When he sends off the
invitation, she turns upon him and says, "If that woman crosses my
threshold, I shall strike her across the face with this fan." Here,
again, many a dramatist might be content to bring down his curtain. The
announcement of Lady Windermere's resolve carries forward the interest
quite clearly enough for all practical purposes. But even this did not
satisfy Wilde. He imagined a refinement, simple, probable, and yet
immensely effective, which put an extraordinarily keen edge upon the
expectancy of the audience. He made Lady Windermere ring for her butler,
and say: "Parker, be sure you pronounce the names of the guests very
distinctly to-night. Sometimes you speak so fast that I miss them. I am
particularly anxious to hear the names quite clearly, so as to make no
mistake." I well remember the effect which this little touch produced on
the first night. The situation was, in itself, open to grave objections.
There is no plausible excuse for Lord Windermere's obstinacy in forcing
Mrs.
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