VHAM The Model Millionaire

The Model Millionaire
BY OSCAR WILDE


CONTENTS
1. Author and Story
introduction
2. Characters
3. Setting
4. Plot/ Summary
5. Characterization
6. Theme
7. Moral lesson


1. AUTHOR AND
STORY


OSCAR
WILDE
• Oscar Wilde, in full Oscar
Fingal O’Flahertie Wills
Wilde.
• Born October 16, 1854,
Dublin, Ireland—died
November 30, 1900
• Irish wit, poet, and


THE MODEL

MILLIONAIRE
• A short story by the Irish
author Oscar Wilde.
• First appeared in print in
the newspaper The World in
June 1887.
• Published again in 1891 as
part of the anthology Lord
Arthur Savile's Crime and
Other Stories.


2. CHARACTERS


MAIN CHARACTERS

Hughie Erskine
Handsome, no
profession, poor,
Laura’s boyfriend,
Alan’s best friend


MAIN CHARACTERS
Alan Trevor
Hughie’s best friend, a
painter, an artist, he
has his own studio.

MAIN CHARACTERS
Baron Hausberg
Alan Trevor’s best
friend
The richest man in
Europe


MINOR CHARACTERS
Laura Merton
the daughter of a retired
Colonel, Hughie Erskine’s
fiancé.
Laura’s father
a retired Colonel who had
lost his temper and his
digestion in India.


SETTING
VICTORIA LONDON, XIX
CENTURY
“ The shilling (1/- or 1s.) was
a coin worth one twentieth of
a pound sterling, or twelve
pence produced in the mid16th century.”
ALAN’S
STUDIO – HUGHIE’S HOME
Alan Trevor’s studio where Hughie Erskine and “Beggar molder”

met each others.
 Impending marriage between Hughie and
Laura


3. PLOT/ SUMMARY


Hughie wants to marry Laura but
her dad demands £10,000.
Hughie does not have the money
he needs.

Exposition


Hughie went to his friend’s art
studio and he gave the
beggar/model some money.

Rising action


Hughie realized that the beggar
was Baron Hausberg, one of the
richest men in Europe.

Climax

Baron Hausberg gave him an
envelope with the £10,000 he
needed.

Falling action


Hughie was able to marry
Laura.

Resolution


4.
CHARACTERIZATION


Hughie Erskine
Apperance
“But then he was wonderfully goodlooking, with his crisp brown hair, his
clear-cut profile, and his grey eyes.”
(p.80)
He was as popular with men as he
was with women,… (p.80)
 Attractive and charming


Hughie Erskine
Lack of
intelligence

Unless one is wealthy there is no use in being a charming
fellow. Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the
profession of the unemployed. The poor should be practical
and prosaic. It is better to have a permanent income than
to be fascinating. These are the great truths of modern life
which Hughie Erskine never realised. (p.80)
“Poor Hughie! Intellectually, we must admit, he was not of
much importance. He never said a brilliant or even an illnatured thing in his life.” (p.80)


Hughie Erskine
Hughie also lacks a true profession and could be
defined as a dandy*.

He had tried everything. He had gone on the Stock Exchange for six
months; but what was a butterfly to do among bulls and bears? He had
been a tea-merchant for a little longer, but had soon tired of pekoe*
and souchong*. Then he had tried selling dry sherry*. That did not
answer; the sherry was a little too dry (p.80)
“Ultimately he became nothing, a delightful, ineffectual young man
with a perfect profile and no profession.” (p.80)
*pekoe: a variety of tea
*dry sherry: Spanish wine
*souchong: a type of tea made from the older
leaves of the shoot


Hughie Erskine
Kind and empathetic

“He looked so forlorn* and wretched
that Hughie could not help pitying
him, and felt in his pockets to see
what money he had.” (p.82)
“I have got heaps of old clothes at
home - do you think he would care for
any
of(adj):
them?”
(p.83)
*forlorn
sad and
lonely


Hughie Erskine
A bit of pride and
humility
'Baron Hausberg!' cried Hughie. 'Good
heavens! I gave him a *sovereign!’
(p.83)
…my dear Alan, you mustn't tell
anyone. I shouldn't dare show my face
in the Row. (p.84)
*Sovereign:
former British
coin
'I beg, sir, that you
will aoffer
himgold

my
worth one pound sterling
sincerest apologies,'
stammered


Hughie Erskine
Become happy
• Have money
• Get married with
Laura
Express his gratitude to
Baron
Alan said, “Millionaire models are
rare enough, but model millionaires
are rarer still!”


Alan
Trevor

Apperance
A ''strange rough fellow, with a
freckled face and a red ragged
beard,’ (p.81)
-> Seem to be a wise and
A
painter
calm
man whose art is well

received by critics and
patrons alike.
when he took up the brush he
was a real master, and his
pictures were eagerly sought
after. (p.81)