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Mrs. Erlynne
Lord Darlington is a young gentleman who is generally believed to behave wickedly, though Lady Windermere thinks he’s only pretending to be bad. Lord Darlington is playful and flirtatious and holds a flexible view of morality; in the first act, he tells Lady Windermere that he thinks her views are too black-and-white. Lord Darlington asks Lady Windermere to be his friend, but, when she asks for help in her distress over Lord Windermere, he confesses his love for her and asks her to run away with him. Lady Windermere refuses but later regrets her choice when she sees Lord Windermere and Mrs. Erlynne talking intimately, which convinces her further that her husband is being unfaithful. This misunderstanding leads to a dramatic series of misunderstandings in Lord Darlington’s apartment. Lord Darlington’s love for Lady Windermere is presented as genuine and romantic, but also unrealistic; the audience can see that he simply bends his ideas of what’s right to accommodate his own desires. Mrs. Erlynne is caught hiding in Lord Darlington’s apartment at the end of the third act, but the play does not make it clear what happens to him as a result of the seeming affair. In reality, Mrs. Erlynne only went to Lord Darlington’s apartment to stop Lady Windermere from leaving Lord Windermere, but this truth isn’t apparent to Darlington and the other men; Darlington honestly doesn’t have any idea what she’s doing there. Presumably, Lord Darlington leaves England at the end of the play as he told Lady Windermere he intended to do.
Lord Darlington Quotes in Lady Windermere’s Fan
The Lady Windermere’s Fan quotes below are all either spoken by Lord Darlington or refer to Lord Darlington. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act I Quotes
LORD DARLINGTON: Oh, nowadays so many conceited people go about Society pretending to be good, that I think it shows rather a sweet and modest disposition to pretend to be bad. Besides, there is this to be said. If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad, it doesn’t. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism.
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When Lord Darlington comes to visit Lady Windermere before her party, she scolds him for paying her too many compliments and says that she thinks he pretends to be much worse than he is. He defends his behavior with these words, flipping the definitions of good and bad to paint himself in a positive light, even though his actions would conventionally be seen as negative. The optimism he mocks resembles Lady Windermere’s own views on morality: she believes it’s easy to tell who’s moral and who’s immoral. This moment is an early example of the play’s blurring of the lines Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut ali
LORD DARLINGTON: Well then, setting mercenary people aside, who, of course, are dreadful, do you think seriously that women who have committed what the world calls a fault should never be forgiven?
LADY WINDERMERE: (standing at table) I think they should never be forgiven.
LORD DARLINGTON: And men? Do you think that there should be the same laws for men as there are for women?
LADY WINDERMERE: Certainly!
LORD DARLINGTON: I think life too complex a thing to be settled by these hard and fast rules.
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Lord Darlington initiates this exchange after bringing up a supposedly hypothetical situation about whether a wife whose husband is unfaithful can rightfully be unfaithful herself. Lady Windermere reiterates that there can be no exceptions in her idea of morality; moral people and immoral people are completely different, and immoral people can never be redeemed. Lord Darlington disagrees, extending his previous claim that good and wicked behavior might not be so different after all. Lady Windermere’s claim that the same rules apply to both men and women also reveals her willful naivety at this point in the play. She has already Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore.
Act II Quotes
LADY WINDERMERE: (C.) London is full of women who trust their husbands. One can always recognize them. They look so thoroughly unhappy. I am not going to be one of them. (Moves up) Lord Darlington, will you give me back my fan, please? Thanks…A useful thing a fan, isn’t it?…I want a friend tonight, Lord Darlington: I didn’t know I would want one so soon.
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This quotation is Lady Windermere’s reply to Lord Windermere when she asks him to trust her. This moment shows a particularly explicit instance of the fan’s role as a symbol of conventional femininity and its conflicting uses. Where before it was a simple aspect of Lord Windermere’s love for Lady Windermere (as he gave it to her as a birthday gift), it now becomes a tool that Lady Windermere uses to navigate a treacherous social situation and regain some personal agency. Her mention of needing a friend also shows how even Lady Windermere uses the idea of friendship as shorthand Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperior
LORD DARLINGTON: Wrong? What is wrong? It’s wrong for a man to abandon his wife for a shameless woman. It is wrong for a wife to remain with a man who so dishonours her. You said once you would make no compromise with things. Make none now. Be brave! Be yourself!
LADY WINDERMERE: I am afraid of being myself. Let me think. Let me wait! My husband may return to me. (Sits down on sofa)
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After Lord Darlington professes his love for Lady Windermere, he insists that it isn’t wrong for Lady Windermere to run away from him. Rather, it’s wrong for her to remain with her husband when he’s treated her so badly. This moment is a complete reversal of these two characters’ stances from Act I. Lord Darlington suddenly has very clear ideas about what constitutes right and wrong, while Lady Windermere hesitates to follow through on the strict dichotomy she previously claimed to believe in. The actions that each of them take in this sequence suggests that perhaps no one really has Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatu
Act III Quotes
LADY WINDERMERE: I must go back—no; I can’t go back, my letter has put me in their power—Arthur would not take me back! That fatal letter! No! Lord Darlington leaves England tomorrow. I will go with him—I have no choice.
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Alone in Lord Darlington’s rooms, Lady Windermere debates what to do and feels that all of her options will lead to negative outcomes. She is caught here between different ideas of what it means to be a good woman; should she remain loyal to her husband as she once thought was necessary, or should she take Lord Darlington’s advice and put her own needs first by running away? Complicating matters is the fact that she still loves Lord Windermere and feels nothing for Lord Darlington. The complex contradictions leave her feeling helpless, trapped between conflicting versions of how the world Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum v
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Lord Darlington Character Timeline in Lady Windermere’s Fan
The timeline below shows where the character Lord Darlington appears in Lady Windermere’s Fan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act I
...roses and preparing for a party that evening. Her butler, Parker, arrives to announce that Lord Darlington has come to visit her. She tells Parker that she will accept his visit and...
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Lord Darlington enters and tells Lady Windermere how beautiful her fan is. She thanks him and says...
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Lady Windermere scolds Lord Darlington for having praised her too much at a gathering the night before. He confesses that...
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Lord Darlington goes on to ask Lady Windermere to be “great friends” with him. She agrees that...
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Lord Darlington considers Lady Windermere’s words and asks if, hypothetically, it would be wrong for a woman...
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...announces the arrival of the Duchess of Berwick and her daughter, Agatha. The Duchess greets Lord Darlington and tells him that he is “far too wicked” to talk to Agatha. The Duchess...
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After Lord Darlington leaves, the Duchess of Berwick remarks that she both likes him and feels glad that...
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Alone, Lady Windermere reflects that now she understands what Lord Darlington ’s hypothetical situation was really about. She says again that the rumors can’t be true...
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Act II
...to reconsider her intention to humiliate Mrs. Erlynne. She moves away, taking her fan from Lord Darlington , who has been holding it for her. She remarks that she thinks she will...
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...Mrs. Erlynne. Mrs. Erlynne returns the gesture and then moves off to join the party. Lord Darlington picks up the fan and returns it. Lord Windermere whispers to Mrs. Erlynne that it...
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Lord Darlington tells Lady Windermere that she looks pale, to which she replies: “Cowards are always pale!”...
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Lady Windermere and Lord Darlington return from the terrace. Lady Windermere bemoans her humiliation over Mrs. Erlynne, and Darlington tells...
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Lady Windermere recoils and tells Lord Darlington that she does not have the courage to run away with him. Darlington tells her...
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Watching them go, Lady Windermere decides that she was foolish to turn Lord Darlington down and resolves to leave Lord Windermere. She writes him a letter and leaves it...
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Act III
Alone in Lord Darlington ’s rooms, Lady Windermere wonders when he will arrive and laments her situation. She worries...
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...the voices belongs to Augustus, at which point Mrs. Erlynne also hides in another room. Lord Darlington , Lord Windermere, Augustus, Dumby, and Cecil Graham all enter together.
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The men lament that the club made them leave so early. Lord Windermere thanks Lord Darlington for his hospitality but says he can’t stay long. Augustus replies that Windermere must stay...
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Lord Darlington comments that he doesn’t much like Mrs. Erlynne, and Cecil says that he likes her...
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...there’s no point in behaving virtuously, because women will always think that men are bad. Lord Darlington agrees, suddenly moved to stop writing and join the others.
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Lord Darlington admits that he is in love, but that the woman he loves is “a good...
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Cecil catches sight of Lady Windermere’s fan lying on the sofa and slyly asks Lord Darlington if he is faithful to the woman he loves. When he confirms that he is,...
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...Windermere recognizes the fan as Lady Windermere’s right away. Furious, he demands an explanation from Lord Darlington , who denies knowing anything about it. As an aside to himself, Darlington notes hopefully...
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Act IV
...he won’t ever be able to look at the fan again after the events in Lord Darlington ’s rooms, and Mrs. Erlynne says she’ll ask Lady Windermere to give her the fan....
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...Windermere. He explains that Mrs. Erlynne was actually looking for him when she went to Lord Darlington ’s rooms, having checked at the club first. She wanted to relieve the suspense and...
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