Manipulation In Oscar Wilde's A Woman Of No Importance

Oscar Wilde’s play, A Woman of No Importance, explores and in a way defines the nature of gossip and social status that can be used to determine the truth rather than manipulate it, furthermore sustaining relevance for modern audiences who watch Wilde’s play. One of Oscar Wilde’s play, The Picture of Dorian Gray provides an excellent quote from character Lord Henry “It is perfectly monstrous,’ he said, at last, ‘the way people go about nowadays saying things against one behind one’s back that are absolutely and entirely true” providing an idea of manipulation. From this quote a discussion of the term gossip comes to mind as well as the way this quote is performed demonstrates a person of high social status that can be brought through A Woman of No Importance.

The first two acts performed in A Woman of No Importance display flirtatious, and exotic suggestive behaviour that works to charm the audience. This does not only provide comedy however a ‘contrast to the graver matters of sexual hypocrisy and women’s fight for equality’ Gossip is what defines human life. Only humans can exchange knowledge about distant people and events through the

Dunbar refers to gossip as the engagement “for one to speak ill of another, to interfere with the smooth running of the social relationships within which we are all embedded to undermine the very fabric of society” providing a well defined term of what gossip is. He then continues to explain how gossip has been influential on societies language as well as how it works. For a person to gossip they, one: seek advice or discuss hypothetical situations; two: provide supervising purpose to control those who fail to abide by the formal and informal agreements that underpin society; three: use language to advertise themselves; and finally: use language to