Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
Jack: Actually, I was found. Lady Bracknell: Found? Jack: Uh, yes, I was in... a handbag. Lady Bracknell: A handbag? Jack: Yes, it was... [makes gestures] Jack: an ordinary handbag.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously reflects the absurdity of identity through an unlikely scenario.
In this exchange from Oscar Wilde's play, there is a comedic revelation regarding Jack's existence, which he naively describes as being found in a handbag. This playful absurdity highlights themes of identity and social norms, illustrating how outlandish situations can serve as a critique of societal expectations, particularly regarding class and lineage.
Themes
IdentityAbsurdityHumorSocietyWilde
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the quirks of identity at a literary event.
More from Oscar Wilde
All quotes βLondon is too full of fogs and serious people. Whether the fogs produce the serious people, or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know.
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When one has never heard a man's name in the course of one's life, it speaks volumes for him; he must be quite respectable.
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Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
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A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
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His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
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