The Importance Of Being Earnest Analysis

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

Marriage is meant to be a cherished union between two lovers; however, Algernon’s behavior towards marriage is inherently selfish. Many times throughout The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon acts as though marriage is an outdated and boorish concept. Directly after Jack confesses his proposal plan to Algernon, Algy says “I thought you had come up for pleasure? … I call that business” (Wilde 3). Algernon takes the romance out of the proposal. Algernon’s shallow nature lends

Algernon is demonstrated as a comical character. He is also shown to be a liar and this is seen when he tells Lady Bracknell that there were “no cucumbers in the market” to make the cucumber sandwiches; when he ate them all. He is also very open with women and engages is physical contact before permission from Cecily’s guardian, Jack. Algernon also meets Cecily in a wrong manner as he runs off to Jack’s country house uninvited; which isn’t reflective of an Ideal Victorian man at all.

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

This play criticizes marriages in Victorian society and the aristocratic norm that marriage is more of a business than for love or happiness. Through these characters Wilde is not only commenting on the nature of love and marriage, but the place marriage holds in society. During this time in Victorian society and throughout history, many women married for financial security and social standing. It was only through their husbands that woman could hope continue living in the lifestyle to which they were privileged to gain political power. Lady Bracknell’s marriage was one of the marriages that was clearly for business and not for love. Wilde shows how Lady Bracknell has no emotions for Lord Bracknell; she doesn’t even really care about him but only uses him to increase her own social standing. Similarly, Lady Bracknell also does the same when she tries to “arrange” for an eligible suitor for her daughter Gwendolyn, not considering whether Gwendolyn loves the man or not. He must be in the same social standing as they are and must also belong to an aristocratic family. Lady Bracknell tells Jack, “You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter – a girl brought up with the utmost care – to marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel?” Although Jack is rich, he doesn’t have that name and social standing that Lady Bracknell wants rather she is dissatisfied when she finds out that he was found at a train station inside “a handbag!’’ Jack being found inside a handbag suggests that he was an abandoned baby out of illegitimacy which carried a huge social stigma in the Victorian era. Such babies were often delivered in secret and abandoned in a public place, like train stations as Jack’s situation perfectly

Cecily pursues a relationship with Algernon the instance they meet. Cecily has constructed her fantasy around the traditional expectations of romance; he ‘proposed’ on Valentine’s Day, she keeps his letters that he ‘wrote’ and has ‘broken off’ the engagement once before as it wouldn’t have been considered a ‘serious engagement’ if it hadn’t ended ‘at least once’. The introduction of this fantasy by Wilde and Algernon’s willingness to go along with this fantasy heightens the idea of role reversal and strengthens Cecily as a character. In Act III when the opening scene closes, Jack and Algernon’s reconciliation with Cecily and Gwendolen mocks the typical codes of Victorian romance by staging the men’s willingness to be re-christened as the heroic

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

Every line, every character, and every stage direction in The Importance of Being Earnest is set on supporting Oscar Wilde’s want for social change. The Importance of Being Earnest was written during the late period of the Victorian era. During this period social classification was taken very seriously. It could affect working and living conditions, education, religion, and marriage. Wilde explores the issues of social class and turns it into a comedic play. He humorously criticizes Victorian manners and attacking the society of the luxurious life. The audience becomes self-aware as the characters reflect on themselves. Plays such as this become successful because of the backgrounds the writers come from and the experiences they have had.

Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest (.1993.) is an enlightening epitome of social class in the Victorian era. The satire is driven by the frivolous behaviour, superficial lives and artificial norms within the Victorian aristocracy. Incorporating his own opinion into the play, Wilde continually attacked and mocked their hypocrisy, views on marriage, and their mannerisms. Throughout the play, Wilde used an abundant range of literary techniques to reinforce his opinion. Irony, paradox and hyperboles, as well as witty epigrams and aphorisms were used astutely and were ubiquitous throughout the play. This contributed to the satirical style and tone of the text, and enabled Wilde to effectively communicate his critical perspective on social class in Victorian England.

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)

“Pardon me, you are not engaged to anyone. When you do become engaged to someone, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the fact. 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, 622). Lady Bracknell’s harsh criticism and stubborn ways are customary of upper-class mothers in the era. Ironically enough, Algernon later develops a kind of forbidden love. The object of his affection is young and being taught to be unimaginative and serious.

The Importance of Being Earnest appears to be a conventional 19th century farce. False identities, prohibited engagements, domineering mothers, lost children are typical of almost every farce. However, this is only on the surface in Wilde's play. His parody works at two levels- on the one hand he ridicules the manners of the high society and on the other he satirises the human condition in general. The characters in The Importance of Being Earnest assume false identities in order to achieve their goals but do not interfere with the others' lives. The double life led by Algernon, Jack, and Cecily (through her diary) is simply another means by which they liberate

Even though Cecily wasn’t poor she wanted to marry for love. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Cecily told Algernon, who was pretending to be Jack’s fake brother Earnest, that she had been engaged to him for months when he asked to marry her. She had fantasized loving him and engaged herself to him.

Elizabeth’s snobbish pride hinders her from understanding her friend Charlotte Lucas’s best interests in regard to her desire to marry Mr. Collins. Elizabeth “prides herself on being a perceptive “studier of character,” as Mr. Bingley calls her, but how well does she really know her very good friend Charlotte…” when she “responds with amazement and horror” upon hearing that Charlotte wants to marry a man who is “dull”, “pompous” and “physically unattractive”. Elizabeth’s excessive pride blinds her from recognizing that Charlotte is “not much interested in men and very much interested in marriage” (Moler, 26). Elizabeth could have ruined the prospects of Charlotte’s marriage because of her self-importance in the way she