Lady Windermere's Fan - Lesson 2 (Act 1)

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Lady Windermere's Fan first took to the stage in

1. 1854
2. 1892
3. 1891
4. 1845

In the play, the "fan" is

1. an ardent admirer or enthusiast
2. an apparatus with rotating blades that creates a current of air
3. a handheld device, typically folding and shaped like a segment of a circle when spread out

The total action of the play takes place in a span of about

1. a week
2. 24 hours
3. 48 hours
4. a month

The setting of the first act is

1. The Winderemere's residence
2. Lord Darlington's residence
3. Parker's residence
4. outside

Previously, in Lady Windermere's Fan...

Lord Darlington visits Lady Windermere. We learn that it is Lady Windermere's 21st birthday and that she will be giving a party that evening. Her husband has given her a fan as a birthday present. It has her name (Margaret) on it. Lord Darlington flirts with Lady Windermere, but Lady Windermere rejects his attempts at flirtation.

Ellis, Afred (1892). [A sepia toned Cabinet Photo of  Miss Marion Terry as she appeared in the role of Mrs. Erlynne  with her co-star George Alexander in the world premiere at the St. James Theatre of Oscar Wilde's comedy classic "Lady Windermere's Fan"].

You have all watched the rest of Act 1.
What are the most important points you took away from that viewing?

Assignment - group work

For this part of the lesson, you need to work in a small group of four or five students. Divide the following roles among the students in your group:

1) Lady Windermere

2) Lord Darlington

3) Lord Windermere

4) Duchess of Berwick

5) Parker/Agatha

While reading the Act together, answer the following questions.

What does Lady Windermere mean when she says she has something of a Puritan in her?

What is Lord Darlingon insinuating in the previous fragment?

The previous fragment contains what is called a "paradox" ("[...] I am afraid that good people do a great deal of harm in this world.") Explain what you think a paradox is and why there's actually truth in this statement of Lord Darlington's.

Morality and Innocence vs Experience

It is important to note Lady Windermere's strict adherence to rules and what constitutes as good and bad at the beginning of the play. You will see this develop during the play. Pay close attention to this character development!

In the previous slide, you can find another paradox. What line contains this paradox?

Why does the Duchess of Berwick urge her daughter Agatha to look at the photo album?

What is the Duchess of Berwick insinuating about Lady Windermere's husband?

What, according to the Duchess of Berwick, is the solution to Lady Windermere's problem?

Your opinion:
What do you think? Does Lady Windermere have a right to look at her husband's bank books?

What does Lady Windermere mean by: "should pass from the love that is given to the love that is bought"?

What is Lord Windermere asking his wife to do?

What does Lord Windermere mean by "who this woman really is"?

In Act 1, men are not painted in a good light. Give three examples of this from Act 1.

I am happy with the way my group did the group work assignment

Yes

Somewhat

No

Name one thing that went well during the group work.

I have a good understanding of the plot and the characters in Act 1 of the play.

😒🙁😐🙂😃

For next lesson:

Watch the video of Act 2 of the play in preparation for the next lesson on Lady Windermere's Fan.

+Assignment
Identify quotations in Act 1 to support the following themes: gender (include with this marriage and motherhood), morality (include good and bad), society, and secrets and lies.