many props in this scene, the main one being the letter Gerald has written to Lord Illingworth imploring him to adopt his mother.The audience know what is written in the letter before Lord Illingworth does and this adds drama and tension because the audience are waiting for the big reveal and to see what happens. This letter also links back to the letter that Lord Illingworth sees in Act 2 and says What a curious handwriting It reminds me of the handwriting of a woman I used to know years ago. and his dismissal of it so simply. The stage direction of Mrs Arbuthnot watches him all the time is rattling important because she wants to see his reaction.Ironically his proposal of marriage after reading Geralds letter uses similar languag e to Mrs Arbuthnots when explaining to Gerald why she would refuse him, for her marriage would be a sacrifice and for Lord Illingworth it would be a surrender. For Mrs Arbuthnot to say this at this point in the play would have been very preposterous for the time because the audience would be expecting a happy ending, for the fallen women to marry the father of her child or for it to end like a melodrama, in tragedy.For the first time, Mrs Arbuthnot is triumphant against Lord Illingworth with the repetition of his own words when she says, Children fix by loving their parents. After a time they judge them. rarely if ever do they forgive them. Lord Illingworth is clearly surprised at this response and then resorts to cruelty. His parting speech creates an exciting climax as the censorship of the time wouldnt allow anyone to say the word tinkers dam on the stage.Wildes stage direction of Mrs Arbuthnots use of the manus Mrs Arbuthnot snatches up glove and strikes Lord Illingworth a cross the face with it is a very good use of a prop because in the time this play was written a glove was a very masculine item and being hit with one was a sign of violence and confrontation. The audience is allowed a shock, due to the word about to be spoken and then they get a relief as the taboo is maintained by Mrs Arbuthnot cutting Lord Illingworth off before he can earth up his sentence because she will not let him say the word because she doesnt want to hear him say this about her beloved son.The villain is punished and Mrs Arbuthnots complaisanceability is ma intained. All of this is typical of a melodrama and we the audience now feel something has been accomplished. Wildes use of stage directions are very well placed and are very dramatic, especially the last few lines of this scene when Mrs Arbuthnot falls sobbing on the sofa and it reinforces that this play is a melodrama because people are not usually this dramatic in blueprint everyday life.Gerald and Hester now re turn to Mrs Arbuthnot and we have the image of a man and a woman in a garden which has been mentioned previously throughout the play and is a sign of sex and fertility and in this scene it shows the audience the image of a new family emerging. Due to Hester having changed her views from believing that women who have children outside of the laws of marriage should be punished, A woman who has sinned should be punished, shouldnt she? And that the children should also carry this shame, Yes, it is right that the sins of the parents should be visited on the children.It is a serious law. It is Gods law. to her now saying I was wrong. Gods law is simply love. Because she is in love with Gerald and has managed to listen and understand all of the things that Mrs Arbuthnot has had to face to earn up Gerald alone. At the end of the play when Gerald sees the glove lying on the floor Mrs Arbuthnot picks up and changes the title line of the play and once again mirrors Lord Illingworths stat ement about seeing the letter from Mrs Arbuthnot, Oh o one. No one in particular. A Man of no importance. widowed and defiant she enters into a fresh and better world although the 19th hundred attitudes to marriage are still upheld in a way because take down though she has won against Lord Illingworth and she has managed to keep Gerald and now has the love and respect of Hester the audience are still left with the image of them being exiled to America, where they have less strict views on illegitimacy and have more freedom.