Erlynne has made mistakes in the past but deserves this second chance. Erlynne to the party so that she can be accepted back into polite society. At his point, Lord Windermere confesses that he needs a favor from her: he wants her to invite Mrs. Lady Windermere refuses to listen and says that she feels bitterly betrayed. Lord Windermere enters and she confronts him, but he swears that she’s misunderstanding the situation. The Duchess and Agatha-who has barely said a word the entire time-exit.Īlone, Lady Windermere discovers, to her dismay, a locked bank book that turns out to hold proof of her husband’s payments to Mrs.

Lady Windermere refuses to believe that her husband would do such a thing, but the Duchess insists that it’s true and advises her to take Lord Windermere out of town to distract him. Erlynne, despite her mysterious past and lack of family connections. The Duchess says that all the men in London society-even her own brother, Augustus-are enamored of Mrs. The Duchess then reveals the real reason for her visit: she’s come to tell Lady Windermere about rumors that her husband, Lord Windermere, has been frequently visiting and even making payments to a scandalous woman named Mrs. After bantering a bit with the women, Lord Darlington exits. Parker announces that the Duchess of Berwick and her daughter Agatha have also arrived to visit. She defends her views and emphasizes that bad people should never be forgiven for their mistakes. Lord Darlington goes on to tease Lady Windermere about her rigid ideas of morality and says that he wishes for them to be very good friends. Lady Windermere then chastises him for giving her so many effusive compliments and tells him that she thinks he pretends to be a very bad man when he’s actually a very good one. The party she’s throwing that evening is in fact in honor of her birthday. Lord Darlington enters and admires Lady Windermere’s beautiful fan, which she says was a birthday gift from her husband. Her butler, Parker, announces that Lord Darlington has arrived to see her, and she permits him to come in, emphasizing that any guests are welcome to visit.

The play opens as a young woman, Lady Windermere, arranges roses in her morning-room in London.

Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde