Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnes

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Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest reveals the difference between the behaviors of the upper class and lower class. Wilde presents his readers a discussion on the ideologies that separated the lower and upper classes. The lower class is less ostentatious and is more respectful. Wilde throughout the play continues to mock the pride and dissimulation of the aristocracy. The Victorian class system is very strict. Members of the same class are required to marry each other, which continues the separation between the different classes. The snobbish attitudes from the aristocracy creates even more distance between the groups. The character Jack Worthing is in love with Gwendolen Fairfax. After he proposes to Gwendolen, her mother …show more content…

When interviewing Jack, she asks him if he knows everything or knows nothing. She approves ignorance. Lady Bracknell’s criticism on the fine quality of ignorance concludes that she finds thinking overrated and and the reason for discomfort,”I do not approve of of anything that tampers with natural ignorance” (1.24.586). She believes that education is not for learning. Instead it is mostly following a foolish treaty. The thought of people being taught to think and question is scary to those in the upper class. Once again Wilde is criticizing the people in power and shows how determined they are to keep power in the hands of only a few people. Lady Bracknell married into society …show more content…

She represents the privileged women in London. Her self absorption is shown through her diary entries because they are all about herself. Gwendolen is willing to fight for anything in order to get what she wants. Wilde shows the upper classes obsession about acceptable characteristics by showing Gwendolen’s obsession about marrying someone with the name Earnest, “The only really safe name is Ernest” (1.21.506). She is more worried about finding a man to fit a certain model instead of worrying about a suitors qualities and personality. Gwendolen is a lot like her mother. They are both very forceful and arrogant. She also shows to have strong ideas about the social protocol or rules like her mother believes and

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