The desire for power has been a compelling theme in plays for centuries. However, Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband displays something that most power-driven plays don't - the desire for many different kinds of power. Instead of every character struggling to control one common aspect of their lives, each person has their own individual kind of power that they crave. It is with each character and their struggles that Wilde conveys his message: the quest for power can have grave consequences.
             Sir Robert Chiltern is the first character to discover this. Almost twenty years prior, he was very ambitious, very smart, and very poor. Willing to do practically anything to get ahead, Robert sold a Cabinet secret for a large sum of money - so large, in fact, that it enabled him and his wife to become part of the elite. He is convinced that if he did not have his wealth, he would have nothing.
             "SIR ROBERT CHILTERN Every man of ambition has to fight his century with its own weapons. What this century worships is wealth. The god of this century is wealth. To succeed one must have wealth. At all costs one must have wealth." (Act II.)
             Now, he is an established member of the parliament, and very close to receiving a seat on the Cabinet. However, it is his secret that causes his troubles: a woman named Mrs. Cheveley has discovered the source of Robert's wealth, and blackmails him.
             This brings up yet another fight for power: Mrs. Cheveley enjoys having power over people. At first, it seems as though she simply wants money just as Robert did; she tells him she will destroy the proof of his scandal if he supports a motion in parliament which will result in her getting a bit richer. However, when Mrs. Cheveley admits to Lord Goring, Robert's friend, that she will destroy the proof if Lord Goring agrees to marry her, it is obvious that she does not actually care very much about the motion.
             "MRS. CHEVELEY When I saw you last night at the Chilterns',...