The Victorian era consisted of many ideals of life that would often be satirized by authors during the period. Oscar Wilde, for example, criticizes the standards of the Victorian age and often depicts the upper middle class as arrogant, as can be seen in Lady Bracknell his play The Importance of Being Earnest. In the play, Wilde often includes epigrammatic lines that the reader may not find of any significant meaning, but with careful consideration of why Wilde chooses to incorporate it into the play, the line comes to portray the shallowness of the Victorian ideals. Lady Bracknell represents the typical Victorian figure in which the Victorian ideals must come first in finding a suitable partner. Wilde’s characterizes Lady Bracknell as a person who only cares about the aesthetics of a person, and if they meet her standards, she approves of them. For instance, …show more content…
What more can one desire?” (Act III, 180), shows the importance of looks to Lady Bracknell, but at the same time, the truth and falsehood in the statement can be seen throughout the play and can be related to a certain extent. The expectations of marrying a man for the upper middle class women usually consists of their looks and status. Jack, who calls himself Ernest in the city, worries that Gwendolen will not love him the same if he were to change his name to Jack. As a result, Gwendolen first shows how she herself conforms to this stereotype when she admits to Jack that “The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you.” (Act I, page 128-129). Before meeting Jack, Gwendolen falls in love with
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...
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...
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.
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 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 satiric piece usually has a didactic side to it. In this case, Lady Bracknell learns that the same person she was criticising is actually her own flesh and blood.
Initially, Catherine fully anticipates marrying John, begging her father not to let her down and “forbid the match” (8). However, as the scene continues Catherine’s attitudes do not match the expected emotions of an engaged woman. Her mother criticizes, “You’re such a funny girl…You don’t behave as if you were in love,” showing that society has standards for women in love (9). Catherine, choosing to satisfy her mother, declares, “I love John in every way that a woman can love a man, and far, far more than he loves me” (9). Realizing his sister’s intellect and the superiority complex of patriarchy Dickie warns, “Suppress your opinions. Men don’t like ‘em in their lady friends, even if they agree with ‘em. And if they don’t – it’s fatal. Pretend to be half-witted…then he’ll adore you” (32). At this point in the play, Catherine still feels the looming patriarchal power and prioritizes her relationship with John. Placating Dickie, she assures him that in a battle between her heart and mind, “there’s not much doubt about which will win”
[Pointing to Lady Bracknell. ] There is the lady who can tell you who you really are (Wilde 53).” They then elaborate into the story of his unnamed father, and it is because of this that Miss Prism acts as the deus ex machina, a rhetorical device that transforms the outcome of the play from dismal to wholly euphoric. She saves the end from a tragic display of heartbreak and undestined romance for the main characters such as Jack and Gwendolen, who, without this sudden revelation of heritage never would have been able to marry.
Both Algernon and Jack assume the identity of "Ernest" yet ironically, they both plan on starting their married life with a lie. 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 to be no engagement. Through this major exaggeration, Wilde satirically reveals the irrational and insignificant matters that the upper class society uses to view
...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.
In the above statement, Pamela Loy relates Victorian ideals, which correlated with ideas presented in the play. Wilde places women in position of authority, when it comes to selecting their men. Cecily and Gwendolyn have tight control and influence over their suitors’ behaviors. When Gwendolen and Cecily fantasize about marrying a man named “Ernest”, they threaten to suppress their love from any man who does not hold the name. Both women remark, “Your Christian names are an insuperable barrier.