An Ideal Husband: The Persons of the Play

Dramatis Personae

The Earl of Caversham, K.G.
Viscount Goring, his Son
Sir Robert Chiltern, Bart., Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs
Vicomte De Nanjac, Attaché at the French Embassy in London
Mr. Montford
Mason, Butler to Sir Robert Chiltern
Phipps, Lord Goring’s Servant
James Footmen
Harold
Lady Chiltern
Lady Markby the Countess of Basildon
Mrs. Marchmont
Miss Mabel Chiltern, Sir Robert Chiltern’s Sister
Mrs. Cheveley

Time: The Present

Place: London

The Action of the Play is completed within twenty-four hours.

The Persons of the Play in brief

The Earl of Caversham and his son Viscount Goring head the list, followed by Sir Robert Chiltern, Baronet and Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, and the Vicomte de Nanjac of the French Embassy. The servants include Mason, the Chilterns' butler, and Phipps, Lord Goring's man. Lady Chiltern leads the women, with Mabel Chiltern and Mrs Cheveley last. The time is "The Present", the place London, and the action is completed within twenty-four hours.

Summary

Who's who

Sir Robert Chiltern
The statesman with a secret. Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs at forty, admired for his integrity and adored by his wife.
Lady Chiltern
The idealist who learns forgiveness. Gertrude Chiltern, twenty-seven, "a woman of grave Greek beauty" who works for the Woman's Liberal Association.
Lord Goring
The serious dandy. Arthur Goring, thirty-four but admitting to thirty-two, the son of Lord Caversham and "a flawless dandy" who changes his buttonhole and trades paradoxes with his butler.
Mrs Cheveley
The blackmailer from Vienna. Laura Cheveley, dressed in heliotrope and diamonds and "rather like an orchid", arrives from Vienna with Robert's old letter and a large stake in the Argentine Canal.
Mabel Chiltern
Youth and quick wit. Sir Robert's sister and ward, "the apple-blossom type" with "the fascinating tyranny of youth".
Lord Caversham
The exasperated father. The Earl of Caversham, seventy, wearing the star of the Garter, "A fine Whig type".

Words to know

Dramatis Personae: the characters of a play, in Latin
K.G.: knight of the Garter, the highest English order of knighthood
Viscount: a nobleman ranking below an earl
Bart.: short for baronet, a hereditary rank whose holder is called Sir
Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs: a junior minister who speaks for the Foreign Office in Parliament
Attaché: a junior official on the staff of an embassy

James	Footmen
Harold