We are halfway through the nine weeks!
Choose a quote from your play (A Doll House or IOBE), type it out, and comment on why it is significant. Make sure it is one that no one else has already posted.
Post early so someone else does not take your quote!
Do not just summarize where the quote came from, but instead discuss what it might mean, reveal, symbolize, emphasize, foreshadow, etc. In other words, analyze!
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61 comments:
From IOBE:
Algernon: I really don't see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact.
Jack has come to propose romantically to Gwendolen, but Algernon seems to believe that proposals are uneventful formalities. Later we find that Algernon's portrayal is quite accurate, as neither of the lovers takes the proposal seriously, and Jack is interrogated by Gwendolen's mother immediately afterward, shrouding any romance that could have taken place.
I really wanted to use this quote somehow!
page 27 in my book:
"The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to some one else, id she is plain"
This definitely reveals Algernon's arrogant ways, and maybe also his views of how women are to be treated... WRONG!
I figured this might foreshadow how he will treat Cecily if/when they meet. Jack, on the other hand, objects to it, which means he might be the only nice and reasonable one in the book thus far. Algernon's arrogance is going to be his downfall i bet.
From IOBE:
Meriman: Mr. Ernest Wothing has just driven over from the station. He has brought his luggage with him.
Cecily: 'Mr. Ernest Worthing, B.4, The Albany, W.' Uncle Jack's brother! Did you tell him Mr. Worthing was in town.
Early in the novel Uncle Jack revealed to Algy that he lived a double life and that he was not really Ernest. But Algy confronts him about his business card and keeps it to confront anyone he ever denies it to. I believe that scene forshadowed the quotes above. I think that Algy knew he was going to use the business card for himself to become Ernest and mess everything up for Jack. This to me proves that Algy is not a good friend and he is willing to betray anyone that comes in his path.
From IOBE:
"I don't like novels that end happily. They depress me so much."
First of all, this book made me laugh because it was so ridiculous, and it has many hilarious lines. The book is really quite ironic with all of its surprises, and I feel that this quote really illustrates that. The characters themselves are even quite ironic, as Algernon goes on and on about how marriage is silly, and divorce is great, yet he proposes later on to Cecily. Jack has created a brother out of thin air, and Algernon goes to his country to house to pretend to be this brother. However, both fall in love with two women who believe that Jack and Algernon's names are both Ernest. Then the Cecily and Gwendolyn both think they have become engaged to the same man. Finally, the confusion is sorted out. Then, to introduce the twists of all twists, it turns out that Jack is actually the son of Lady Fairfax's sister, and he finds out that his "natural" name is Ernest, which is the name he pretended to have all along. Quite crazy, and quite ironic, but hilarious.
I believe I am the first from Doll's House...
Page 56 in my book "Carefree! To know you're carefree, utterly carefree; to be able to romp and play with the children, and to keep up a beautiful, charming home- everything just the way Torvald likes it!"
This lady seems so demented to me. She is doing things behind her husband's back yet she wants everything to be oh so perfect for him and the children. she lives in a fantasy world. She has a false sense of money then reveals she actually has borrowed most of it. This quote alone foreshadows a creepy future for these characters...
IOBE:
Algernon: The only way to behave toa woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to someone else, if she is plain
I laughed at this quote just becasue it shows how senseless and, for lack of a better word, horny Algernon is. This, along with other things, show that Algernon isn't exactly the most moral character, and that this may interfere with the relationship between Jack and Gwendolen later on.
IOBE has a ton of really fun quotes that are short and easy to remember, I like it :)
"More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn't read."
Basically, its saying that the ideas that cause progress and change are often those that are condemned or unorthodox. This quote is spoken by Algernon, who is quite a liberal and one might even say amoral character. Oscar Wilde might be suggesting that evolution and advancement of society depends on the ideas that seem most dangerous.
From IOBE
Algernon:All women become like ther mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.
My grandmother has told me this quote before but I thought nothing of it at the time. This was Algernon's sarcastic way of telling Jack that Gwendolyn will be just like her mother, or Algernon's aunt. Its thier tragedy because they can't help it and they gain both the good and the bad traits. No man becomes like his mother is his tragedy because he doesn't have the same caring and loving traits of a mother or the understanding of a woman.
So I'm dumb, and I just wanted to correct my blog entry. I totally spelled Gwendolen's name wrong, and I meant to put Lady Bracknell instead of Lady Fairfax.
Well, I can't eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would probably get on my cuffs. One must eat muffins quite calmly, it is the only way to eat them. - Algernon, Act II
This quote was really ironic because of the timing. The two of them (Jack & Algernon) had just been caught in an identity scheme. It really shows the true colors of both characters. Jack's truly caring side comes out, while Algernon seems truly apathetic about the situation.
From IOBE:
Jack: "Gwendolen, it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth."
Jack takes a strange pleasure in lying to people. His whole life is based on deceit, and when he finds out that he has been telling the truth, he is upset. It is ironic that he apologizes to Gwendolen for telling the truth the whole time because normally people apologize for telling lies. Jack and Algernon don't have confidence in themselves that they can impress women just being themselves. I hate to say it, but this quote reminds me of that really cliche phrase: "the truth shall set you free."
From A Doll House:
Helmer: Is that my little lark twittering out there?
Nora: Yes it is.
Helmer: Is that my little squirrel rummaging aroumd?
Nora: Yes!
Ok so even though it is the beginning of the play, Torvald is already getting on my nerves. I think that this signifies that he looks down on Nora, because she is a woman. I also think it foreshadows something bad for their relationship, like what seems perfect on the outside is actually a lie. It is almost like he is having to remind her that he is the man and in charge, maybe.
Jack: My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you were a dentist. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn't a dentist. It produces a false impression.
Not only is this ironic of Jack. I believe it is a foreshadow for the characteristics of both Algy and Jack. While Jack changes his name to Ernest we see that he is not truely going by his real name. Knowing this he is breaking the rule he has set down for Algy which proves the contradictory lifestyle of the Victorian period. When Algy uses the name of Ernest he is putting on a false act as well. It seems both these men are obsessed with being someone they are not. When we find out the Jacks true name is Ernest it's almost as though he knew he was right and Algy was the liar. The importance of being called Ernest seems to stimulate his egotistical manner.
From A Doll House:
Krogstad: "But I'm telling you this: if I get shoved down a second time, you're going to keep my company."
So even though Krogstad is made out to be this lower man in the bank, he seems to hold a lot more power than this. I found Krogstad kind of intimidating in the beginning of the play, and I felt myself fear for Nora's own life. Krogstad was not only a criminal in his past, but he still is an evil man for blackmailing Nora. As the play went on though, I believed that both Krogstad and Nora would end up in trouble. At the end of the novel, Krogstad is the complete opposite of what I once thought of him; he turns out to be easily persuaded by personal desires, and I almost want to laugh to myself at how ridiculous his change in character was.
"We live, as I hope you know, Mr Worthing, in an age of ideals. The fact is constantly mentioned in the more expensive monthly magazines, and has reached the provincial pulpits, I am told; and my ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence. The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you." - Gwendolen
I like this quote because it's the first time where we actually see why it's so important to be named Ernest. The ironic part is that none of the men in the play are actually earnest people. They aren't honest nor do they show great depth, like the definition explains.
from Doll's House
Rank: Is that the best cure for overexertion?
Mrs. Linde: One has to live, Doctor.
When I first read this line, it came to me that eventually this striving to make a living would be consistently come up in the play. This could possibly have to do with the oppression women had to deal with during the times, or such as Krogstad's desperation to make a living.
From IOBE:
Gwendolen: How absurd to talk of the equality of the sexes! Where questions of self-sacrifice are concerned, men are infinitely beyond us.
Because Algernon and Jack are willing to change their Christian names to please their lovers, the girls think that they are doing the best thing they can to prove their love. Their reactions about the inequality of the sexes show that they have grown up in ignorance and do not have any rights whatsoever. Men seem so superior to them, and they know nothing better. This reaction is similar to everything they encounter in the book; the men will always be more intelligent.
From A Doll's House,
Torvald: "I would gladly work night and day for you, Nora—bear sorrow and want for your sake. But no man would sacrifice his honor for the one he loves."
Nora: "It is a thing hundreds of thousands of women have done."
To me this quote really demonstrates the sexism present in the Victorian Age. A man could not lower himself to such a thing as sacrificing his honor, which women did on a regular basis. This also reveals what people of the time thought love and marriage were. Love for men is the willingness to commit a act of bravery in which one sacrifices his life, but never his honor. Love for women is the willingness to sacrifice everything for one's husband. It reveals the double standard of the day and explains why Nora has to leave, for she has lived a life by giving into the facade of a happy life when she really is miserable. Women must sacrifice their honor and dignity for men, yet that is below men. It really demonstrates how women are subservient to men and how easily they can lose themselves in such a marriage where they must pretend to be perfect and at the same time sacrifice every ounce of dignity they may have.
From IOBE:
"Personally, darling , to speak quite candidly, I don't much care about the name Ernest...I don't think that name suits me at all." p.129
This quote is so ironic because Jack is trying to get Gwendolen to accept him as Jack, so he totally rejects the name Ernest. However, later when he finds out his name really is Ernest he is so happy and expressed that he knew it all along. This shows Jacks trivial nature and his tendency to change his opinions based on others thoughts.
From A Doll House:
"From now on, forget happiness. Now it's just about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance."
Torvald says this after he learns of Nora's forgery and debt to Krogstad. Torvald is a very shallow man and he would rather appear happy to others than to actually experience happiness himself. It also shows how weak Torvald is as a man, rather than take responsibility for Nora's action, he only desires that it be kept a secret so that it doesn't ruin his reputation.
From IOBE:
"A moment, Mr. Worthing. A hundred and thirty thousand pounds! And in the Funds! Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her."
Lady Bracknell does not think that Algernon and Cecily should get married until she find out that Cecily is very wealthy. This is humorous because it satirizes the ideals of the Victorian period, when money was of huge importance in a marriage. I also think part of the humor comes from the fact that Lady Bracknell's change of heart about Cecily is so obvious to the reader and the other character's seen not to notice.
From IOBE:
Cecily: "I think whenever one has anything unpleasant to say, one should always be quite candid."
Firstly, this line made me laugh out loud. The fact that she said this is very ironic and humorous. However, I also think the line is commenting on the way people hold back their true feelings in order to pleasant. Wilde is trying to make a point to be sincere and frank whenever one talks, as one must not try to become a multiple personality such as Ernest.
Jack: On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I've now relized for the frist time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.
I think this is probably one of the most important lines in the book. First of all because it has the title of the book in it. Also, it helps you realize what Wilde's purpose is for writing the play. He wants us to realize that even though being earnest is not always the easiest thing to do but it is usally the best. Also, it is a play one words because his name is Earnest and he is talking about being earnest(honest).
Tiffany stole my favorite quote!!! :( so here's another:
Act III
Lady Bracknell: "We live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces."
Lady Bracknell is talking to Jack about the inheritance that Cecily has. Pretty much everything in this play is ironic. Here, Lady Bracknell was not going to let Algernon marry Cecily, but then she finds out that she has a butt load of money so she agrees. It is ironic that she admits that the world is all about the outer appearance because she has just proved that point. The play makes fun of the way Victorians viewed society and manners and marriage and other ideals. Lady Bracknell is used to satirize the foundations of marriage and society. Because of Cecily's money, it is NOW ok for Algernon to marry her, but before there was something wrong with her. Another irony about this quote is the "I regret to say" part. In no way does Lady Bracknell regret looking on the surface of people because she does it throughout the play with Jack and Cecily.
From A Doll's House
NORA: Both you and I would have to be so changed that--. Oh, Torvald, I don't believe any longer in wonderful things happening.
HELMER: But I will believe in it. Tell me! So changed that--?
NORA: That our life together would be a real marriage. Goodbye.
Because of her society's idealogies, Nora has had to sacrifice her identity for Torvald and her role as a house wife. She does not wish to be subserviant anymore and wishes to break free of the 'damsel in distress' view that her environment holds for women. Her hope of a miracle occuring is diminished, and she realizes that she will never be viewed as an equal in her marriage. This emphasizes the powerful, domineering role that men had, and to some extent still do have, in society. The roles of Nora and her husband were forced upon them, and Ibsen suggests the magnitude of society's influence.
From IOBE
Gwendolen: The old-fashioned respect for the young is fast dying out. Whatever influence I had over mamma, I lost at the age of three.
This is hilarious becuase it is so ironic! Of course what is really happening in our society today, is that respect for the OLD is fast dying out! She makes it sound like such a tragedy that she has lost power over her mother, when it is awful that she is not respectful to her mother. This is a perfect example of how this play makes fun of these character's adherence to their "moral duty." They stick to their morals, but they are a mixed-up, ironic set of morals! These aristocrats pride themselves in being so proper and rule-abiding, but they are following a ridiculous set of rules that only benefits themselves.
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." Act I
This quote is relative to the play because the characters are constantly lying and streching the truth. The truth of a matter can many times be upsetting or immoral, and in this play both women have been fooled by their "fiances" and their true identity. When the truth comes out about who everyone really is, the relationship between everyone is innertwined and confusing.
This quote foreshadows the basic outcome of the play because the truth in this play is not pure nor simple.
From IOBE:
Algernon: ... Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven't got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die.
I thought this quote was rather humorous in that it is true. But also I believe this statement to be a little contradictory in that he is also a relative and they may think his way of living is horrible. I think Oscar Wilde demonstrates the importance of family which is not so much in this novel. Family may be important for marriage in order to have consent but other than that family has no value which Wilde demonstrates in his novel. why is family so weird and crazy? i really do not get it. why can they not be normal? ha
Yessss, no one used mine.
From IOBE:
Jack: On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I've now realized for the frist time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.
So basically, this is the most important line in the whole play. Not only is it ironic because his name is Ernest afterall, but he realizes the importance of being civilized and not being something he isn't. The whole play was hilarious. I loved it. The last line of the play completely sums up the play, and it's a classic ending at best. Love it.
IOBE:
Jack: When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people. It is excessively boring.
Not only is this a literal truth, but also talks about peoples' behavior as a whole. People tend to find being by themselves as boring and make friends to entertain themselves. He obviously is not content with what he has and wants more. He has found himself to be tired of the things he does have. It reveals his selfishness that he would rather please himself than sacrifice for others.
(It's translated a little differently various texts, but they all contain the same gist.)
Mrs. Linde:
I have learned to act prudently. Life, and hard, bitter necessity have taught me that.
Krogstad:
And life has taught me not to believe in fine speeches.
These two sentiments reflect from their view of life and trace back to their mutual lost love. This pair act as foils for Nora and Torvald because they encompass honesty and the reality of life while Nora and Torvald view life through their own selfishly blind ambitions in order to maintain appearances. The tones of Mrs. Linde and Krogstad are somber, bitter, and longing with a sense of finality. It's almost as if that they want what Nora and Torvald have yet because of the sacrafices they've had to make and the choice of "doing the right thing" and "saving one's own skin" was daunting and molded them into the lost, wandering characters they are now.
Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both may be regarded as carelessness.
This quote struck me as poignant because it demonstrates the true nature of Upper Class hypocrisy. For one, Bracknell is more interested in stature to determine Gwendolen's suitor than of the actual nature of the man and his personality. And, doesn;t everyone eventually lose both parents. I guess we are all careless...
a doll house
act 3
NORA:
Maybe. But you neither think nor talk like the man I could bind myself to. As soon as your fear was over—and it was not fear for what threatened me, but for what might happen to you—when the whole thing was past, as far as you were concerned it was exactly as if nothing at all had happened. Exactly as before, I was your little skylark, your doll, which you would in future treat with doubly gentle care, because it was so brittle and fragile. [Getting up.] Torvald—it was then it dawned upon me that for eight years I had been living here with a strange man, and had borne him three children—. Oh, I can't bear to think of it! I could tear myself into little bits!
this quote portrays the signifigance of the whole play. nora is explaining the role that women have in society and she decides to break free from it and have her own independent role from her husband. women are just dolls, playthings in the society nora is in. she finally recognizes this and that she doesn't even know her husband now that she can see through his facade. she sees that he doesnt really care for her and that their whole relationship is based on something thats not real.
a doll house
Helmer-"There,now, at least we got her out the door. She's a deadly bore, that creature."
This symbolizes how two faced Torvald really is. He is gentlemenly to yuor face, but when you mess up or leve, he is quick to tear you down. This is also a good foreshadowing for what is to come between him and Nora. It shows his weakness. He is selfish and solely looks out for his own neck.
"There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt." Torvald Act I
This quotes is important because it show just how much money and pride was an isssue for them and how thier marriage was never really all that happy because of these kinds of problems.
from Dolls house: act 1 pg 1590
Nora: poor kristine youve become a widow
Mrs. Linde: Yes three years ago
Nora: of coures i knew it i read it in the papers. oh kristine you must believe me i often thought of writing to youthen buti kept postponing it and always something interfered.
...
Nora: and no children?
Mrs. linde: no
...
Nora: so completely alone How teribly hard that must befor you. i have three lovely children. you cant see them now they are out with the maid
this whole conversation really reveals Noras true personality. she is trying to act nise and like she reslly cares but she just keeps making excuses. then in trying to express her condolenses to Mrs. Linde about having no children she feels the need to brag abouthere three lovely childrenand how great they are. she seems fake to me which is what is really revealed in the end when she finally comes clean to helmer. she has been acting the whole time and is not who she pretends to be and really she is not even happy.
IOBE:
Algernon: You see, if one plays good music, people don't listen, and if one plays bad music people don't talk.
First off, this quote characterizes Algernon's personality quite well in its irony. It appears nonsensical, but it is quite witty. It also satirizes the Victorian arrogant atmosphere in which Algernon is referring to.
This is Ashley
Doll House
"NORA: Still it was tremendous fun sitting there working and earning money. It was almost like being a man."
This is definitely a male-dominated society, so that women belong in the domestic sphere--raising children, cooking meals, and keeping the house are their sole responsibilities. Nora says it was "fun" to work, whereas most people absolutely despise their jobs. This shows how trapped she is in the home; any break from her everyday routine is a novelty.
Nora made me shake my head in disappointment and disgust at her acceptance of Torvald's treatment, so I was relieved when she finally stood up for herself and left him to save her sense of self.
"To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."- Lady Bracknell
This shows the Lady Bracknell's view of social classes as well as the overall view of Victorian society. The society views social status as everything, so she just views Jack as a lesser person, not from any fault of his own, but rather due to the fact that his parents are dead. It ends up being ironic in the end though, because his mother is her her sister.
From A Doll's House:
Helmer: Of course you couldn't, poor little girl. You had the best intentions to please us all, and that's the main thing. But it is a good thing that our hard times our over.
Nora: Yes, it really is wonderful.
Helmer: This time I needn't sit here and be dull all alone and you needn't ruin your dear eyes and your pretty little hands-
Yay! No one took my quote! This quote emphasizes the Victorian beliefs of a domestic sphere for woman. Helmer's definite dismissal of any other importance in life for Nora, except for caring for the family and maintaining an image, reveals his ideals of a man-run society. He seems to have the idea that as long as Nora does her best to make everyone happy and keep things in order, she has done her job, however limited it is.
IOBE
Jack. I am in love with Gwendolen. I have come up to town expressly to propose to her
Algernon. I thought you had come up for pleasure?... I call that business.
This quotations reveals much about the time and society in which Algernon and Jack live. While marriage is supposed to be pleasureful and passionate, Algernon sees it as business. In their society, marriage is just one of the methods people use to fit in with others and be of a certain status. Focus is not placed upon who one is, but rather what one is. Emphasis is placed on gaining entrance to the classy and high society. People strive to be proper.
From: IOBE
"Gwendolen, it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth. Can you forgive me?"
Cecily, Algy, and Gwendolen have just found out that Jack origins and that in fact, his name is Ernest. Cecily finds that this is extremely coincidental. This reveals that a man who lives a life of truth, has no excitement at all. With out the invention of the lie our lives would be completely uneventful. After all do you know of anyone that hasn't told a lie in their entire life?
IOBE, Algy talking to Jack
"I have always been of opinion that a man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing."
This quote pretty much sums up Algy's entire attitude in Act I; he is the elegant bachelor. He is arrogant and has a bunch of witting sayings, such as this one. This quote shows the complications of marriage and how big of a decision it is. I think that this quote foreshadows his falling in love later in the play just to contradict his arrogant philosophies, calling anyone who wants to get married a fool.
From A Doll's House...
"I believe that before everything I am a thinking human being, just as you are--or, at any rate, that I must try to become one. I know very well, Torvald, that most people would think you are right, and that your views would be supported in books. But I can no longer be satisfied with what most people say or what's written in books. I must think things over for myself and try to understand them"
Nora is attempting to break from the Victorian ideals of society. She is unhappy conforming to the women's sphere. She is tired of the necessity of women to conform and to be subservient to society and to men. Torvald represents society as a whole and the stridgent ideals and strict barriers and Nora represents the suppressed woman's desire to be free. She wants to understand things for herself and her deciding to leave Torvald represents her independence and opposition to society.
From TIOBE: "Relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven't got the remotest knowledge of how to live and when to die."-pg 136
I think this is a really funny quote, and somewhat true in the sense that everyone's family gets on their nerves sometimes. Algernon says this about his meddlesome aunt Lady Bracknell. I think the characters in TIOBE are all Wilde's device to ridicule the stiff formality of the Victorian era. In this quote, Wilde makes fun of the Victorian ideal of the falsehood of a perfect family relationship.
IOBE:
Algernon: "If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensly over-educated."
This statement shows the pride and vanity common amoung the upperclass during the Victorian era. Wilde is poking fun at it by over emphasising it with ridiculous comments such as this one. It is also satireing the Victorian emphasis on dressing up, and being well-read.
"Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?"
This play was really funny. I think this quote kind of sums up the satire of the play. Basically Lady Brackwell is saying that it is the responsibility of the poor to set an example for the rich. Wilde is making fun of the Victorian aristocracy by commenting on how they believe that they are so far above all the lower classes yet they are so ignorant on how to live that they expect those lower classes to set an example for them.
Lane: I believe it is a very pleasant state, sir. I have has very little experience of it myself up to the present. I have only been married once. That was in consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person.
Here, Lane portrays marriage simply as an experience. He does not see marriage for the love involved in it. Algernon claims to disagree with Lane in his idea about marriage, but we later find out that he wants to be married just for the sake of being married, instead of because he is in love.
From IOBE:
Gwendolen: I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.
The two women are very dedicated to recording their lives' events in their diaries. It seems that the concept of keeping a diary to them is more of making up what they wish would happen or sensationalizing the truth to make it more exicting. I could be wrong, but other than a few special cases like Anne Frank, I don't really think there are that many "sensational" diaries out there. The made up nature of the diaries is already pointed out when Cecily shows her records of her engagement to Earnest, which never really existed, but that she put down as fact. Overall, I thought this quote was ironic because Gwendolen says that she entertains herself on the train with her diary, which sounds as if she is trying to make her life seem more interesting than it really is.
IOBE
"when the music is good, people talk and do not listen, but when the music is poor people do not speak and listen"
Algernon and Jack are speaking of the nature of people and how they react ironically in situations. It also appeals to the idea that one should not try excessively to please or to disappoint; there must be a balance.
IOBE
"You don't seem to realize in married life three is company and two is none."
This pokes fun at the Victorian idea that married couples often did not show much charged emotion to each other. Algernon seems to have realized this Victorian truism when talking to Jack about marrying Gwendolyn. In those times, the married woman was supposedly "too proper and respectable" to have such feelings for her husband. As a result, the husband would often have a mistress on the side, hence "three is company." All the while, the wife would often turn a blind eye to the husband's cheating, as divorce was not an option.
This passage really got to me because it not only was funny but it showed how the "clever" and the nonintellectuals saw one another.
JACK: I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever now-a-days...I wish to goodness we had a few fools left.
ALGERNON: We have.
JACK: I should extremely like to meet them. What do they talk about?
ALGERNON: The Fools? Oh! about the clever people, of course.
In this passage, Algernon has just "slapped" Jack in the face, hinting that Jack is a fool without Jack even knowing it. Jack would fit into the "nonintellectuals" category, and even as he claims he does not like intellectuals to Algernon, he does not realize that he is being "backstabbed". After all, he is not clever.
"My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you were a dentist. It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn't a dentist. It produces a false impression..."
i like this quote because whenever I go to my dentist, he always asks me a question that can't be answered with a nod of my head when he has stuff in my mouth.
to me i sometimes think that my dentist does this because he is trying to control the situation and not lead to something bad. kind of like how algy and jack hide their true identities in order to hide who they really are because of the thoughts and influenses of others around them
wooo 6 minutes to spare !
Doll House: "Tell me, Mrs. Helmer, do you happen to recall the date of your father's death?" pg.1601
This quote foreshadows that there was something wrong with the document and that something bad will happen. It also further reveals the manipulative aspect of Krogstad.
From A Doll's House:
Nora: "I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That's how I've survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It's because of you I've made nothing of my life."
I think this quote sums up the title of the book. Nora is trapped in a doll house and all she can do with her life is perform "tricks". That's all she ever did for her father too. She can't do anything for herself, because she always has to please everyone else, just like a doll does.
From Doll House:
Nora: "I believe that before everything I am a thinking human being, just as you are--or, at any rate, that I must try to become one. I know very well, Torvald, that most people would think you are right, and that your views would be supported in books. But I can no longer be satisfied with what most people say or what's written in books. I must think things over for myself and try to understand them"
I love, love, love this quote! It seems like something from the Feminine Mystique. Nora's just now realizing that her marriage wasn't a real relationship after all. It was based on appearances and domination and authority, instead of respect and trust. Although I still think she's kinda dumb, my respect for Nora as a character peaked when she defined herself first as a human being, and then as a wife.
My favorite quote from IBOE is, "What seems to us bitter trials are offten blessings in disguise." I like this quote because it is so true in their world, and today. It shows that everyone struggles and symbolizes that life does have a pupose, even if at that moment it does not seem to be the best thing.
Lady Bracknell: "Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only people who can't get into it do that."
I literally laughed out loud when I read this quote. Oscar Wilde cuts to the quick of society's hypocrisy. Society is capitalized, showing an inappropriate degree of reverence, like some sort of God. Those who are accepted would not dare to speak ill of it, and those who are not are only prompted to do so out of spite and jealousy. Haha, what a world they lived in.
"From this moment happiness is not the question; all that concerns us is to save the remains, the fragments, the appearance-" (Act Three)
After Torvald finds out that Nora has borrowed from Krogstad, he completely changes his attitude towards her and pretty much acts like their relationship was shallow to begin with. He gives up on them so quickly, and cares less for the love that these two share than the 'appearance' they uphold within society. This idea of a marriage based on keeping one's reputation and class distinction is seen many times throughout the play. Torvald views Nora as his little doll, something he can pick up and play with.. but when she disobeys, he stops playing.. in other words, he continues the facade of having a happy marriage to others but not with his own wife.
I don't know if that makes sense.. but it does in my head :)
sorry if it doesn't! ahh.. so late
From a Doll's House
Helmer: Surely my sweet tooth hasn't been running a riot in town today, has she?
....Hasn't nibbled some pastry?....Not even munched a macaroon or two?
I thought this quote was significant because it shows the dominating way Torvald treats Nora, as if she is a child. In this quote he is talking down to her, making sure that she hasn't had any candy because he thinks it will rot her teeth, and thus shes not allowed any. Also just continues to show the Victorian era, with the man being totally in charge.
"Well I can't eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would probably get on my cuffs. One should always eat muffins quite calmly. It it is the only way to eat them."
I found this quote very humorous along with the entire muffin scene. I think the fallout of the Bunburying along with the actions of the 2 girls in response shows the true stupidity of Victorian times. Earnesty and morals are highly regarded while men secretly lead secret lives of moral degradation and indulging.
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