A Woman of No Importance

A Woman of No Importance is a satirical play on English upper-class society's double standards for women and men. Lord Illingworth is a bachelor and a flirt, widely admired for his wit, while the woman he had a relationship with twenty years ago had to hide the shame of their illegitimate son. Mrs. Arbuthnot raised the boy Gerald alone after Illingworth declined to marry her. The play follows the events that occur in the main characters' lives. Its portrayal of the hypocrisy of society makes it a comedy of manners and a protest against gender inequality.