The Importance Of Being Earnest And Modern Society

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“The point of drama is to challenge society's prejudices and expectations.” To what extent do you agree with this statement, in relation to A Doll's House and The Importance of Being Earnest?

In A Doll's House and The Importance of Being Earnest, many of society's preconceptions are challenged, for example the sedentary, sheltered and congenial role of middle and upper class women that was expected in Victorian society. However, the two playwrights take two very different approaches to addressing these prejudices. Henrik Ibsen provides a controversial realist drama or, as he put it, a “description of humanity” chiefly in order to criticise the traditional roles of men and women in 19th-century marriage. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde uses “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People” in order to convey a social satire that focuses on the ridiculous elite. In this, he light-heartedly portrays the flaws in Victorian society. There are numerous similarities between the two plays, with regard to the subjects of criticism at least. The method of criticism is undoubtedly different, and reflects the different natures of the two playwrights and thus the style of work produced by each. In this essay I hope to present a view on the statement, by comparison and contrast of the two Victorian plays.

Views on marriage and the separate roles of the sexes within that were amongst Victorian society's most severe preconceptions, and are challenged by both playwrights in very contrasting ways. Wilde challenges these expectations by inverting the gender roles, with Lady Bracknell taking the dominant, masculine role and her husband never appearing on-stage, suffering from an apparent chronic invalidism or “ailment”, as Lady Bracknell rather va...

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...Archer asked “What can a poor critic do with a play which raises no principle... and is nothing but an absolutely wilful expression of an irrepressibly witty personality?”. This reflects the views of much of the audience, who did not see the more serious subtext of Earnest that criticises the hypocritical prejudices and expectations of the Victorian society they belonged to. I think that there is more to drama than didactic plays intended to improve society, and other purposes can be to simply entertain a crowd or toy with the audiences emotions. In my opinion however, the best dramas are usually thought-provoking, and provide a great basis for discussion concerning profound, timeless social issues.

Word Count: 1550

Bibliography

•A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, 1879 (Drama Classics Edition)

•The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, 1895

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