Page:Wilde - A Woman of no Importance, 1909.djvu/129

RhACT III. GERALD But it is very difficult to get into society, isn't it?

LORD ILLINGWORTH To get into the best society, nowadays, one has either to feed people, amuse people, or shock people—that is all!

GERALD I suppose society is wonderfully delightful!

LORD ILLINGWORTH To be in it is merely a bore. But to be out of it simply a tragedy. Society is a necessary thing. No man has any real success in this world unless he has got women to back him, and women rule society. If you have not got women on your side you are quite over. You might just as well be a barrister, or a stockbroker, or a journalist at once.

GERALD It is very difficult to understand women, is it not? 111