The Importance of Being Earnest also makes a number Essay Example

Cecily both have the need to love someone called Ernest. It has always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone whose name was Ernest. "

This is incredibly shallow and superficial. A name should not determine whether we love someone or not. Wilde is making a point with this quote by showing just how one-dimensional Victorian Society was. Cecily shows, again, how cursory Victorian society was when she said that if Algernon was not called Ernest she could "not be able to give you [Algernon] my undivided attention. " Women mainly got married for money, land or status. In Victorian Society most marriages were arranged by the parents or a relative.

Sometimes the bride would not even meet the groom until the wedding day. Lady Bracknell informs Gwendolen that either herself or Gwendolen's father will notify her when she becomes engaged. Lady Bracknell continues to inquire about Jack's income and residence. She states, "I must inform you that you are not among my approved young men." Financial status, ancestry, and social standing were crucial aspects in marriage.

Lady Bracknell strongly believes in this notion, expressing her disbelief that she would ever allow her only daughter to marry someone of lower social standing or with no wealth. She considers it absurd to form an alliance through marriage with someone of no consequence, comparing it to marrying into a cloakroom or partnering with a mere parcel. Additionally, Jack was discovered as an infant in a handbag at a train station, and as a result, he is unaware of his true parents. Given the prevalence of arranged marriages and marriages based on material possessions like money during the Victorian

era, it is doubtful that many people married for genuine love. This perspective on love and marriage in Victorian society relates to their overall attitude towards matters. Oscar Wilde satirizes the superficiality of trivial matters in this society, such as Cecily and Gwendolen's obsession with loving someone named Ernest.

Gwendolen also mentions her brother's practice of proposing, expressing her belief that a proposal should be an impulsive act of love rather than a rehearsed one. She compliments Jack's beautiful eyes but then humorously adds that she hopes he will always gaze at her like that, particularly in front of others. Through this, Wilde reveals his mockery of the Victorians' preoccupation with appearances and their superficial lives.

Algernon asks, "What shall we do?" and Jack responds, "Nothing." Algernon then comments, "It is awfully hard work to do nothing." The manners and customs of upper class English individuals during the late nineteenth century were rigid and strict, with a clear distinction between social classes and a tendency to exclude those who did not conform to societal norms. (Wilde himself faced a trial due to his homosexuality.) In aristocratic households, everything was meticulously planned and scheduled. The upper class community strongly upheld English customs and strongly preferred maintaining tradition without any changes.

Lady Bracknell's remarks on the education of the lower classes reflect an 'English custom' that she subscribes to. According to her, education has no impact whatsoever, and if it did, it would pose a significant danger to the upper class. This statement demonstrates a grave lack of knowledge on her part. Another aspect Lady Bracknell emphasizes is the significance of being born in wedlock and the value of

breeding. When doubts arise regarding Algernon's honesty, Lady Bracknell dismisses them by asserting that he is an Oxonian, making it impossible for him to be untruthful. This implies that attending Oxford University, known for its prestige, ensures one's truthfulness.

The English have a tendency to judge others based on small details such as their name or appearance. This is shown through the examples of judging the name Ernest and Gwendolen's quick assessment of Cecily Cardew. Gwendolen states, "I like you already more than I can say. My first impressions of people are never wrong." Additionally, when Cecily offers Gwendolen tea, it reveals the English custom of adhering to fashionable trends. Cecily asks if she wants sugar, to which Gwendolen responds, "Sugar is not fashionable anymore." Cecily then offers cake or bread and butter, and Gwendolen comments, "Cake is rarely seen in the best houses nowadays." In Victorian society, there was a prevalent desire for censorship.

They believed people should not be exposed to things of a distasteful manner or something they felt unsuitable. Oscar Wilde's lover wrote a poem about this called "The love that dare not speak its name." Which was about homosexual love, Wilde also emphasizes this. "It is absurd to have a hard and fast rule about what one should read and what one shouldn't." Although Algernon and Jack are seemingly discussing a cigarette case in the play, this humorous exchange carries a deeper message.

In Act two, Miss Prism engages in a conversation with Cecily about her novel, which highlights Oscar Wilde's critique of Victorian attitudes towards literature. Cecily expresses her dislike for novels with happy endings, finding them deeply depressing. Miss

Prism responds by stating that the purpose of fiction is for the good characters to have happy endings and the bad characters to have unhappy ones. Wilde ridicules the general lack of literary understanding among people during that time. Additionally, Wilde satirizes religion, as evident in the statement, "My sermon... can be adapted to almost any occasion, joyful or... distressing." This demonstrates his perception of how religion and its leaders functioned.

Wilde most likely did not have a religious inclination due to the potential rejection he would have faced for his homosexuality. He also satirizes the typical Victorian endings found in fiction, which often feature happy marriages, coincidences involving relatives, or changes in wealth and status. Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist is one such example. Being an outsider to Victorian society, Wilde was able to see and critique its hypocrisies and corruption; however, it is possible that his perspective was slightly biased due to the bitterness he felt from the general ignorance of people.