Arthur; in real life we don’t do such things°—not so long as we have any good looks left, at any rate. No—what consoles one nowadays is not repentance, but pleasure. Repentance is quite out of date. And besides, if a woman really repents, she has to go to a bad dressmaker, otherwise no one believes in her. And nothing in the world would induce me to do that.° No; I am going to pass entirely out of your two lives. My coming into them has been a mistake—I discovered that last night.

Lord Windermere A fatal mistake.°

Mrs Erlynne (smiling) Almost fatal.

Lord Windermere I am sorry now I did not tell my wife the whole thing at once.

Mrs Erlynne I regret my bad actions. You regret your good ones—that is the difference between us.

Lord Windermere I don’t trust you. I will tell my wife. It’s better for her to know, and from me. It will cause her infinite pain—it will humiliate her terribly, but it’s right that she should know.

Mrs Erlynne You propose to tell her?

Lord Windermere I am going to tell her.

Mrs Erlynne (going up to him) If you do, I will make my name so infamous that it will mar every moment of her life. It will ruin her, and make her wretched. If you dare to tell her, there is no depth of degradation I will not sink to, no pit of shame I will not enter. You shall not tell her—I forbid you.

Lord Windermere Why?

Mrs Erlynne (after a pause) If I said to you that I cared for her, perhaps loved her even—you would sneer at me, wouldn’t you?

Lord Windermere I should feel it was not true. A mother’s love means devotion, unselfishness, sacrifice. What could you know of such things?

Mrs Erlynne You are right. What could I know of such things? Don’t let us talk any more about it—as for telling my daughter who I am, that I do not allow. It is my secret,° it is not yours. If I make up my mind to tell her, and I think I will, I shall tell her before I leave the house—if not, I shall never tell her.

Lord Windermere (angrily) Then let me beg of you to leave our house at once. I will make your excuses to Margaret.

Enter Lady Windermere R. She goes over to Mrs Erlynne with the photograph in her hand. Lord Windermere moves to back of sofa, and anxiously watches Mrs Erlynne as the scene progresses

Lady windermere I am so sorry, Mrs Erlynne, to have kept you waiting. I couldn’t find the photograph anywhere. At last I discovered it in my husband’s dressing-room—he had stolen it.

Mrs Erlynne (takes the photograph from her and looks at it) I am not surprised—it is charming. (Goes over to sofa with Lady Windermere, and sits down beside her. Looks again at the photograph) And so that is your little boy! What is he called?

Lady windermere Gerard, after my dear father.

Mrs Erlynne (laying the photograph down) Really?

Lady windermere Yes. If it had been a girl, I would have called it after my mother. My mother had the same name as myself, Margaret.