Women in and Beyond the Script: A Dialogue Analysis of An Ideal Husband

Yanting Zhang

doi:10.5539/ells.v6n3p82

Abstract

The characterization of the female images in An Ideal Husband can reflect the social status of women in that era, and imply the author’s attitudes toward the different lifestyles of women. This essay is going to use dialogue analysis to find out how these female images are portrayed in the play, and discover the hidden implications about female lives beyond the script.

Highlights

An Ideal Husband is a drama script composed by Wilde (2005), one of the most important English writers in the late Victorian age
The characterization of the female images in An Ideal Husband can reflect the social status of women in that era, and imply the author’s attitudes toward the different lifestyles of women
This essay has used dialogue analysis to explain the characterization of the three female images in An Ideal Husband, and discovered the hidden implications of women in the play

Summary

Introduction

An Ideal Husband is a drama script composed by Wilde (2005), one of the most important English writers in the late Victorian age. A respectable politician Robert Chiltern, who is considered to be an ideal husband, was blackmailed by this scheming woman Mrs Cheveley with the evidence of his earlier political crime. This was known by his righteous wife Gertrude, and he was forced to face the crisis of his reputation and his marriage. Mabel is young and innocent, and her primary concern is all about love affairs This characterization of the female images in the play can reflect the social status of women in that era, and imply the author’s attitudes toward the different lifestyles of women. It will summarize the analysis result, and discuss the gender implications of the play

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion