The Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde

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

She liked the fact that he had money and was in a higher class society but because Earnest was found in a duffle bag at a train station, Lady Bracknell refuses to let her daughter to marry a man where she does not know the family. Thus, if she does not know the family then there is no way to know the reputation or wealth that Gwen would be marrying into. In the Victorian Age it was the small trivial things in life that mattered the most; such as where a person was born or even their name.

A satire is a piece of work that is designed to ridicule or tease a group or organization, generally for the purpose of being humorous. “The Importance of Being Earnest,” a play by Oscar Wilde, is a satire, ridiculing class, gender, and marriage. This essay will describe some points from each of these sections, as well as give a brief synopsis of the play these examples come from.

“The Importance of Being Earnest,” a satirical play written by Oscar Wilde, discusses a vast variety of criticisms regarding the late Victorian societal period. In this comedic drama, focusing on and analyzing certain minor characters leads to a more effective interpretation of the messages attempting to be portrayed to the audience. For example, through the persona of Lady Bracknell, Wilde effectively mocks the concept of marriage for social status rather than love. Additionally, interpreting the roles of the lower class servants allows the readers to internalize the desperate need for social reform that the author felt at the time period. Finally, the entire concept of Bunburyism, or masquerading as an alternate persona, satirizes the hypocrisy of the Victorian Era.

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

Throughout much of the play and especially the beginning, Wilde satirizes the setting in which both the characters as well as his audience live in. This satirization specifically requires that the audience be thoughtful whenever Wilde makes a joke, resulting in the thoughtful laughter which makes a true comedy. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is set during the late 20th century in Britain, a time period known as the Victorian Era, in which the British Empire was at its absolute peak. The dominance of Britain in world affairs resulted in a sense of

In the first act, Wilde portrays the characters of Algernon, Earnest (who is actually Jack), and the butler Lane to discredit the romantic notion of being married. Using the careless opinions from the butler, Lane and the mention of divorces by Algernon to challenge the changing moral views on marriage. In the phrase “if the lower orders don’t see us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?” (Wilde 1734). Asking the question, why continue to uphold an outdated standard. Later in the play Wilde again contests, traditional values by eluding the notion of choosing a spouse based on financial and social gains instead for romance and love.

In the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, there is a lot of humor that can be found. Specifically, developed behind the characters in this play that display many instances of irony and how important it was to fit into the “status quo” of this time period. There are specific behaviors from the characters of Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen, and Algernon that portray Wilde’s opinion of society during the Victorian Age. The attitude of these characters is snobbish and their manners display double standards and superiority. The play’s use of mockery and irony of these satirical situations is meant to publicly ridicule the self- loving attitude of the upper class while exposing their true absence of intelligence which causes their absurd social behaviors

The Importance of Being Earnest, written by a fascinating Oscar Wilde reveals a story of social class and hierarchy during the roaring Victorian time period (1837-1901). Focusing his writing on the social classes, the play becomes comical when he exposes the flaws held by the upper class during this time. Wilde saw earnestness as being a key ideal in Victorian culture for much of British society struck Wilde as dry, stern, conservative, and so “earnestly” concerned with the maintenance of social norms and the status quo that it had become almost inhuman. This play depicts certain characters that conform so easily to the conventional social status and characteristics of the Victorian culture. Such characters include Algernon, Jack, Cecily, and Gwendolyn. These characters introduce many themes that focus on the Victorian lifestyle, primarily the issues of being “earnest” and one’s own morality.

One of Oliver Wilde’s famous plays “The Importance of Being Earnest” follows two wealthy bachelors in love and webs of lies. Jack Worthing falls in love with a rich socialite Gwendolyn, but to leave a life of responsibility he made up a brother to visit the city, where he meet Gwen. So when Gwendolyn falls in love with the non existent brother, Jack is stuck in a double life predicament. When his poster boy bachelor finds out about Jack's real name and his young ward, Algernon decides to take on a second fake identity, to meet the young Cecily. Throughout the play Wilde uses humor to show the hypocrisy ways of the upper class; by uses satire through standards, appearances, and marriages.

For, Lady Bracknell married a very well off man. As a result, she wants Gwendolen to do the same thing. To show more of her bossy and judgmental character, Lady Bracknell has birthed a list of “eligible young men” for Gwendolen. Just as Algernon is a humorous character, Wilde uses Lady Bracknell’s seemingly serious interviews with the suitors for humor. Most of her comments are witty and unintentional on her part.

In Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, two gentlemen exemplify the result of dishonesty and hypocrisy. Set in Victorian England, the two bachelors, Algernon and Jack, fight over which one of them will take the name Ernest in order to win their own girl. Wilde circumvents conventionalism and employs superior satirical strategy to not only teach the importance of being earnest, a characteristic held dear by Victorian society, but he also chastises his world for the hypocrisy between man and woman and between upper and lower classes.

While Wilde's ironic look at nineteenth-century Victorian England is funny, it is on the higher, abstract level that Wilde's work is unified and gains lasting and a-historical significance.

She refused to allow John to marry Gwendolen when he was believed to be an orphan, She did not deny him because of his bad character or values, but because she did not know if the lineage he came from was from a wealthy class or from a poor working class. Lady Bracknell denies him without hesitation until they discover his true identity, Once they are able to trace back to his family tree and they realize that he comes from a wealthy family, Lady Bracknell suddenly is a great supporter for a marriage in between John and her daughter. Despite the fact that John’s true identity makes him and Gwendolen cousins and his lies have been discovered, the money he comes from is more important to Lady Bracknell as she gives her daughter away. During the Victorian Era this was not uncommon, as parents would marry for economic and social status and not for the loving company of a good

In Oscar Wilde’s play, he showed the upper class had many requirements for potential wedding partners, wealth being a key requirement. He also showed that women weren’t allowed to marry outside of their class, even if they loved the person. Overall, the text above shows that marriage was different for the lower and upper classes of society.