『ウィンダミア卿夫人の扇』におけるキリスト教的要素

概要

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Christian principles suggest that people should live with an open mind and heart to help others who may have great evil or risks to evil. In this play, Lady Windermere's Fan, the leading protagonist Lady Windermere's adherence to an intolerant puritanical moral cord is the central issue around which the play is organized. As a result, she is incapable of understanding her husband's interest in Mrs. Erlynne's social success. By the end of the play, Lady Windermere argues with her husband, saying she "don't think now that people can be divided into the good and the bad as though they were two separate races or creations". Although this issue is central to the drama, the dramatic actions hinge upon Mrs. Erlynne's saving her daughter from a moral chasm. And the small luxurious fan belonging to Lady Windermere could help bring about eventually a happy ending in this drama. From a Christian point of view, this study examines the relationship between Lady Windermere and Mrs. Erlynne with the past, with the dilemma of Mrs. Erlynne who plays the parts of the good and the bad, and finally with their psychological descriptions of these characters revealed through the circumstances shown surrounding the fan.