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Abstract: The article discusses the importance of the image of the fan in Oscar Wilde’s plays. The review of foreign and national research on comedies allows to speak about a philosophical component of Wilde’s plays that still remains insufficiently studied. The analysis of Wilde’s works reveals that his literary texts are founded on the author's specific philosophy of the unreal, which is based on the idealistic teachings from ancient times to the late XIX century and reflects the latter trends. Wilde pays much attention to such categories as an accident, influence, soul, alongside his plays discuss the most topical issues, in particular, the «women's issue». The analysis of Wilde’s literary texts shows his negative attitude to women’s rights and freedoms. Wilde’s works don’t represent simply a problem of the women’s influence, but their power over men. The negative character of the weaker sex is emphasized by such an accessory as a fan. The image of the fan is read as a symbol of discord, and the possibility of such an interpretation is suggested by the first play «Vera, or the Nihilists». The fan is mentioned in all Wilde’s comedies except for «The Importance of Being Earnest», and when analyzing the texts the image of the fan helps better define the author's position. In Wilde's final tragedy «Salome» the fan once again underlines the perversity of women's influence, its mortal danger for men.