AIH KEY PLOT & CONTEXT Flashcards
2 things that best describe Sir Robert Chiltern?
He is well respected by his peers and by the public.
He gained wealth by committing fraud.
2 things that best describe Lady Gertrude Chiltern?
She is educated.
She is politically active.
2 things that best describe Lord Goring?
He was born into wealth.
He is concerned with fashion, image and appearance.
A description of Mrs Cheveley?
She has previously been married.
T/F?
The play starts with a party.
T
T/F?
Mrs Cheveley has evidence Robert stole money from Baron Arnheim.
F
T/F?
Robert initially agrees with Mrs Cheveley’s blackmail demands.
T
T/F?
Gertrude Chiltern walks out on Robert when she finds out his past crime in Act 2
F
T/F?
Mrs Cheveley and Lord Goring make a bet on whether Robert will do the right thing - if he does, Goring gets the letter; if he doesn’t, Goring marries her.
F
T/F?
In Act 3, we see Sir Robert’s speech to Parliament.
F
T/F?
Mrs Cheveley steals Lady Chiltern’s letter from Goring’s rooms.
T
T/F?
Robert cannot let Mabel marry Goring because he knows Goring has been married before.
F
T/F?
Robert burns the letter, destroying the evidence of his crime.
F
T/F?
The play ends with Goring and Mabel’s wedding.
F
In which century was ‘An Ideal Husband’ first performed?
Late 19th Century
In which year was ‘An Ideal Husband’ first performed?
1895
T/F?
Queen Victoria had recently come to the throne when the play was written.
F
T/F?
The Haymarket Theatre was popular with a large cross-section of society.
F
T/F?
The politician Charles Dilke had recently been imprisoned after a fraud scandal.
F
T/F?
Wilde wrote ‘An Ideal Husband’ during his prison sentence for ‘gross indecency’.
F
T/F?
Wilde wrote controversial essays on politics, society and the role of art.
T
T/F?
Wilde was a feminist and campaigned for female suffrage (the right to vote).
F
T/F?
The dominant, conventional Victorian ideal of women was as mother and housewife.
T
T/F?
The ‘New Woman’ debate argued that men and women should be held to the same moral and sexual standards.
T
T/F?
Wilde had no interest in commercial success and was known for doing what he wanted, regardless of public opinion or laws.
F
T/F?
Plays in major theatres needed a licence from the Lord Chamberlain in order to be performed
T
