A Woman of No Importance

A Woman of No Importance is an 1893 play by Oscar Wilde. Like many of Wilde’s plays, it satirizes the mores, restrictions, and repression of upper-class British society around the turn of the twentieth century. Wilde, known for his flamboyance, bisexuality, and trademark wit, was a celebrated Irish playwright who fell from grace when he was accused of sodomy, arrested, and jailed in a high-profile case. His health declined and he died in 1900. His seminal works include The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the more serious The Ballad of Reading Gaol and De Profundis, both written while Wilde was in jail.

Act I of the play opens on a terrace at Lady Hunstanton’s estate. She is throwing a party, and her guests mingle and exchange gossip. One guest, Lady Caroline Pontrefact, decides to take Hester Worsley, a wealthy visiting American, under her wing. She expresses dislike for Gerald Arbuthnot, a man Hester admires.

As the two are talking, Gerald enters to announce that Lord Illingworth has agreed to take him on as a secretary. This represents Gerald’s first step towards gaining financial success and political influence. Lord Illingworth has ambitions of becoming a foreign ambassador. Lady Hunstanton has a letter sent to Gerald’s mother, inviting her to dinner.



Gerald asks Hester to take a walk with him, leaving Lady Hunstanton and Lady Caroline behind to gossip. Mr. Kelvil, a politician, has been writing about the subject of purity; he says it is a good thing that the influence of women in society is on the rise since they are inherently moral and pure. Lady Hunstanton says that Lord Illingworth doesn’t seem to see women that way; he is a known womanizer. Lord Illingworth enters and refuses any thanks for hiring Gerald. He says he acted out of self-interest: he is fond of the boy and wanted to help him.

A letter from Mrs. Arbuthnot arrives announcing that she will not be able to dine with them, but will arrive afterward. Lord Illingworth and Mrs. Allonby speak alone, discussing Hester’s purity. Lord Illingworth says he can make even the most puritanical woman fall in love with him, and Mrs. Allonby dares him to prove it.

Lord Illingworth happens to see the letter from Mrs. Arbuthnot and says that the handwriting looks familiar. Mrs. Allonby asks him whom it reminds him of, and he replies, “A woman of no importance.”



In Act II, the women are having an argument over English versus American society. Hester decries the way that English society punishes women who have sinned, but not men. She feels that both parties are equally guilty and deserving of punishment. At the end of this exchange, Mrs. Arbuthnot arrives in the drawing room, and Lord Illingworth enters shortly afterward. Gerald introduces the two, and Lord Illingworth reacts strangely. Mrs. Arbuthnot says that perhaps Lord Illingworth will change his mind about his offer to Gerald. The other guests depart for the music room, but Lord Illingworth and Mrs. Arbuthnot stay behind.

Alone, the two discuss the truth: Gerald is the illegitimate son of Mrs. Arbuthnot and Lord Illingworth, formerly George Harford. When a young Mrs. Arbuthnot became pregnant, George refused to marry her, forcing her to face the scandal of life as an unwed mother. Now, Mrs. Arbuthnot asks Illingworth to leave her son alone: he is all that she has. Lord Illingworth refuses, saying that Gerald should be able to choose his own future. Gerald comes back, and Illingworth says to both of them that Gerald has all the qualities he could want in a secretary. He asks Mrs. Arbuthnot if she has any other reason to object. She does not want to tell Gerald about his true parentage, so she says she has no other reason.

In Act III, Lord Illingworth and Gerald speak together about Mrs. Arbuthnot. Gerald says he is protective of his mother; he wishes she would tell him what his father was like. Lord Illingworth agrees that Gerald’s mother is a great woman, but also says that men do not desire great women. He holds forth about his views on society, which run contrary to popular opinion. Mrs. Arbuthnot interjects that she would be sorry to hold his opinions and later says that it is unforgivable to ruin a woman’s life. She and Hester disagree over whether parents’ sins are visited on their children.



Later, Mrs. Arbuthnot tries to tell Gerald about his true parentage, but she relays the story in the third person. He doesn’t understand her and expresses his frustration that she doesn’t approve of his new position. Hester interrupts, entering the room in distress. She says that Lord Illingworth tried to kiss her. Gerald, enraged, tries to hit Lord Illingworth but his mother stops him by telling him the truth: Lord Illingworth is his father. A subdued Gerald takes Mrs. Arbuthnot home.

In Act IV, Gerald is writing a letter to Lord Illingworth, inviting him to come to their house to propose to Mrs. Arbuthnot. Lady Hunstanton and Mrs. Allonby arrive to pay a visit to Gerald’s mother, but he tells them she has a headache. He also explains that he will not be taking a position as his father’s secretary. They leave. Mrs. Arbuthnot comes downstairs and Gerald tells her about his plan. She is horrified, saying Lord Illingworth is not welcome. Gerald argues that it is her duty to marry his father, but she refuses to marry a man she hates, telling him how hard it was to raise him alone.

Hester, overhearing their conversation, tells Mrs. Arbuthnot she has changed her mind: that God’s law is love. She says she will use her wealth to take care of them both. Gerald and Hester leave to enjoy the garden together.



Lord Illingworth arrives and insists on entering the house. He tells Mrs. Arbuthnot he wants to offer Gerald financial security and some property. Mrs. Arbuthnot tells him his help isn’t needed. Illingworth reads Gerald’s unsent letter and offers to give up his position as foreign ambassador to marry her. She refuses, telling him her hatred for him and her love for Gerald sharpen each other. Rebuffed, Illingworth admits that Mrs. Arbuthnot had only been a plaything for him. He is about to call Gerald his bastard, but Mrs. Arbuthnot slaps him with his own glove before he can.

Lord Illingworth leaves, and Mrs. Arbuthnot falls onto the sofa in tears. Gerald and Hester enter, and Hester assures Mrs. Arbuthnot that she will have her as a mother. Gerald sees the fallen glove on the floor and asks who has visited. Mrs. Arbuthnot answers, “A man of no importance.”

Wilde skillfully satirizes the hypocrisy of upper-class society and the cruelty of punishing only women, not men, for having sex outside of marriage. The play, however, is considered one of Wilde’s weakest, with a plot that only takes shape halfway through and most of the first act devoted to witty repartee that has no bearing on the action. A Woman of No Importance has been adapted for film and radio multiple times.