Racism and Sexism are Ugly Words in Oscar Wilde's Play, The Importance of Being Earnest

Racism. Sexism. Ugly words with a single common thread—the all too human flaw of judging others based solely on outward appearances. Although this flaw can be found in every culture and era, Victorian England perfected it into an art form. Wealthy, fashionable, powerful and highly hypocritical, appearances were everything. As stated by Gwendolyn Fairfax in the play The Importance of Being Earnest, “Style, not sincerity, is the vital thing” (783). And it is this play, written by Irish playwright Oscar Wilde, which mocks and exposes the carefully constructed façade of British high society.

As with any play, though, The Importance of Being Earnest has two settings: then and now. The challenge for the production team at Ball State University was to center the play on a theme relevant to both settings. The theme that they chose hearkens back to the debate of whether style or sincerity is “the vital thing,” and votes in favor of sincerity. It argues that there is a core of humanity common to every culture, race, gender and era that is unchanged by superficial trappings of society. The theme of an inner common heart unchanged by superficial appearances is evident in three different areas of Ball State University’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest: the lighting cues at the end of each act in contrast with the lavish set, the director’s cut of certain parts of the script and the heart of each character in contrast with the overall exaggerated facial expressions.

The set for The Importance of Being Earnest is realistic and as such, ostentatious. From Algernon’s dark, rich and fashionable townhouse to Jack’s light, airy and flowery country house, the set is very lavish. It would be easy for the actors to become lost amidst th...

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...hat are deeper and more lasting than superficial amusement.

While the original play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, was written as a satire mocking the high society of Victorian England, Ball State University has universalized the theme to be that the inner common heart of humanity is unchanged despite superficial differences of culture, race, gender and era. This theme is especially evident in the lighting cues at the end of each act in contrast with the lavish set, the director’s cut of certain parts of the script and the heart of each character in contrast with the overall exaggerated facial expressions. In proving that superficial trappings fail to alter the human heart common to all people, this production of The Importance of Being Earnest unmasks the foolishness of judging by appearances and renders ridiculous such words as racism and sexism.