Day 48: Lady Windermere's Fan

This is a play by Oscar Wilde that I had never read before, and it is also on the darker, more macabre side of his work. The other works I have read are The Importance of Being Ernest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. I thought that Lady Windermere's Fan would fall into the comedic set, but I was wrong. Not that I didn't like it (It would be a great play to act out and be a part of)--it was just a reminder that though Oscar Wilde is better known for his comedies, he is just as good in other genres and themes. Wilde's work is social commentary on the "Age of Decadence" (1900-1930) in England, also known as the Edwardian Era. Social decorum and manners "come before morals", as Lady Erlynne addresses in this play, and often Oscar Wilde addresses also the deceit behind the masks of social status and gossip. Even now we live in a time where convenience often meets with avarice and crime, when behind the curtain much more happens than the world is made aware. And so we must do all we can to combat these dark clouds of immorality, greed and other social troubles--there are more deadly sins than seven. We must fight with virtue, humility, love and sacrifice, and do what we can to make this world a better place.