'An Ideal Husband' - OBH Quotations Flashcards
“Oh! A genius in the daytime…
…and a beauty at night”
- Lord Goring, possibly suggesting her alluring qualities
“Let us call things…
…by their proper names”
- Robert Chiltern
- Comes back to haunt him
“damned nobodies…
…talking about nothing”
- Lord Caversham
“(leaning back on the sofa)”
Mrs Chevely
- Power dynamic, control over Robert
“I am talking to a man…
…who laid the foundation of his fortune by selling a Stock Exchange speculator a cabinet secret”
“Telling the Baron…
…to buy Suez Canal shares”
“game of life”
Mrs Chevely
- she has power over Robert and can destroy his life and reputation
“Even you are not…
…rich enough, Sir Robert, to buy back your past”
- Chevely
“Lady Chiltern… has a…
…very enobling effect on life”
- Lady Markby
“It is extraordinary what…
…astounding mistakes clever women make”
- Lord Goring, proleptic irony
“untruthful, dishonest…
…an evil influence”
- Lady Chiltern on Chevely
“no-one can be entirely judged…
…by their past”
- Sir Robert
- Foreshadowing
“One’s past…
…is what one is”
- Chiltern, believes we are not able to change and be forgiven
“They should both represent man at his highest”
- Lady Chiltern
- Public & Private life should represent ideals
“Circumstances…
…should never alter principles”
- Lady Chiltern
“To the world, as to myself,…
…you have been an ideal always”
- Lady Chiltern
- Reflects her high standards
“The sins…
…of one’s youth”
- Sir Robert
- “the sins of the father” (Exodus)
“What this century worships…
…is wealth”
- Sir Robert
“At all costs…
…one must have wealth”
- Sir Robert
- Wealth is the God of the century
“I bought success…
…at a great price”
- Sir Robert
- ref. to Chevely “you have your price”
“Wealth has given me…
…enormous power”
- Sir Robert, corruption
“I received from the Baron…
…£110,000”
“When the God’s wish to punish us…
…they answer our prayers”
- Sir Robert
- Had a successful life and is waiting to be punished
“It would kill her love…
…for me”
