An Ideal Husband: every role by lines, words, and stage time

Oscar Wilde. 15 speaking roles, 24,328 words, about 174 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Lord Goring has the most to say in An Ideal Husband: about 786 lines and 6,081 words, 25% of the play. Wilde’s comedy follows Sir Robert Chiltern, a rising politician blackmailed by Mrs. Cheveley over a secret from his past. Lord Goring has the largest part, with a quarter of the words and a presence in every act. Sir Robert Chiltern follows with a fifth, and Mrs. Cheveley, the third-largest part at about 18%, is absent from Act 4.

Speaking roles: 15
Scenes: 4
Words: 24,328
Speech time: 174 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Lord Goring	786	6,081	25%	43.4	4
Sir Robert Chiltern	585	4,867	20%	34.8	4
Mrs. Cheveley	517	4,300	17.7%	30.7	3
Lady Chiltern	361	2,865	11.8%	20.5	3
Mabel Chiltern	235	1,890	7.8%	13.5	3
Lady Markby	190	1,717	7.1%	12.3	2
Lord Caversham	182	1,467	6%	10.5	3
Mrs. Marchmont	49	366	1.5%	2.6	1
Phipps	47	276	1.1%	2.0	1
Lady Basildon	37	255	1%	1.8	1
Vicomte de Nanjac	19	128	0.5%	0.9	1
James	6	52	0.2%	0.4	1
Mason	9	35	0.1%	0.3	3
Mr. Montford	4	26	0.1%	0.2	1
Harold	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 Goring
Sir Robert Chiltern
Mrs. Cheveley
Lady Chiltern
Mabel Chiltern
Lady Markby
Lord Caversham

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Sir Robert Chiltern: “There was your mistake. There was your error. …”	Act 2	362	37
Mrs. Cheveley: “My dear Sir Robert, what then? You are ruined,…”	Act 1	341	35
Mabel Chiltern: “Well, Tommy has proposed to me again. Tommy re…”	Act 2	297	30
Lady Markby: “And a very good thing too, dear, I dare say. I…”	Act 2	271	28
Lord Goring: “Lady Chiltern, allow me. You wrote me a letter…”	Act 4	229	23
Sir Robert Chiltern: “One night after dinner at Lord Radley’s the Ba…”	Act 2	205	21
Lady Markby: “No thanks, dear. The fact is, I have promised …”	Act 2	202	21
Lord Goring: “That will do. Lady Chiltern’s handwriting on L…”	Act 3	171	18
Mrs. Cheveley: “I wonder what woman he is waiting for tonight.…”	Act 3	171	18
Lady Chiltern: “That makes no matter. She must know at once th…”	Act 1	169	17

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.

Mrs. Marchmont and Phipps
Mrs. Marchmont and James
Mrs. Marchmont and Harold
Phipps and Lady Basildon
Phipps and Vicomte de Nanjac
Phipps and James
Phipps and Mason
Phipps and Mr. Montford
Lady Basildon and James
Lady Basildon and Harold
Vicomte de Nanjac and James
Vicomte de Nanjac and Harold

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in An Ideal Husband?

Lord Goring, with about 786 lines and 6,081 words, 25% of everything spoken in the play. Sir Robert Chiltern is next, with about 585 lines (20%).

How long is An Ideal Husband?

The full text has 24,328 spoken words, about 174 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 An Ideal Husband?

15 named roles speak in this edition, across 4 scenes. 8 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.