This is the first play I read merely for pleasure. The rest I read for my Lit classes. I admit, the fact that it was on sale at 80% off was a big factor in my purchasing it.

Oscar Wilde's most popular work is of course The Importance of Being Earnest. It's on my to-read list, and if Lady Windermere's Fan is a valid preview of Wilde's style and wit, then I guess I shouldn't wait any longer in reading his other play.

Lady Windermere's Fan is a short easy read, but indeed full of charm and wit! Set in 19th century London, the play displays the many travesties as well as quirks of the Society at the time. The complexities and intricacies of love, marriage and gender roles come together in the interactions of the characters. If you are looking for quotable quotes on love, men and women, this play is a land mine!

"Men become old, but they never become good."
"Crying is the refuge of plain women, but the ruin of pretty ones."
"Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes."
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
"There's nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It's a thing no married man knows anything about."

Funny and also thought-provoking, short lines like these make the reader laugh in agreement or in spite. Aside from that, there is also the twists in the plot that create suspense. I wanted to skip pages to the end, but the dialog was much too entertaining to leave out!

I read this play to pass my time, and my time sitting in the midst of traffic was time not wasted after all.