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The double life in the importance of being earnest
Structure of the importance of being earnest
Analysis essay of the importance of being earnest
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Wilde presents the expectations of society as shallow and frivolous, reflected in both the language and story-framing of the play. The society addressed in The Importance of Being Earnest is certainly far detached from our current one, but certain elements remain similar: Ire, social obligations, etiquette, and a code of proper moral conduct. Expanding away from these similarities are the treatment of marriage and women. Expected moral duties are referenced many times throughout the course of the play. These are what call Jack to 'amuse other people' in the country and deem it necessary for him and the character of Algernon to instigate leading double lives. The choking restrain of social etiquette renders it 'ungentlemanly' for a private cigarette case to be read, 'vulgar' to lie, to voice unpleasantries in the midst of a pleasant, civil tea party. Instead, the characters (and by extension, real-life members of the Victorian upper classes) are required to feign a 'shallow mask of manners' to keep up the amiable, respectable façade. These expectations are clearly infeasible and ultimately hypocritical as they result in either abandon, or deceit to escape their suffocating pretence. Ultimately, such is the message Wilde attempted to convey with this major aspect of the play; …show more content…
Gwendolen is expected not to be in charge of choosing her spouse, yet it is insinuated her mother was. Women, in general, are expected to remain passive and pretty, but by Gwendolen taking control of her engagement, her mother being the one to interview Jack instead of Lord Bracknell and the assertive behaviour of all three major female characters in the play contrasted with the passivity of the males, Wilde subverts these traditional gender roles and thus, once again reinforces the notion that such rigid social structures can only be sustained for so
...erpreted as dark and significant to the period. The comedy Wilde achieves is at the expense of the characters who are seemingly intelligent adding to the ironic structure that much of the comedy is based on. Many of the comic elements of the play are shown through human reactions to Victorian repression and the effect it has on the men and women of the time. Love seems to be nonexistent within the finds of the fierce and brutal Aristocracy when so many of the qualities they value are not based on human qualities but that of the class’s social norms. Wildes Characters are at often times not subtle about their distaste in marriage and love, Algernon is no exception to this “In aried lie, three is company, two is none” showing that they all have distorted views on many of the social practices that make them morally sound, thus adding to the satire elements of the play.
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.
“Ignorance is like a delicate fruit; touch it, and the bloom is gone,” engraves Oscar Wilde as he sets the literary table with a bountiful demonstration of Victorian satire. “The Importance of Being Earnest” is evidently a comic critic of late Victorian value (Schmidt 5). Brought into this world from Dublin, Ireland, to well-heeled parents in 1854. Wilde received an opportunity for social improvement when graduating from Oxford University, after receiving a financial scholarship that gave him a first hand account of the upper crust society lifestyle which allowed him to acquire material to poke fun at (Moss 179). Wilde shows his characters as if they knew that people were watching them.
In Oscar Wilde’s drama The Importance of Being Earnest, he uses light-hearted tones and humor to poke fun at British high society while handling the serious theme of truth and the true identity of who is really “Earnest.” Truth as theme is most significantly portrayed through the women characters, Gwendolen and Cecily but to present serious themes comically, Wilde portrays women to be the weaker sex of society, despite the seriousness of the subject—the identity of the men they want to marry.
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.
Oscar Wilde uses satire to articulate a surprising dismantling of what he seems to deem as outdated Victorian ideals. For one, Wilde presents the performative qualities of the dandy (an aristocratic male) to bring real critique to social class and gender expectation. The figure of the dandy has effeminate qualities that are useful in identifying a man of great wealth and renown. Unlike the apparently vigorous and productive middle class male, the dandy is lackadaisical, idle, and conspicuous. It is the prime aesthetic for a man of high society and one that the women, namely Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax admire.
Frequently, Lady Bracknell interferes providing her standards of marriage and it influences Jack and Gwendolyn’s thoughts. Events of history at the time of the play also influenced Wilde’s writing, “Above all, Wilde’s play satirizes “earnestness,” a peculiarly Victorian quality usually associated with sober behavior and a serious turn of mind.
...ntain her social class, and only worrying about wealth and style over the life and death of others. The art of manners and social discussions are expressed through the dialogue between Gwendolen and Cecily. Although both women showed hatred towards each other, it is done in a civilised manner. Wilde shows this by creating a stylised and artificial atmosphere by making the dialogue repetitive and parallel, thus making their dialogue and comments on insignificant subjects as part of having a polite conversation. Jack also shows the significance of high society and manners by showing that he has a high sense of duty and responsibility in the country; and being serious about Cecily’s education as it can help better her current position as well as his own. Hence, Wilde’s criticisms on high society and manners are expressed through the characters and their dialogue.
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 conclusion, The Importance of Being Earnest strongly focuses on those of the upper class society and the vanity of the aristocrats who place emphasis on trivial matters concerning marriage. Both Algernon and Jack assume the identity of "Ernest" yet ironically, they both are beginning their marital lives based on deception and lies. Lady Bracknell represents the archetypal aristocrat who forces the concept of a marriage based on wealth or status rather than love. Through farce and exaggeration, Wilde satirically reveals the foolish and trivial matters that the upper class society looks upon as being important. As said earlier, a satirical piece usually has a didactic side to it.
In the play, Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde ridicules and identifies the negative aspects of Victorian society through comedic dialogue. He uses characters with ridiculous personalities to demonstrate his idea of Victorian life. By making absurd scenes with foolish characters, it is his way of mocking the Victorian lifestyle passive aggressively.
Throughout the late nineteenth century, Oscar Wilde wrote plays such as Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest- his most famous play. Earnest is a comedic work that focuses on a pair of wealthy men. They have been leading double lives so that they can go off for periods of time and enjoy living without responsibility while still maintaining their aristocratic reputation. Because of Wilde’s invlovement in the aesthetic movement, it is not uncommon (or unfair) to believe that his work, Earnest included, is nothing more than fluff. That being said, it is also fair to argue that this particular play does have meaning in it. Wilde wrote The Importance of Being Earnest as a commentary on the hypocrisy of the ideal Victorian character. Earnestness is sincerity- which most Victorians believed themselves to be- and so Wilde uses the word ironically. In his eyes, people who considered themselves sincere were actually smug, self-righteous, and pompous. He expresses these opinions clearly through the play’s over-the-top and frustrating characters.
Major conflict arises when Cecily and Gwendolyn discover that they share lovers. Both characters feel anger towards each other, but they can’t openly express it. Consequently, tea and food become part of a polite ‘war’ between the ladies. For instance, Gwendolen declines sugar on the grounds that it is no longer fashionable, but Cecily “looks angrily at her, takes up the tongs and puts four lumps of sugar into the cup,”(Wilde 45). Cecily’s actions reflect the frustration and aggression that ladies of elite status have been taught they are unable to
Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is a beautifully constructed depiction of nineteenth century Victorian life. The quirky and often irreverent situations presented were often witty and amusing but in many instances revealed a biting critique of traditional expectations and behaviour. Wilde arguably would have used the play to showcase his literary prowess and it is to what extent that Wilde used the play as a platform or used the play to expose hypocritical values that would be questioned by both contemporary and modern audiences.
Lady Bracknell represents the typical aristocrat who focuses the idea of marriage on social and economic status. She believes that if the men trying to marry these girls are not of proper background, there is no engagement. Through this major exaggeration, Wilde satirically reveals the irrational and insignificant matters that the upper class society uses to view marriage.