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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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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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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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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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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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Get the entire Lady Windermere’s Fan LitChart as a printable PDF.
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:
).
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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Explanation and Analysis:
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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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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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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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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