A Woman of No Importance: every role by lines, words, and stage time

Oscar Wilde. 15 speaking roles, 19,306 words, about 138 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Lord Illingworth has the most to say in A Woman of No Importance: about 492 lines and 4,107 words, 21.3% of the play. Wilde’s drama follows Lord Illingworth, who offers young Gerald a post as his secretary before he learns that Gerald is his own son. Lord Illingworth holds about a fifth of the words, and Lady Hunstanton is a close second. Mrs. Arbuthnot, the third-largest part, does not speak until Act 2.

Speaking roles: 15
Scenes: 4
Words: 19,306
Speech time: 138 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Lord Illingworth	492	4,107	21.3%	29.3	4
Lady Hunstanton	417	3,627	18.8%	25.9	4
Mrs. Arbuthnot	379	3,049	15.8%	21.8	3
Gerald	286	2,351	12.2%	16.8	4
Mrs. Allonby	270	2,107	10.9%	15.1	4
Lady Caroline	164	1,345	7%	9.6	3
Hester	153	1,310	6.8%	9.4	4
Lady Stutfield	86	665	3.4%	4.8	3
Kelvil	51	397	2.1%	2.8	2
The Archdeacon	25	218	1.1%	1.6	2
Lord Alfred	6	45	0.2%	0.3	1
Sir John	9	42	0.2%	0.3	1
Alice	4	28	0.1%	0.2	1
Francis	2	12	0.1%	0.1	1
Farquhar	1	3	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	Act 1	Act 2	Act 3	Act 4
Lord Illingworth
Lady Hunstanton
Mrs. Arbuthnot
Gerald
Mrs. Allonby
Lady Caroline
Hester
Lady Stutfield
Kelvil

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Mrs. Arbuthnot: “Men don’t understand what mothers are. I am no…”	Act 4	612	62
Mrs. Arbuthnot: “Gerald, come near to me. Quite close to me, as…”	Act 3	324	33
Mrs. Allonby: “He should persistently compromise us in public…”	Act 2	260	26
Mrs. Arbuthnot: “I do not know it. I do not feel it, nor will I…”	Act 4	209	21
Hester: “We are trying to build up life, Lady Hunstanto…”	Act 2	206	21
Gerald: “Mother, how changeable you are! You don’t seem…”	Act 3	206	21
Mrs. Arbuthnot: “George, don’t take my son away from me. I have…”	Act 2	142	15
Hester: “It is right that they should be punished, but …”	Act 2	134	14
Gerald: “Then I have my ambition left, at any rate. Tha…”	Act 3	130	13
Lord Illingworth: “The boy is to be with you for six months in th…”	Act 4	123	13

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

Lady Stutfield and Alice
Kelvil and Alice
The Archdeacon and Lord Alfred
The Archdeacon and Sir John
The Archdeacon and Alice
The Archdeacon and Francis
Lord Alfred and Alice
Lord Alfred and Farquhar
Sir John and Alice
Sir John and Farquhar
Alice and Francis
Alice and Farquhar

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in A Woman of No Importance?

Lord Illingworth, with about 492 lines and 4,107 words, 21.3% of everything spoken in the play. Lady Hunstanton is next, with about 417 lines (18.8%).

How long is A Woman of No Importance?

The full text has 19,306 spoken words, about 138 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in A Woman of No Importance?

15 named roles speak in this edition, across 4 scenes. 6 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.