Being Earnest Comedy Essay

Wilde uses satire especially with the idea of marriage. In the society that he lived in, marriage is seen as a business arrangement. When Lady Bracknell questioned Jack to determine if he is suitable for her daughter, she

Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Alison Booth, et al. 9th ed. New York: Norton, 2005. 1879-21.

From the surface, Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen seem to have a typical mother-daughter relationship. But as the play progresses we see that this is not at all the case. Lady Bracknell is a narrow-minded and authoritarian type mother. Because of this she is very protective when it comes to her daughter. She believes that since she married well, her daughter deserves the same. Her idea of marriage includes the attainment of social security and property. In her mind it has nothing to do with love or passion. Gwendolen, however, wants to make her own decisions and live her life as she pleases, not having to worry about whether or not her mother will approve. She is intellectual sophisticated, and cosmopolitan. The overprotectiveness from her mother is first seen when list of eligible men are mentioned. This list is composed by Lady Bracknell herself and includes the names of all the men who she believes are good and worthy enough to be with her daughter. With this list is a set of interview questions about a variety of topics ranging from his smoking habits to his family origins. This is her way of manipulating the situation and getting it to turn out the way that she wants it to. Lady Bracknell was born into the lower class but was a social climber who was determined on marrying into the aristocracy, which is exactly what she did. She wants her daughter to be able to do the same. She even goes as far as to tell Gwendolen that she is not engaged until her mother or father informs her that she is. Even after all this pressure and control coming from her mother Gwendolen decides to rebel. Gwendolen is sure she wants to marry the man

The audience assumes that people in the real world as lucky and benevolent as this are so becuase they worked hard and are earnest. By creating a character like this who took the easy money and built a marriage and friendships around lies, wilde has challenged the earnestness of the many victorian people because there were many poeple in a social position like robert's who may have done a similar thing to get there. In An Ideal Husband Wilde presents a view (the least flattering view presented in the play)that victorian society is viciously hypocritical. This is acheived through the characterisation of Lady Gertrude chiltern, as her ridiculously high morals (an important factor of earnestness) almost cost her her marriage.

In an age of social registers, Lady Bracknell laments that even the Court Guides have errors. In the next breath, she discusses bribing Gwendolen's maid to find out what is happening in her daughter's life. In Act III she also reveals that her aristocratic brother's family entrusted their most precious possession — Jack — to a woman who is more interested in her handbag and manuscript than in what happens to the baby in her charge. Wilde seems to be

Lady Bracknell’s character represents the “New Woman” and clearly Algernon has to overcome any obstacle to please her. Lane, as the servant, a lower class citizen, acknowledges the hierarchy and aids Algernon in response. Wilde also wrote the scene where Algernon eats the entire plate of cucumber sandwiches as a sign of rebellion against the supreme woman figure. Algernon feared the consequences, and as a result concealed the truth. The cucumber sandwiches symbolize the need to be accepted within society and its commodities. Wilde devises the cucumber sandwich discussion to provide insight regarding the power shift from men to women at this time.

During the mid 1800’s, commonly referred to as the Victorian Period, social hierarchy was an enormously profound aspect of European societies. Therefore, arranged marriage and the desire to “move up” on the social ladder was a common pursuit. Throughout the text, it becomes apparent that Wilde strongly opposes this concept, as he includes several power-struggles between Lady Bracknell and the younger generation based on their conflicting desires. To expand, Lady Bracknell insists that “An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be. It is hardly a matter that she could be allowed to arrange for herself” (Wilde 16-17). This quotation reinforces the fact

Oscar Wilde uses his witty criticism of Victorian immorality to argue what true morality is. In this period of time it was normal for people to lie and it was okay. He takes a satirist view on how the people of this time period generally acted. Victor Frankenstein believed he could create something beautiful out of death, but ended up creating destruction. It did not go quite as planned though, Victor was instantly horrified when he saw the monster he had created.

Cecily and Gwendolen were perfectly happy to become attached to something that appears to be true and real rather than taking a closer look to expose the genuine nature of Jack and Algernon proves that the two young women were more attached to the name of both men, and did not consider their actions and words to verify them not being earnest – exposing both women as superficial. Algernon’s occupation with his outer appearance and Lady Bracknell’s need to look good in the eyes of others proves them both to be superficially committed to their external manifestations. It is possible that Wilde was revealing what the upper class life resulted in, and that as one rises higher in status one loses themselves, becoming preoccupied with what others want and what others think, forgetting one’s true

It was highly moral for a man to have a family and to be current in marriage; it boosts up his image and role in society. A man, who has been out of marriage for too long, is seen as idle. Wilde presents two characters, Algernon and Jack, who have a dispute whether marriage is silly or not. It suggests that not every Victorian man were keen on the idea of marriage. In the Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde displays a

While those of the Victorian upper class were usually the most refined and intelligent, Wilde portrays them as ignorant and dense. One of the most well described ladies, Miss Prism, is shown to be the least aware. “The most cultivated of ladies, and the very picture of respectability”(63). She is ultimately the most absent minded and leaves baby Jack in a handbag in a cloak room of a major railway station. Through Miss Prism, Wilde is able to propagandize the intelligence the aristocrats usually embody. In addition to this, Wilde refutes the morality of the Victorian elite. The main two characters, Jack and Algernon, are deceptive and are rarely seen to have any morals. Reviewing this play with a sociological/Marxist perspective provides insight on how Wilde wants others to perceive the elite of

Later, when Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen enter, two more ideas of marriage are brought to the forefront. Lady Bracknell portrays the aristocratic Victorian view of marriage but to a more extreme extent. According to Ziegenfuss, marriage in the Victorian era was not romanticized or fairytale-like. Love actually played a very minor role in the majority of matrimonies that took place. Engagement was entered into as one would approach a business deal, with rules and guidelines (Ziegenfuss). This is blatantly obvious when Lady Bracknell interviews Jack to see if he’s fit to marry Gwendolen. She attacks Jack with questions about family, fortune, and even place of residency and his answers need be appropriate for a union between the two families. (Kupske, Souza, 122). Even when Algernon wants to marry Cecily, Lady Bracknell voices, “I think some preliminary inquiry on my part would not be out place.” (Wilde, 46). Gwendolen, however, has the same view of marriage as Jack but, still has strong ideals about social protocol. This is seen when Jack tries to propose, she replies, “Of course I will darling…I am afraid you have had very little experience in how to propose!” (Wilde, 11)

The upper classes of society had strict guidelines for their marriages. In the play, Lady Bracknell had some specific requirements for a potential husband of her daughter. When Gwendolen told her mother, Lady Bracknell, she was engaged to Jack,

Such as, Marriage, class discrimination, manners and sincerity. Those themes are presented with the Lady Bracknell’s help. Wilde has created, with Augusta Bracknell, a memorable instrument of his satiric wit, questioning all he sees in Victorian upper-class society. With her power and weakness shown, she, as an upper class lady, connects and presents the themes in the play.

The genre of comedy, throughout the history of dramatic art has always served to not only entertain audiences, but to make them aware of their own individual flaws, or flaws that exist in society. (Weitz, E.) Comedy has no precise definition, and its boundaries are broad. One function of comedy however has remained the same - to hold up a mirror to the society of the time but through pleasure, inviting audiences to reflect and also providing amusement. Set in the late nineteenth century, the play An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (1895) epitomises comedy, as both a literary and dramatic genre. Wilde was masterful in his ability to combine aspects of evolved comedic traditions and dramatic conventions to critique Victorian society. Drawing on characteristics of Greek and Roman tragicomedy, the choices in the play’s plot involves elements of tragedy as well as scenes that serve as comic relief and give the audience a sense of finality through a happy resolution. (Bureman, L) Focussing on the upper class stratum, Wilde employs a comedy of manners Molière style, of the Restoration Period in the seventeenth century in the play by combining forms of comedy with aspects of realist drama. The portrayal of archetypal figures such as Lady Chiltern and Lord Goring satirize rigid moral value of the time and expose their hypocrisies, through dialogue involving irony, wit and humour. Elements of farce and disguises characterized by ‘commedia dell’arte’, a form of comedy first developed in