“An Ideal Husband”
Act I
Active Vocabulary
to take to politics (12)
to make smth out
a swindle (29)
to inquire about smb/smth
to do smb justice (30)
to withdraw a report (31)
to be prejudiced (31)
to lay a foundation of smth (33)
to make terms (34)
to suppress smth (35)
to sacrifice smth (35)
to be susceptible to reason (39)
to uphold
fraudulent (43)
fraud (n)
to decline smth
to despise smb/smth (44)
to drift apart (48)
a) Find the sentences with these words and reproduce the situations.
Paraphrase
…Lord Cavershan, an old gentleman of seventy. A fine Whig type. (9)
Has my good-for-nothing son been here?
Shouldn’t mind being introduced to my own tailor, he always votes on the right side (7, 8).
There is nothing like race, is there? (9)
Sir Robert Chiltern enters … A personality of mark. (11)
I don’t care about the London season. (16)
You are not going to plunge us into a European war. (19)
Then, my dear Nanjac, you must certainly read between the lines. (21)
The thing has gone to the dogs… (21)
… London Society was entirely made up of dowdies and dandies. (24)
And then the family skeleton is always reading family prayers. (28)
My dear Sir Robert, you are a man of the world. (32)
The House of Commons had not yet passed the bill. (35)
You all go over like ninepins one after the other. (34)
I should fancy she came to grief if she tried to get Robert into her toils. (43)
Who said it and in what context. Explain the meaning of the sentence and comment on it.
It (education) puts one almost on a level with the commercial classes, doesn’t it? (5)
It is entirely composed now of beautiful idiots and brilliant lunatics. Just what society should be. (8)
They actually succeeded in spelling his name right in the newspapers. That in itself is fame, on the continent. (10)
Optimism begins in a broad grin, and pessimism ends with blue spectacles. Besides, they are both of them merely poses. (14)
The strength of women comes from the fact that psychology cannot explain us. Men can be analysed, women … merely adored. (15)
Nowadays, with our modern mania for morality, everyone has to pose as a paragon of purity, incorruptibility, and all the other seven deadly virtues… (34)
You have a splendid position, but it is your splendid position that makes you so vulnerable. (35)
One should always play fairly … when one has the winning cards. (37)
Truth is a very complex thing, and politics is a very complex business. There are wheels within wheels. (46)
But power is nothing in itself. It is power to do good that is fine… (47)
That great inheritance throw not away – that tower of ivory do not destroy. (47)
Fill in the blanks with prepositions.
A man who took me … … dinner talked … me … his wife the whole time.
I have been obliged … the present to put Lord Goring … a class quite … himself.
I hardly think there will be much … common … you and my husband.
One feels that he is conscious … the success he has made in life.
… any rate we do our best to waste the public time.
An acquaintance that begins … a compliment is sure to develop … a real friendship.
… least that it the only way I can account … the terrible haggard look … most … your pretty women … London.
We poor women who are … thirty have nothing open … us but politics and philanthropy.
He plays … life, and he is … perfectly good terms … the world.
I delight … your bad qualities.
You seem to be living entirely … pleasure.
Let us call things … their proper names.
I sent … a special Commission to enquire … the matter privately.
I hope you have not invested … it.
I remember hearing … the time … his death that he had been mixed … the whole affair.
I hope you will be more reasonable … your terms.
It is … my possession.
You owe … it your fortune and position.
You do it … the terms I wish, I shall hand you back your letter … the prettiest thanks.
I always pass .. good advice. It is never … any use … oneself.
Questions.
What is the time period of the play?
Where is the scene laid? What is the occasion for the gathering? Who receives the guests? Describe Lady Chiltern.
Who are the guest of the Chilterns? Reproduce the conversation between Mrs. Marchmont and Lady Basildon. How does it characterize the ladies?
What do you come to know about Lord Caversham and Lord Goring?
Who is Mabel Chiltern to Lady Chiltern and her husband? How does she portray the London society?
What do you learn about Sir Robert Chiltern? What is his position in the society? Speak about Lady Chiltern’s opinion of her husband.
Who brings Mrs. Cheveley to the party? What is her background? In what way does she differ from other ladies at the party? How does Lady Chiltern happen to know Mrs. Cheveley? What are Lady Chiltern’s schoolday recollections?
What does Mrs. Cheveley want to meet Sir Robert for? How does she approach the subject of her interest? Why has she invested largely in the Argentine Canal Scheme?
Speak about Sir Robert’s opinion of the Suez Canal Scheme and the Argentine Canal Scheme. Why does he qualify the Argentine Canal as “a second Panama”? What did the commission sent out to Argentina report? What is Sir Robert going to do with the report of the Commission?
What reasons does Mrs. Cheveley give suggesting that Sir Robert should withdraw or suppress the report? What are her terms? What does she threaten to do in case he refuses to uphold the scheme?
How did Mrs. Cheveley manage to reveal the origin of Sir Robert’s wealth and career? How did she get hold of his letter to Baron Arnheim?
What does Mrs. Cheveley preach? What is her philosophy in life?
What makes Sir Robert accept Mrs. Cheveley’s terms?
Why does Mrs. Cheveley drop a hint to Lady Chiltern that her husband is going to lend his support to the enterprise she is interested in? What is Lady Chiltern’s reaction to the news?
How does Sir Robert account for the change in his attitude to the Argentine Canal Scheme? How does he try to whitewash Mrs. Cheveley? Why does he call politics a complex business? What does he mean saying that public and private life are different things?
How does Lady Chiltern manage to talk her husband into writing Mrs. Cheveley a letter declining his support?
Speak on the incident with the brooch. What is Lord Goring’s reaction when he catches sight of the brooch?
Act II