How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Gwendolen did not turn her eyes on him: it seemed to her a long while that she was first blushing, and then turning pale, but to Grandcourt's rate of judgment she answered soon enough, with the lightest flute-tone and a careless movement of the head, "Oh, I am not sure that I want to be taken care of: if I chose to risk breaking my neck, I should like to be at liberty to do it." (13.18)
Here we see a power struggle between Gwendolen and Grandcourt before they're married – even if it is slightly flirtatious. Grandcourt wants to be the big strong guy to take care of her, and Gwendolen wants to have the freedom to make her own mistakes and take care of herself.
Quote #5
The questioning then, was whether [Gwendolen] should take a particular man as a husband. The inmost fold of her questioning now, was whether she need take a husband at all—whether she could not achieve substantiality for herself and know gratified ambition without bondage. (23.9)
Throughout the novel, Gwendolen seems to view marriage as a kind of prison sentence in which a woman is no longer in control of herself. Her thought of marriage as "bondage" in this instance is just another example of that way of thinking.
Quote #6
"I desire to be independent," said Gwendolen, deeply stung and confusedly apprehending some scorn for herself in Klesmer's words. "That was my reason for asking whether I could not get an immediate engagement. Of course I cannot know how things go on about theatres. But I thought that I could have made myself independent. I have no money, and I will not accept help from any one." (23.57)
As per usual, Gwendolen wants to be in control of herself. In many cases, that means shying away from marriage. In this case, it means supporting herself financially. She's really disappointed, then, when Klesmer tells her she doesn't have the talent to make it on the stage.