Sommer Wood Mocking Marriage “The Importance of Being Earnest” By Oscar Wilde, is a satirical play that has captured the attention of audiences for over a hundred years. Much of this plays popularity has stemmed from Wilde’s ability to direct viewers attention to the flaws of Victorian society, while maintaining a lighthearted and comical tone throughout. Although the play maintains a humorous nature, Wilde manages to touch on many issues surrounding the moral and social values held by many people in the Victorian era. In this time, expectations surrounding romance and marriage were fairly restricting, making them both controversial and inticing topics for Wilde to critique. Here we will analyze the mentality and actions of leading characters; This overly specific and closeminded way of choosing a husband provides insight into the troublesome priorities surrounding marriage at this time. For example, when asked about the name Jack, Gwendolen states, “Jack…? No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations… I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain… The only really safe name is Earnest” (895 Wilde) Although Gwendolen’s comment is humorous, it is meant to emphasize her superficial mentality on what will make a good husband. This shortsighted way of thinking is also shared by Cecily through her conversation with Algernon. “You must not laugh at me, darling, but it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone whose name is Earnest. There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. I pity any poor married woman whose husband is not called Earnest” (Wilde 912) Although the need for a husband named Earnest is very specific to the play, these quotes are meant to reflect the general issue of the superficial ideals surrounding marriage in this I need hardly say I would do anything in the world to ensure Gwendolen’s happiness. LADY BRACKNELL: I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible, and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over. JACK: Well, I don’t see how I could possibly manage to do that. I can produce the handbag at any moment, it is in my dressing room at home. I really think that should satisfy you, Lady Bracknell. LADY BRACKNELL: Me, sir! What has it to do with me? 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? Good morning, Mr. Worthing! This conversation not only relays the love Jack feels for Gwendolen, but also makes it very clear that by no stretch of the imagination does Lady Bracknell believe Jack is anywhere close to being a suitable husband for Gwendolen, due to his mysterious background. This fixation on ones ancestry and upbringing plays a large role in determining an individuals status within the Victorian society, a controversial topic discussed by many writers of this
Gwendolen is a shining example of a victorian woman like most women in the era she has ideas, it was said she attended lectures, and is bent on self improvement, her costume should be a very frilly dress suited to the style of the time. Jack the play’s protagonist is another very victorian era character in public he is depended upon by his servants and his land, he’s also seen as a caretaker by many of the other characters throughout the play, by victorian era standards he is seen as a respectable and responsible young
Wilde’s usage of hypocrisy in ´The Importance of Being Earnest´ gives reader a sense of instability and insecurity in women characters. They are often foolish and naive in their behaviors in opposite to the two later texts. Firstly, both Gwendolen and Cecily are convinced that a man of the name Ernest is destined to be their husband. The time Gwendolen and Jack meet at Algernon’s household she mentions that ever since Algernon told her about Ernest, she was sure that her fate was to be with him: “my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest” (p. 895). The same situation follows as Algernon visits Cecily and convinces her to
In “The Importance of being Earnest” the quote by Gwendolen that states “A home is the right place for a man and yes once a man begins to fail in his house duties he becomes painfully feminine or does he? In which makes him attractive.” shows the reversal of gender roles in Gwendolen’s mind. It shows this by turning around the traditional roles of man and women. This tests the ideal’s that say women should raise the children while men work. Instead it shows how women can have jobs or occupations such as men. Thus showing us in this quote how man and women are equal.
Oscar Wildes ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’’ is believed by many to be his most genius work and certainly has withstood the test of time. The play is set in London during the 1890’s in which time frame aristocracy and upper class held the majority of the countries wealth. Many of the comical aspects question the morals of the upper class in which he satirises throughout the play. One method of this, for instance is through one of the main protagonist, Algernon Moncrieff. Algernon is an upper class individual who is oblivious to the world around him in such an exaggerated manner that it makes his character comically adjusted for Wildes own views. Many aspects of the time period are made a mockery through puns and witty remarks from the main protagonists, most if not all are portrayed in a sense that makes them undoubtedly a laughing stock. Wildes methods are not discrete; nor are they obvious, many of the comical comments made are by none other than the protagonists themselves. This furthermore enforces the corrupted morals of the time periods prestigious upper class by showing their sheer inability to acknowledge hypocrisy. For example, in act one; Algernon states “ Lane's views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.” This is especially amusing as Algernon believes that the lower class have a duty to set an example when in reality the matter of fact was quite the contrary. Algernon states that he believes the lower class are lacking in morals, he being arguably one of the most morally distorted characters Wilde created makes the double standards more prominent.
The wit of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest stems from his place in society and his views of it. He mocks the Victorian aristocracy through his statements and satirising of marriage dependent on social class and wealth, the careful implantation of comedic techniques which add to the effect of the message Wilde aims for the society to take into consideration and the ignorance portrayed by the Victorian society. These socially acceptable mockeries allow the audience to laugh at the satirical social statements while learning a didactic lesson about the current society issues. Through Wilde’s satirical wit, he completes the educational tales he was aiming for, emphasising to readers the insaneness that society can be and its rules.
The Importance of Being Earnest is regarded as one of the most successful plays written by Oscar Wilde, a great 19th century playwright. Oscar Wilde deals with something unique about his contemporary age in this drama. It addresses Victorian social issues, French theatre, farce, social drama and melodrama. All these factors influenced the structure of the play in a large scale. This play is basically a Victorian satirical drama showcasing the social, political, economic and religious structural changes that affected 18th century England. It was the time when British Empire had captured most part of the world including Oscar Wilde’s homeland, Ireland. The aristocrats of England had become dominant over the middle and poor class people and Wilde wrote plays with the motivation to encourage people to think against the English aristocracy and artificiality.
Two adolescent women who incorrectly consider the men’s names to be Ernest, and who are passionate about the men for this very reason think highly of both Jack and Algernon. In relating the story of mix-ups and mistaken identities, the ideals and manners of the Victorian society are satirized in a comedy where the characters "treat all the trivial things of life seriously and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality"(Wilde, Oscar). Oscar Wilde’s amusing scenes often take their source in societal satire and unconventional (Baselga 15). All the way through his play, The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde satirizes education, women, and morality.
The Importance of Being Earnest Written, written in 1854, by Oscar Wilde, discusses many social matters occurring in the 19th century. Since The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy, it “awakens thoughtful laughter” (George Meredith). This comedic play often awakens thoughtful laughter, or laughter that makes someone ponder more about important issues. One of many of the primary instances of this is created by the ideas of marriage and love is a social device during this era. The characters didn’t fall in love because there was a romantic spark or that they felt a love connection with one another, they fell in love because the people they loved had a specific name, history, physical characteristics or economic status.
As members of the upper class, it is important that they live by these rules for society. Even in the country, which for the cream of the society is associated with relaxation and leisure, the rules of society are followed though the characters really do not perform any laborious actions. “We live, as I hope you know, Mr. Worthington, in the age of ideals. (pg. 20)” Wilde insinuates that the society, in which the characters live, hold them to live to fill roles, which are gender appropriate. According to Felicia Appel, the women of the Victorian Era were raised and groomed to be the perfect wife to whatever husband chooses them. Gwendolen states “My ideal has always been to love someone of the name Ernest. (pg. 20)” Her idea of a happy life is to ...
Gwendolen and Cecily act like air-heads and are easily won over by the men they plan to marry. Gwendolen simply wants to marry a man named Earnest. She tells Jack “my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest” (I.381-82). The mere idea of marrying a man for his name shows how easily Gwendolen can attach herself to a man. Marriage is the most serious of all relationships and Gwendolen is foolish to deter...
Throughout The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde plays around with the standard expectations along with the absence of compassion of a Victorian society in the 1890’s, he demonstrates this through several genres of comedy such as Melodrama, Comedy of Manners, Farce, dark humour and Irony, as well as portraying the themes, death and illness, in this play in a brilliance of unusual amount of references.
In essence, this comedy of manners does have traces of movement from distress to happiness as all the characters within the play were either involved in ‘good’ or ‘bad’ affairs. But despite this, in the resolution Jack learnt from his mistakes which resulted in happiness for him and Gwendolyn as she got married to a person named Earnest. Similarly, Cecily also got married which resulted in celebration, but as Algernon didn’t tell her the truth about his name he hadn’t reformed in the process which indicates that he did stay ‘bad’. Likewise, Lady Bracknell also stayed distressed when she was not part of any comic resolution. As this is the case, ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ does conform to this model, but this movement from ‘good’ to ‘bad’ is dependent on the different characters that Wilde has constructed and the situations that they went through.
Oscar Wilde’s treatment of high society and manners are explored in the play “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Here, members of the upper class display a great deal of pride and pretense, feeling that they are inherently entitled to their wealth and higher social position. An example is Lady Bracknell, who is preoccupied with maintaining the status quo that she quickly squashes any signs of rebellion. Characters from higher societies/classes are mainly concerned about their reputation and respectability. Thus, expectations of the upper class for both men and women include being upstanding, rich and come from a wealthy family. Wilde’s criticism on high society and manners are explored through the characteristics of Lady Bracknell; the dialogue between Gwendolen and Cecily; and the characteristics of Jack in the country.
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 themselves from the repressive norms of society. They have the freedom to create themselves and use their double identities to give themselves the opportunity to show opposite sides of their characters. They mock every custom of the society and challenge its values. This creates not only the comic effect of the play but also makes the audience think of the serious things of life.
In the Victorian era, marriage was almost a chore. Most people get married out of need rather than want. In the Play, this is evident when Lady Bracknell objects to Gwendolen and Ernest’s engagement on the basis of his lack of legitimate background. On the other hand, Jack objects to the marriage of Cecily and Algernon’s just to spite Algernon. Both Algernon and Jack assume the identity of "Ernest" yet ironically, they both plan on starting their married life with a lie.