Act 2 and Act 3: Questions and Explorations
What would the audience see at the beginning of Act Three?
As the curtain for Act 3 open, the audience sees Gwendolen and Cecily in the morning room at the Manor House. A manor house is the mansion of a lord or wealthy person and the morning room is a sitting room used during the daytime hours. The manor house is in the country. The stage is designed to resemble the morning room. I picture the morning room to be above the ground floor for Gwendolen and Cecily are ‘looking out into the garden’ through the window. The two women are gazing out the window and examining the two men. The morning room will be quite similar to the ‘luxurious and artistically furnished’ room of Algernon’s flat located in the city. Knowing the Cecily is wealthy, evident on page 60 when Jack states Cecily has ‘hundred and thirty thousand pounds in the funds’, a number of assumption can be made of the morning room. Cecily’s father, the man who adopted Jack, must have been wealthy and prosperous. Upon his death, all his wealth might have been passed down to Jack and his daughter Cecily. Therefore the manor house, and the morning room, might be attractively designed, capacious, and well furnished. Since the morning room is a sitting room, there will be chairs and sofas. Sophisticated, historical showpieces might be seen on stage as the two women peer out the window. Elegant lamps and teapoys might be present. The window through which the two women are gazing through will be closed; light through the window might serve to illuminate the morning room. Books, paintings and various other luxurious objects might be present to indicate Cecily’s economic well-being.
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...amed ‘Ernest’ to Gwendolen, then enters the scene and ends the afternoon tea between the two women.
The afternoon tea between Cecily and Gwendolen begins with a light mood. The mood becomes hostile when the two find out that they are engaged to the same man; however, due to the presence of Merriman, no one reacts indecorously. The afternoon tea turns into a verbal fight. The two women ‘respectfully’ insult each other. As soon as Merriman leaves, Gwendolen points out the four lumps of sugar in her tea. She also states that she had specifically asked for bread and butter but had gotten an oversized piece of cake. She warns Cecily not ‘to go too far’. Cecily replies by saying that she is willing to go to any extent to save her ‘Ernest’. The mood turns from hostile to harsh and vicious. Gwendolen is about to leave the stage but she catches a glimpse of Jack.
Grey recognizes Godfrey as a fellow Harvard grad. Some earlier signs such as his impressive diction, ease in dressing appropriately, and ability to quickly adapt to the high class lifestyle also show that he has previous experience in a moneyed household. However, these are quickly looked past as Godfrey charms the audience with his witty, and respectable character. At this tea party, the revelation of Godfrey’s true character is largely overshadowed by the performance of another character: Ms. Irene Bullock. Her hilarious performance of a suffering girl who is forever damaged by Godfrey’s rejection is used as a tool both to steer the audience away from drawing conclusions about Godfrey’s true character and to demonstrate how negligent one’s worries are at that level of
... middle of paper ... ... She needs to put him in his place, as she does not want to feel disrespected by Tea Cake. She threatens him, saying if he leaves her again without her permission she will “kill you” (124).
At the start the playwright creates slight allusions that produce tension; Sheila wondered ‘half seriously what had happened to Gerald previous summer when Gerald never went near Sheila’. Lady Croft and Sir George have not come to the engagement feast and Eric is behaving quite anxiously. Eric’s strange behaviour on the cheerful occasion creates trepidation and foreshadows a rather surprising event which interests the audience.
Angered by a fight with her husband, Edna “[takes] off her wedding ring [and flings] it upon the carpet” in addition to pitching a vase at the hearth (76). This is immediately juxtaposed by Edna tranquilly “[slipping] it upon her finger” at the entering of a maid (76). Edna’s contrasting moods generate equality between her two states of activism and dormancy, the latter being one of regression to an existence of conformity by placing the ring back on. Edna later resides with Arobin while they “silently [look] into each other’s eyes” and lean forward to kiss (116). The sexual mood fortifies as Alcee holds his lips to hers (116). Contrary to her marriage, this is “the first kiss of her life” to which she frankly responds, eliciting “a flaming torch that [kindles] desire” (116). The very next line, Edna “[cries] a little” after Arobin leaves, antithetical to her preceding passion. She experiences a “dull pang of regret” from that kiss “which had inflamed her” seeing that it was not Robert’s (117). The ambivalence that Edna parades communicates her dissatisfaction to both Arobin and Robert’s love, as well as her husband’s. Additionally, Edna receives three letters: one from Robert, Alcee Arobin, and her husband. That exuberant morning “[is] full of sunlight and hope” (145). After examining these writings, she is very pleased with them; Edna also “[answers]
In this drama the women are watching out the window in anticipation for the paperman’s visit to collect his money, showing that they are so lonely and isolated they literally wait for any kind of outside interaction they can receive. The sisters know the exact day and timeframe the paperboy and meter man will be by their house, and try to get them to come in for a tea party, but more importantly to hear their stories of the past and visit with them for a little while. They have obviously been doing these tea parties at least for a little while because they know not only the exact set up they want to obligate him to stay and visit, but they also know the different worker men’s preferred drinks., seen in the sisters’ dialogue with each
One day Jane was to go to Netherfield and have dinner with Miss Bingley. His sister did not
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.
Oscar Wilde’s, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, play carefully uses satire as a didactic tool to mask the underlying social commentary with the help of comedy through characters theme and dialogue. Wilde uses satire to ridicule class and wealth, marriage and the ignorance of the Victorian Age. Audiences are continually amused by Wilde’s use of linguistic and comic devices such as double entendre, puns, paradox and epigrams, especially in the case of social commentary and didactic lessons. Characters portrayed in the play such as Jack, Cecily, Algernon and Lady Bracknell, allow Wilde to express his opinions on the social problems during the Victorian Age.
Gwendolen confesses to Jack, or his confidante Ernest, “The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you” (10). That quote proved that Gwendolen’s drive to marry “Ernest” for him having the name Ernest, rather than marrying him for his character. Cecily also confesses something along the same lines as Gwendolen to Algernon, that even though she had never met him before she fell in love with him: “Well, ever since dear Uncle Jack first confessed to us that he had a younger brother who was very wicked and bad, you of course have formed the chief topic of conversation…a man who is much talked about is always very attractive…I daresay it was foolish of me, but I fell in love with you, Ernest” (32). She is led to believe that Algernon’s real name is Ernest. Cecily and Gwendolen are attracted to Jack and “Ernest” because of their histories. Gwendolen was excited to find o...
Satire in Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. "The Importance of Being Earnest" is a play by Oscar Wilde, set in the late 1800's. His actors are playing upper class citizens who are very self-absorbed. The play is set amongst upper class, wealthy people. They appear not to work and are concerned with their own pleasure.
At first glance, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Lawrence Weschler’s Boggs: A Comedy of Values treat the issue of art’s function in converse ways. Wilde, the quintessential Aesthete, asserts that art should exist for the sake of beauty alone. Boggs, on the other hand, contends that art should serve a practical function: it should wake individuals from their sleepwalking by highlighting essential, overlooked aspects of society. Fascinatingly, neither Wilde nor Boggs firmly adheres to his ostensible artistic purpose. Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest, although it showcases certain Aesthetic elements, incisively critiques Victorian society. The play is not a functionless work of pure beauty. Conversely, Boggs’ project clearly serves an instructional function while it simultaneously revels in its own beauty. Moreover, Boggs himself is often uncertain of what his art represents and does. When placed side-by-side, The Importance of Being Earnest and Boggs queer the division between Aestheticism and Functionalism, suggesting that both schools are unattainable ideals. In doing so, the two texts elucidate a holistic conception of art that fuses aesthetic value to social critique. Aesthetic beauty coalesces with function.
Irony in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde The play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is full of irony. Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, the protagonists in the play, get themselves into a complicated situation called Bunburyism (as Algernon refers to it). They pretend to be someone that they are not to escape their daily lives. They lie to the women they admire, and eventually the truth is revealed.
She only becomes insincere towards Cecily when she sees the other as a threat to her relationship with Ernest. Although being insincere to someone is not the best decision, Gwendolen uses it to cover up her insecurity. When she finds out that Cecily is Mr Worthing’s ward, she tells the younger girl, “Disloyalty would be as impossible to [Ernest] as deception. But even men of the noblest possible moral character are extremely susceptible to the influence of the physical charm of others” (163). Gwendolen expresses to Cecily how she wished the other was older and uglier, making the chances of Ernest being attracted towards her decrease. Gwendolen is a lady of appearance, and she is confident of her own, but she is still insecure towards Cecily. Because of this, she becomes rude towards Cecily. Yet, however, Cecily explains to Gwendolen that Ernest Worthing is not her guardian, but Jack is. In response to this, Gwendolen shows her relief by telling Cecily, “You have lifted a load from my mind. I was growing almost anxious” (163). Here, Gwendolen admits that Cecily made her anxious about her relationship with Ernest; she relaxes once she finds out that Ernest most likely has not met Cecily if that is the case. With this, the audience sees how her insecurity causes her insincerity towards Cecily, and how much she cares about her relationship with
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.
Satire in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy of manners, whereby Oscar Wilde uses satire to ridicule marriage, love and the mentality of the Victorian aristocratic society. It can also be referred to as satirical comedy. What is a satire and what is Oscar Wilde trying to emphasize by employing it in his play?