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I can resist everything except temptation.

Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere's Fan

Literature

The story behind the card

Lord Darlington says this in Act 1 of Lady Windermere's Fan, Wilde's first comedy of London high society, staged in February 1892. He has just called Lady Windermere ‘a fascinating Puritan’ for her strict moral rules, and when she objects to the adjective, he says he couldn't help it. The joke lies in the surprise: temptation is exactly what willpower is meant to resist. She replies that he has ‘the modern affectation of weakness’. Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was an Irish writer famous for his wit.

Türkçe oku
Her şeye karşı koyabilirim, ayartılmak hariç.
Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere'in Yelpazesi

Bu sözü Lady Windermere'in Yelpazesi'nin birinci perdesinde Lord Darlington söyler. Oyun Şubat 1892'de sahnelendi ve Wilde'ın Londra sosyetesini anlatan komedilerinin ilkiydi. Darlington, ahlak kurallarından hiç taviz vermeyen Lady Windermere'e “büyüleyici bir püriten” demiştir. Genç kadın “büyüleyici” sıfatına gerek olmadığını belirtince, Darlington kendini tutamadığını söyler ve bu cümleyi ekler. Sözün tuzu biberi sondaki sürprizdir: İrade zaten insanı ayartan şeylere karşı koymak için vardır. Lady Windermere'in cevabı hazırdır: Zayıf görünmek, günün moda yapmacıklıklarından biridir. İrlandalı yazar Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) nükteli sözleriyle ünlüdür.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Oscar Wilde
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