Category: The Importance of Being Earnest

Shakespeare in his Othello, and Wilde in his The Importance of Being Earnest, are about realising personality through creative strategies to exploit the hypocrisy of society. Oscar Wilde’s play was first performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James’s Theatre in London. It is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae to escape burdensome social obligations and in doing so, the characters make comments towards the Victorian society and begin to reconnect with their own identity. Directed by Iqbal Khan for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 2015, Othello is unlike a simple renewing of Shakespeare’s tragedy; in its place, it was a production intended to stimulate and confront its audience on arguably the most compelling issue of our day by casting Lucian Msamati as a black Iago. Dr Peter Kirwan from notes that ‘for Khan, this was not a production about a society against one man, but a society divided against itself. By manipulating the casting of the characters, Khan was able to veer away from Othello as a race play and focus more broadly on the synopsis and what the play was ‘about’ Wilde uses a paradoxical theme in The Importance of Being Earnest, which shows the parallel existence of countervailing precepts in the culture of his time and exposes a system with double standards of morality that reflect on the deconstruction of Victorian moral and social values. Khan’s Othello and Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest both ascribe modes of reality to fictional persons as part of their plots.

The societal view of women is consequently linked to the construction of character, however, Desdemona’s characterisation in Othello is shaped by society, whereas the female character in The Importance of Being Earnest demonstrate a clear dominance over men. The role of Desdemona is traditionally cast as a white actress to create a contrast and a distinction between her and Othello. This is further exaggerated by casting a conventionally slim and diminutive blond-haired Joanna Vanderham who can appear to be defenceless opposite a taller, larger and generally more overbearing Hugh Quarshie. This creative function aims to comment on the fragility of their marriage as it was deemed improper for a white woman to marry a black man. As she flips the drill around aimlessly in her hand, the audience forms the impression that Desdemona is choreographed and characterised as a strong woman. Yet, Desdemona eventually had to accept her subordinate character as she was determined to “serve Othello, forsaking her father”. The word serve in this quotation implies Desdemona’s inferior status as a woman. Contrastingly, in Wilde’s play, Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen, Cecily and Miss Prism are strong, practical women who take control over their male counterparts. This is an unforeseen world in which Victorian patriarchal ideals are reversed. Instead of seeing women who succumb to the authority of their male counterparts, it is, in fact, the men who surrender to the needs of their female partners. In the context of romantic ideas, Gwendolen and Cecily subvert their patriarchal positions and take charge of their own romantic lives, while the men simply observe in a relatively inactive role. Contrarily to contemporary suffocating notions, they take a relaxed attitude towards gender roles, social norms and romantic ideology. Instead of dealing with serious aspects of marriage, their preference is for the name Earnest which proposes their attachment to romantic ideas and their discontent with the strict rules of marriage and family life. Gwendolen’s fascination with the name Earnest can be observed in her words: ‘we live, as I hope you know, Mr Worthing, in an age of ideals …and my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Earnest’ (1.239). therefore, what they say and how they act is cat3ergorised as an outburst towards the unnatural restraints of society which tends to imprison their desires. Gwendolen prefers manners of expression rather than the matter of it when she says, ‘True, in matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing’ (III.276). Through this expression, her thought demonstrates an immediate reaction against the double standards of morality practised by the aristocracy at that time. Through the female characters, Wilde demonstrates how the subject is socially constituted, while allowing for individual acts of resistance against totalizing narratives of selfhood. In Othello, on the other hand, one may infer that Desdemona’s statement “I am obedient” is a result of her social conditioning enforced by patriarchal society where her expected duty is to obey her husband and father. In Act 2 scene 2, Cassio refers to Othello’s wife as “a maid/that paragons description and wild fame” and that she “excels the quirts of blazoning pens”. So, her beauty is described beyond the poetic language, but this then becomes unachievable for Desdemona to live up to. The alteration in language, which is associated with Desdemona, is no longer pure or divine, but rough and wicked as Othello refers to her as a “strumpet” and a “cunning whore”. As a misleading temptress, she becomes a danger to the devices of patriarchy and therefore “she must die, or else shell betray more men”. Khan’s intended message behind Desdemona’s death is that dependency leads to indulgence and respect while freedom leads to dissatisfaction and rejection. All in all, the genre of the play has a drastic effect on the characterisation that Khan and Wilde included.

Each male protagonist struggles with the question of personal identity and sits on the outside of who and where they want to be, however tragically in Othello’s case and laughably in Algernon and Jacks; all characters finally begin to assert autonomy and control over their destiny as an individual. Khan’s production with its deliberate rejection of a colour contrast between Othello and Iago and the play does its best to nullify the question of race. The play did not come across as either Othello- or Iago-based but as a choreographed dance between Quarshie and Msamati. The black Iago begins to express an overwhelming sense of power through his choreography by reading, manipulating, and even predicting Othello ‘s thoughts and acts to the audience, thus flattering Othello ‘s character, making increasingly evanescent linguistic depths like those required by other Shakespearean plays such as Hamlet and King Leah. Their performances in a multicultural and racially diverse world increased the available data to arrest our spectating gaze and so expanded received notions of what the play is ‘about’. In The importance of being Earnest, The fact that Jack’s heritage is linked to a train station appears to be a direct insult to Victorian titles and peerages that, in the 1880s, had expanded to allow ‘new money’ and more diverse social backgrounds to be part of the aristocracy, suddenly not everyone was born into a peerage (Sloan, 1943). Wilde exposes the fragility of traditional claims of inheritance and privilege. Lady Bracknell “advise[s] him “to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible, and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex” that would be a practical illustrative link to the aristocracy. Therefore, the fact that Jack has no connection to an identity makes him inferior in societies ideology. Returning to Othello, both Iago and Othello were visibly outsiders, not because they were black, but because they both held rank. Othello was aware of his race, and of his conflicted identity as a foreign man in a foreign country: “Haply, for I am Black, and have not those soft parts of conversation” (Othello 3.3.268). Yet, tragically, Othello was internally conflicted and could not come to terms with himself as a character and this resulted in his death. While in Wildes play, Algernon serves as an example of the length of time Victorians had to go to avoid the stifling moral repression and shame brought on by a culture that prizes the appearance of truth. However, he eventually told the truth and accepted himself for who he was. In summary, both the plays progressively introduce the idea of character by subverting the expectation of character. Othello and Iago are no longer consider as other and Algenon and Jack become one with themselves as soon as they realise that they need to part ways with Victorian standards of character.

By a comparison of Othello and the importance of being earnest we see protagonists scrutinising and, in some cases, adapting to the patriarchal restrictions set upon them and in turn, this either makes or breaks their character. Creative functions embedded throughout the plays heighten the audience’s awareness and responsiveness of the certain stereotypical conventions held when Shakespeare and Wilde originally wrote the works. Khan’s adaptation of Othello shifted the original focus and allowed more questions to be asked about the true nature of the play. Rather than destabilization, The Importance of Being Earnest arrives at a stable paradox enabled by characterological consensus, the genre of farce, and the materiality of theatre. The social status quo is both sustained and transformed, and the dandy characters are compatible with the set because they collectively embrace illusion.

Call Me by Your Name, a film directed by Luca Guadagnino and the play The Importance of Being Earnest, written by Oscar Wilde follows two contrastingly different works without a common theme. Nevertheless, both authors utilise irony in their chosen genres about love in order to criticise the expectations and hypocrisy present within each society. To further aid these criticisms, both authors strongly differ in their use of characterisations when developing antagonists

The use of antagonists within both pieces are contrastingly dissimilar, yet both accurately demonstrate the interference of affections by the importance of societal normalities. Distinctly unique to the film’s subgenre, Guadagnino does not characterise any individual as an antagonist, allowing the protagonists to fall in love with no demonization. Instead, the societal and religious expectations themselves play a role, presented within the boys’ subconscious. Paralleling Guadagnino’s criticisms, through means of satire, Wilde’s use of characterisations allows the intrusions of societal expectations to interfere within the protagonist’s relationships. Within Call Me by Your Name, Guadagnino utilises the symbol of water to display this characterisation, which presents itself as a ‘biblical’ purification. This is particularly the case for Oliver, who suffers from more internal conflict around his attraction than Elio. Swimming is habitually his idea, in which he often dunks himself in water when he feels impure. After they first consummate their love, the two wash themselves in a lake – and the composition and cinematography of the scene make it clear that they are keeping their distance from one another.

Contrastingly, Wilde’s use of characterisations is specifically shown through the depiction of Lady Bracknell within the story, who demonstrates the restrictiveness of marriage and love within upper class societies within the Victorian era. She quickly becomes the sole origin of complications within the plot, only motivated by situations in which she receives the pleasure of power. Her prejudices and expectations are further solidified when she means to marry her daughter to a well-off suitor. Rather than love and happiness, financial and social security take precedence, and she makes this clear in Mr. Worthing’s presence when she states she feels ‘bound to tell’ him that he ‘is not on my list of eligible young men’ Additionally, The symbolism of the fly goes along more with the theme that Elio’s father expresses to him: that you should not resist negative feelings. Rather than shooing the fly away sit with it, in discomfort, because joy and bitterness are inseparable. The fly appears on a few occasions, always when a character is shown to be in a state of emotional angst. At its first appearance, Elio first tries to blow it away, but then he decides to ignore it and masturbate whilst thinking of Oliver. Though subtle, this symbol is used with great effectiveness by Guadagnino, emotions approach you like a foreign force sometimes, in which they make you feel ashamed, dirty, or sorrowful. Nevertheless, pushing those negative feelings away also crushes your joys and desires.

Soundtrack and cinematography exist to emotionally complement the film’s atmosphere as a whole. Rather than observing, it works to immerse the audience as if they were a character themselves. Within the romance, Guadagnino’s use of closeups allows the audience to view Oliver’s emotions at times when Elio cannot. Oliver is trying to make a number of decisions surrounding the central idea of whether it is better for him to speak or to die. The first is whether or not he wants to speak or to die, like the knight. (He looks conflicted.) In the second, he’s deciding to go all-in with his love affair with Elio (He looks happy) and in the third, he’s deciding to leave all of this behind when he returns to America (He looks heartbroken.) The core of his character is that he doesn’t share these conflicts and feelings with anybody, instead he puts up a façade of confidence and strength in fear of appearing vulnerable. This is the big difference between Elio and himself. Elio accepts his feelings and shares them with others, whereas Oliver is characterised by privacy and self-denial. Rather than an afterthought, the soundtrack is often intertwined within the storyline with music, playing a role in verbalising what the characters cannot say themselves. Within the film’s third act, the protagonists travel to Bergamo while “Mystery of Love” plays over the film. Stevens’ breathy voice floats over deftly plucked guitar and mandolin strings; at times his singing barely rises above a whisper. The lyrics of the song read like Elio’s internal monologue, capturing the depths of his desire. Both the scene and song are imbued with a tinge of bitter sweetness however, because both characters know their time together is ending, and that the summer can’t last forever. Contextually, the film is also interspersed with ’80s music, firmly grounding the story in that decade. In the film, Elio is seen wearing a Talking Heads t-shirt, and a scene in a discotheque distinctly features the cast dancing to “Love My Way” by The Psychedelic Furs.

What relates these two contrastingly different works together is the creators’ use of irony in order to criticise each respective societies expectations. Within the importance of being Earnest, Wilde consumes his work with irony to highlight the satirical humour in regard to those living in Victorian society. This use of irony is particularly inherent in speeches or situations of a drama and is understood by the audience, yet not grasped by the characters themselves. The two types most prevalent in are situational and dramatic irony. Call me by Your Name’s similarly utilises situational irony, present on the day that Elio decides to break his silence about his desire for sexual intimacy with Oliver. he writes a note and slips it under Oliver’s door which states he ‘can’t stand the silence. I need to speak to you.’ On one hand, it is ironic for Elio to do this by means of a written note, considering that nothing stops him from simply speaking to Oliver. On the other hand, his request to ‘speak’ is an instance of verbal irony, as it is instead a veiled request for a sexual encounter. Comparatively, Wilde’s use irony comes into play when the truth starts to unravel, and Jack finds out what really happened to him as a child and why he does not know his parents. The irony continues to explain how Jack and Algernon were biological brothers. Most of the irony comes from this character. Furthermore, the greatest instance of dramatic irony within Call me by your name occurs during Elio’s father revelation that he knew about the affair all along. Although Elio suspects that his parents might know—based on the way that they decide to leave the phone line when Oliver calls from America, so that the two can speak alone—he only presumes this might be the case and feels indifferent toward the matter. When Elio’s father finally speaks to him about it, he takes it as an opportunity to impart life wisdom and help Elio to recognize that their relationship was special from the start.

Section 1: Social, Political and Philosophical Context

The Victorian era was one of great change and importance. The industrialisation of England during this time forever changed how and where people lived. The shift from rural to urban work accelerated with the rise of factories and the advancement of technology. The lower classes were overworked and suffered from horrible workplace conditions. Both adults and children worked tirelessly for sixteen hours per day on repetitive, strenuous and often dangerous tasks. For this, they were paid poorly, giving them just enough money to afford rent and a very sparse diet for their family.

Philosophical Context:

The way industrialists justified these conditions was by applying a philosophy which seemed reasonable in theory but was proven to have harmful effects. Utilitarianism is a theory which was applied by Jeremy Bentham. It promoted ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number’, and judged a situation based on its outcome, simply how much ‘pleasure’ and how much ‘pain’ it caused. If the act resulted in more pleasure than pain, then it was justified. The philosophy relies on mathematics and statistics – it’s logical and hyper-rational, and it doesn’t account for the emotion of those involved. This philosophy was very attractive to some people, particularly of higher classes, but others found it limiting and soulless. Victorians and their literature were asking ethical questions in a lot of different ways, but utilitarianism was one popular lens through which to do it. The theory is purely logical and rational, but some writers, such as Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens, wanted to show a contrasting perspective: what befalls the ‘few’ who get sacrificed for the happiness of the many? Dickens strongly believed in the idea that people are individuals and their lives and choices cannot be explained by mathematics and statistics alone. He was deeply committed to the idea of altruism, generosity and compassion and believed that these behaviours would be lost in the system based on utilitarianism. In 1854, he wrote the novel Hard Times. In Hard Times, the ideas behind Utilitarianism, statistical economics, and the way they may shape the government, education, and society, in general, all combine to present a bleak future for the children raised under them. Those who idealize this philosophy imagine a logical, rational and highly efficient world. In this novel, Dickens presents us with children raised and educated under this system. ‘Now, what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to them.’ (Dickens, Hard Times) These are the novel’s opening lines. Spoken by Mr Gradgrind, they sum up his rationalist philosophy. The children’s emotions are repressed, their imaginations starved, and their creativity discouraged. As a result, they grow into adults that lack morals and are unable to understand or emotionally connect with others.

Social and Political Context:

The Victorian era was characterised by rapid change and developments in nearly every aspect – from advancements in technological, medical and scientific knowledge, to changes in population growth and location. Over time, this intense change severely affected the country’s mood: an age that began with a confident and optimistic society, leading to huge economic success eventually turned uncertain and doubtful regarding Britain’s place in the world. While the industrialisation of Britain brought excitement to the society, its effects on their lives were mostly negative, particularly on the lower classes. This was reflected in many aspects of Victorian literature. For example, Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South explores the life of Margaret Hale, a well-educated woman from a poor family who moves from southern England to the industrialised North. ‘North and South’ is all about challenging authority, specifically when authority works against compassion and justice. Margaret constantly oversteps her limitations as a Victorian woman. Her brother challenges authority by disobeying his commanding officer in the navy and causing a revolt. The factory employee Nicholas Higgins organizes workers’ strikes and insists on equal rights for the working class. When it was published in 1854, this book was met with severe criticism, directed at the fact that Elizabeth Gaskell (a woman) wrote sympathetically about the rights of English workers.

The middle Victorian age was one of theological conflict. Scientists and geologists were putting together a comprehensive fossil record which suggested that the world was much older than the bible had suggested. These theories caused an uprising and protests, as inconsistencies were discovered in the Bible. In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species which immediately sold out its first print run. This book suggested that humans had evolved from simpler animals. The mental transition from the belief that we were created by God to the possibility that we had evolved from apes was possibly one of the most profound shocks that humanity had ever undergone. Darwin’s publications were some of the most influential for the modern era.

Section 2 – Close Study of Text

Written and debuted in the latter part of the Victorian era, Oscar Wilde’s satirical theatrical comedy, The Importance Of Being Earnest (1895) is still one that characterises the period’s rich literature and has withstood the test of time as Wilde’s most popular and widely acclaimed piece of work, which clearly reflects and responds to the world of Victorian London. Indeed, the play is a fascinating reflection of the Victorian era concerns with social class, marriage and gender. The text itself was extremely popular at the time of its premiere, its run cut short only by the real-life scandal that overtook the playwright. After the discovery of his sexual orientation, Wilde was imprisoned for ‘gross indecency’, a mere two months after the debut of they play.

As such, Wilde explores the role of the Victorian social classes in The Importance of Being Earnest. In the play, he ridicules the arrogance and hypocrisy of the aristocracy, highlighting the faults in the class structure which is based on little more than lineage and wealth. When Jack wishes to marry Gwendolyn, her mother, Lady Bracknell, interrogates him about his family history. This is because, in Victorian society, marriage was not predominantly for love, but for social status. Despite his positive first impression, Lady Bracknell refuses to risk her family’s legacy for a lineage that is of no real significance. ‘You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter – a girl brought up with the utmost care – to marry into a cloak-room and form an alliance with a parcel?’. Here, she references Jack’s unfortunate beginning, having been left in a train station cloakroom as an infant, and being orphaned because of it. Wilde satirises Lady Bracknell’s arrogance and superficiality. In many ways, she represents Wilde’s opinion of Victorian upper-class negativity, conservative and repressive values, and power. Thus, the ideas surrounding social class in The Importance of Being Earnest are an interesting and insightful reflection of and response to the Victorian era society.

Similarly, The Importance of Being Earnest provides an insightful reflection of marital norms during the Victorian era. Marriage is of high importance in the play, both as a key force which motivates the plot and as a subject for speculation and debate. As such, the entire play revolves around the question of whether marriage is a matter of ‘pleasure’ or ‘business’. The question of the nature of marriage first appears in the opening lines exchanged between Algernon and his butler, Lane, and is carried on throughout the course of the play in different contexts. Algernon and Jack discuss the nature of marriage when they dispute briefly about whether a marriage proposal is a matter of ‘business’ or ‘pleasure,’ Algernon thinks of marriage as a social obligation he must fulfil in order to maintain a respectable name and reputation. Contrastingly, Jack has a much more optimistic view of marriage and seems to regard it as romantic. Like Algernon, Lady Bracknell mentions a similar topic when she states that, ‘An engagement should come on a young girl as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be.’ Even Lady Bracknell’s list of eligible men and the prepared interview which Jack is subjected to are based on a set of assumptions about the nature and purpose of marriage. In general, these assumptions reflect the conventional concerns of Victorian respectability—social status, income, and character. Therefore, the topic of marriage in Earnest is exaggerated, though nonetheless, an accurate reflection of the marital norms of the Victorian Era.

Moreover, in The Importance of Being Earnest, each gender’s role in society is questioned. In the Victorian world of this play, men were considered the superior sex. They worked, provided and made decisions for their families while their wives took care of the homes and raised the children. Men were valued for their intelligence and judgment, while women were attractive to men for their beauty and modesty. However, Wilde challenges these norms and raises thought-provoking questions about gender roles in The Importance of Being Earnest by putting women in positions of authority and by showing that men can be irresponsible and injudicious. In the play, Gwendolen is shown reversing the traditional roles of men and women. ‘The home seems to me to be the proper sphere for the man. And certainly, once a man begins to neglect his domestic duties, he becomes painfully effeminate, does he not? And I don’t like that.’ Here, she challenges the conventional idea that women should be the ones at home, cleaning, cooking and taking care of the children. Moreover, in traditional Victorian society, it is typically the man who controls the life of his wife. However, in the case of the marriage between Lord and Lady Bracknell, Lady Bracknell seems to hold the majority of power and authority. When Algernon tells Lady Bracknell, his aunt, that he will, unfortunately, have to leave before dinner, she assertively replies. ‘It would put my table completely out. Your uncle would have to dine upstairs. Fortunately, he is accustomed to that.’ This line clearly portrays the dominance which Lady Bracknell holds over her husband, an untypical power dynamic for couples of the Victorian era. These are two of the few places where Wilde clearly shows that women can occupy positions of power and dismiss the traditional gender roles. It was also incredibly rare for Victorian literature to address gender roles in such a way. Therefore, Wilde provides an interesting reflection on gender stereotypes of the Victorian era by reversing and ridiculing them.

Hence, it is clear that every text is both a reflection of and a response to the world in which it was composed. This is highly evident in Oscar Wilde’s seminal play The Importance of Being Earnest, which was created in the late Victorian era. Indeed, the play is an interesting reflection of the Victorian era concerns with social class systems, marriage and gender norms, which Wilde portrays through humour and satire, as a way of communicating his thoughts and opinions on the subjects in an unserious way.

Bibliography

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Oscar Wilde’s, The Importance of Being Earnest, creates a trivial comedy which emphasizes the absurdity within Victorian society during the 19th century. The playwright uses characters Jack Worthing, Algernon Moncrieff, Cecily Cardew, Gwendolen Fairfax and Lady Bracknell to develop a sense of humor and comments on the absurd nature of Victorian morals and values. Wilde has used the techniques of irony and character foil to evolve and build characterization of characters in the play. A play created by Oscar Wilde, “ The importance of Being Earnest” uses irony and character foil to expose characters flaws and how they are developed throughout the play.

Wilde the “Playwright” uses dramatic irony throughout the play to reflect characters emotions and to reveal their true character values. Wilde has used the false identity of both “ Ernest and Bunbury” to reveal Jack’s and Algernon’s hypocritical character throughout the play. These fake identity’s are unknown by any other characters except for Jack and Algernon, and the reader.

Jack: “It isn’t Ernest; it’s Jack.”

Algernon: “ I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose. Bunbury is perfectly invaluable. If it wasn’t for Bunbury’s extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn’t be able to dine with you at Willis’s to-night, for I have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week.”

This technique was created by Wide comments on the absurdity and hypocrisy these characters have on each other, especially Gwendolen and Cecily. The dramatic irony of this quote states that both Jack and Algernon did not know about each other’s fake identity. This quote reflects the Irony in which develops Jack and Algernon’s true character values and to give a sense of hypocrisy of Jack and Algernon to the reader.

Throughout the play, Wilde uses character foil to juxtapose two characters “Cecily and Gwendolen” creating highlights of their values and qualities of their character. Cecily and Gwendolen are two lead females in Wilde’s play “The Importance of Being Earnest”. The women are both deceived by protagonists Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff to fall in love with them by the fake identity of Ernest. Despite Cecily and Gwendolen thinking they are marrying the same guy, it seems that both these young ladies possess more similarities than differences after finding out how hypocritical their lovers have been.

Gwendolen: “this dignifies silence seems to produce an unpleasant effect.

Cecily: “A most distasteful one.”

Gwendolen: “But we will not be the first to speak.”

Cecily: “Certainly not.”

Gwendolen: “Mr Worthing, I have something very particular to ask you. Much depends on your reply.” Cecily: “Gwendolen, Your common sense is invaluable. Mr Moncrieff, kindly answer me the following question. Why did you pretend to be my guardian’s brother ?” (Wilde, 2020, pp. 344)

In this play, Cecily and Gwendolen are in love with both Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrief thought to be both Ernest. However, both Cecily and Gwendolen are unaware that their lovers are lying, hypocritical characters. Cecily and Gwendolen’s anger and irritation are portrayed through Wilde’s use of words and repetition of lines. Both Cecily’s and Gwendolen’s opinions on their lover’s lying bring them closer together as mutual sisters and build more similarities than differences. The use of Character foil develops Cecily and Gwendolen’s relationship and contrasts their values against each other and protagonists Jack and Algernon. Wilde uses character foil to develop and juxtapose both Cecily and Gwendolen’s feelings and anger towards each other and their lovers. Wilde uses this technique to highlight and develop both Cecily and Gwendolen’s feelings towards their lying lovers.

Verbal irony is used to reflect the social comments made by Lady Bracknell aimed at Jack for marrying her daughter “ Gwendolen .” Wilde uses character Lady Bracknell to create the technique “verbal irony” in which allows Bracknell to express her feelings and to portray the truth by creating a sense of sarcasm. Bracknell uses verbal irony when Jack (Ernest) wants to marry her daughter “ Gwendolen”, Bracknell then uses sarcasm to get the point across to Jack that he is not traditional and independent enough for her daughter.

Jack: “ Well yes, I must admit I smoke.”

Lady Bracknell: “I’m glad to hear it. A man should always have an occupation of some kind. There are far too many idle men in London as it is. “(Wilde, 2020, pp. 308)

Lady Bracknell’s authority and ability have extended over the play, she is able to make sarcastic comments on Jack (Ernest ) marrying her daughter Gwendolen. Lady Bracknell’s comment reflects her frustration and disappointment on Jack smoking. The play wright has used verbal irony to portray sarcasm, this allows the reader to connect with the comment and understand. Bracknell’s characterisation throughout the play develops a sense of Victorian earnestness. Bracknell believes style and wealth are important for her daughter to be married into because she was married into the upper class of the Victorian times. Bracknell demonstrates such absurdity and sarcasm to Jack which reflects what type of character she is and her values as a mother in Victorian society. Overall Wilde uses verbal Irony to develop Lady Bracknell’s thoughts on Jack marrying her daughter, the verbal irony allows the reader and the character to develop a sense of insult and mocking towards the character Jack.

Conclusion

The importance of Being Earnest a play created by Oscar Wilde, uses irony and character foil to expose the characters flaws and how they are developed throughout the play. Wilde has used dramatic Irony created by Jack and Algernon throughout the play to develop who they really are as a character and to reveal their true values when it comes to love. Wilde has also used character foil between Cecily and Gwendolen to contrast and juxtapose each other, which develops their values and feelings throughout the play towards their lying lovers. Wilde has used Verbal irony in which reflects the comments made by Lady Bracknell towards Jack marrying Gwendolen. Lady Bracknell uses sarcasm which is made to insult Jack, however, Wilde uses this to develop her own character and reveals how mocking and absurd she is. Therefore, the playwright “Oscar Wilde” has successfully used the techniques irony and character foil to develop each character Jack, Algernon, Cecily, Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell throughout the play.

Oscar Wilde once said, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” Lies are an easy way out but as a result, lead to harder problems. The truth for some people is never simple and is fabricated. Truth gets passed down through people and over time it fades. There is always another side to truth. In the play, The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Jack Worthing appears like a gentleman who loves Gwendolen, but he shows countless times that he is deceptive and lies about his alter ego to his closest friends, which makes him an unethical character.

To begin, Despite his care for Gwendolen he continuously is dishonest to her and her family about himself and his persona. Jack is perceived as a pathological liar, which is why he is one of the main protagonists in the story. Gwendolen confronts Jack about his inability, to tell the truth, due to his unethical ways. Also, he is not being honest about his real name and going by Earnest, which he is quick to dismiss to avoid the confrontation of his actions. The reason he changes his name to Earnest is to impress Gwendolyn the woman he wants to marry. Jack stated, “It is very painful for me to be forced to speak the truth. It is the first time in my life that I have ever been reduced to such a painful position, and I am really quite inexperienced in doing anything of the kind.”(56) This shows that telling the truth is painful for Jack, and Jack does not value honesty and the truth, especially to the people he cares about. He feels that lying is it a more efficient way of living, and chooses lies over honesty. Jack also makes hypocritical statements for his apologies that dictate his actions. Gwendolyn falls for him because of his charming nature, and his ability to manipulate her. “Jack says, Gwendolen, it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth. Can you forgive me?”(11). Jack and Gwendolyn have a relationship that’s formed on Jack’s lies, and his inability to be honest with her. Also his ability to recognize his ignorance to his mistakes and to own up to them. Jack’s incapability, to be honest, causes him to lose the trust of Gwendolyn and his closest friends.

Furthermore, Jacks is disingenuous and lies about his alter ego to his closest friends, and condescends the people he encounters. In the play, Jack is known to live two separate lives, which makes him seem two-faced. Jack even shows this by changing his name to Ernest or John depending on what town he is in. Jack is really trying to break from his life in the country. In the city, he tells everyone he is Earnest, which is a made-up person. Jack stated, “well my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country, my cigarette case was given to me in the country”(5). This shows that he uses multiple names to have a different reputation in different places, which is confusing for the other characters in the play and causes conflicts. Those different identities also are created in order to hide his doings and deceive their loved ones. Jack dishonesty is a sign of immaturity. When Jack’s lies are revealed to loved ones and his closest friends he doesn’t know what to do except argue as he had done with his younger brother Algernon. Jack says, “[Rising] Well, that is no reason why you should eat them all in that greedy way. [Takes muffins from Algernon.]… I say it’s perfectly heartless you’re eating muffins at all, under the circumstances”(477). This shows how Jack is acting like a child by arguing about a muffin with Algernon while being confronted by Gwendolyn and her family who learns the secret about Jack’s real name. Jacks deceitful nature and manipulate the situation about his two-faced life, causes him to patronize himself amongst his closest friends.

In conclusion, Jack Worthing in the play The Importance Of Being Earnest seems like a respectful man living in the Victorian era who wants to marry Gwendolen. However, Jack in really is a deceptive person who lies about his two-faced personas to his closest friends, which makes him an unethical character. Jack continuously is deceitful to the other characters about himself. Jacks is far from honest and he is not trustworthy to his closest friends and disguises himself behind the mask. Masking oneself with lies and deceit will only make one lose the trust of loved ones and prevent meaningful relationships. Digging oneself into to multiple white lies leads to fabricated lies. Deceitful behavior leads to broken promises, broken relationships, loneliness, and despair. All lies will eventually catch up with a person, it is only in living in the truth that someone will be happy, and have healthy relationships.

At the heels of the satirical Victorian morality delineated through Wilde’s play, The Importance of Being Earnest, a judiciously executed perception directed at society is apparent. To study a text 120 years on, what’s the point? At the time Oscar Wilde’s satirical view and the way which he composed his judgments on the Victorian society was thought to be quite ahead of its time. Only viewed for the admirable comedy and array of humour? Was the deeper meaning of the hypocrisy accurately received? As critic William Archer alleged in The World, “(The play) imitates nothing, represents nothing, is nothing, except a sort of rondo capriccioso, in which the artist’s fingers run with crisp irresponsibility up and down the keyboard of life.” The Importance of Being Earnest was first performed at St James’s Theatre, on Valentine’s Day and the Victorian aristocratic society seemingly embraced this aesthete’s depiction, hailing it the greatest stage comedy of all time. Far from being angered by Wilde’s attack on Victorian values, was the Victorian society changed or was the maxim of this satirical outrage/ egregious masked too well? However, as society grasped a profound understanding, the play became recognised as a satirical (mockery through humour) rather than a comical play. Oscar Wilde purposed to highlight issues such as the hypocritical Victorian morality of society and the sincerity which it harnessed. These themes portray Wilde’s attitude towards identity development during the Victorian era and the play undoubtedly illustrates Wilde’s tenacious views on these themes, through the use of frivolous natured characters, engaging literary devices and aesthetic features.

Society in the Victorian era was evidently characterised for its intense hypocrisy and the strong sense of distorted morality. Perfectly mirrored in the play, The Importance of Being Earnest, the sham seriousness, hypocritical morality and artificial sophistry of the society are cleverly criticised through the implicit characterisation of the deployed characters, familiar to aristocrat audiences. Wilde was a preeminent figure amid Victorian society, being an aesthete, he acquired many aristocratic connections. However, Wilde was able to identify the contradictions in Victorian morals, or more specifically the gap between ideals and behaviour. This may have been a result of his Irish patrimony and high level of education. Evidently, Wilde seems to be making a travesty of the society as a whole, though this is what makes the play satirical as it seems the characters don’t even realise what their actions, which is folly in itself. Through subtle introduction of the mimicked characters the audience is to deduce for themselves their characteristics, observing the intriguing thought process, behaviour, speech, verbal style and manner of communication with other characters. Wilde has developed characters which exist entirely on the surface, folly and ill morality are barely words to describe them. One example of Wilde’s deplore of society is when Gwendolen is used to represent the contradictory nature of the upper-class through stating, “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing”. (Pg )1 Well of course our common sense can tell us that Gwendolen has this statement backwards. It is not only our expectation the sincerity takes precedence over style. This line not only encapsulates the genius of the play but also illustrates Wilde is utilizing his characters to expose the extreme hypocrisy of Victorian society. Wilde once again capitalises on his satirical style manipulating society when Algernon declares, “Really if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.” (Pg 296)2 In this section it is evident Wilde was demonstrating the hypocritical nature of the aristocrat Victorian nature, principally when considering their formal relationships with the lower societal classes, such as the servants in this instance. Was Wilde in scripting a sardonic at the fourfold of the society? Nonetheless, the play seemingly captivated the masses. It is evident that through the use of refined characterisation Wilde had the ability to demonstrate his perspective of the hypocrisy ever so substantial in the Victorian society.

During the Victorian era the reality of a hypocritical society, was more evident than ever. As Wilde once aforesaid, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either”. (Kloeppel, 2003)3 Wilde’s philosophy is strongly evident throughout the play, with his perspective insidiously shaming the hypocrisy of the Victorian era and the sincerity which it bestowed, with the preeminent focus on what society deemed correct and what really possessed this selection of patrician characters. Is it possible Wilde so heavily questioned the attitudes of society, not for comedy as it was believed, but rather to display a much more significant prospect? However, Wilde unmistakably demonstrates that despite being an aesthete himself, he was strongly opposed to the values this denomination exercised. Wilde’s ingenious use of his artistic sensibilities, palpable through the extensive use of language devices, he has pointed out the cretinism of building an identity entirely through hypocrisy and the significant sincerity. As Gwendolen proclaims, “We live, as I hope you know, Mr. Worthing, in an age of ideals” (Pg 10)4, this witty line in itself is just one of the many paradoxes Wilde has employed to fustigate the melodramas of the 19th century. Wilde’s use of parodies, seems contradictory but presents truth, has a metaliterary tendency. Via imitating and distorting the play, laying bare the conventions, pulling the audience out of the represented world, making them aware of the means and methods of presentation. Wilde also uses inversions of language, including unexpected reversals or clichés and truisms, to develop identities through hypocrisy. Algernon perfectly depicts this remarking, “Divorces are made in Heaven” (Pg 297??)5, a version of the cliché, “Marriages are made in Heaven”. It would be logical to believe Wilde’s inversion aims is to subvert conventional morality. Similarly, during the final act, Wilde once again inverts conventional morality when Jack proclaims it “a terrible thing” (Pg )6 for a man to discover that he’s been telling the truth all his life. Wilde’s craftily structured technique of inverted logic allows stark criticism of the hypocritical Victorian morality, while seemingly still maintaining a satirical context.

Of course, one would never contemplate this idea of hypocrisy to bring forth identity would be seen in our modern-day world. Society was relentlessly pointed out by Wilde for its dictation of right and wrong, despite never actually conforming to these assertions. So, have we changed? Rather, they could just be our cultural norm, oblivious to man. Begin to question the ways of modern-day society it becomes undeniably apparent just how similar to two epochs in time really are. With technology presenting itself as an in expendable factor of life each, day increasingly proves its link with the nostalgia of the past. In out modernistic society there is an accumulation of social networks, enabling individuals to connect around the globe. What are these applications used for you might ask? Well in simplistic terms for influencers and idealist to contrive society by a satirical morality, which they themselves do not fasten to. This insincerity is hypocritical and, in a sense, manipulative. As a former influencer once commented, “Social media is our stage, and our audience is only filled with our claims, which we cannot hold true to”, proving the hypocritical nature of our modern culture. In this way, The Importance of Being Earnest, is just as relevant to contemporary society as it was 120 years prior. Despite this, society today does not appear as it did then, as humanity works towards unity, bringing all together as one.

Ultimately, after 120 years we can concede the play still holds a relevant message which society may not yet have fully grasped, although still effortlessly pertinent to contemporary society, Wilde’s “rondo capriccioso’ is a tune that audiences are drawn to. Purposing the play as a hypocrisy of Victorian morality and sincerity Wilde satirically criticizes the Victorian aristocrats dramatic insistence of hypocrisy, morality and sincerity to define an identity, which is mirrored in the 21st century society through our technological forwardness. Wilde’s philosophy of the Victorian society is the keynote of the satirical, developed through thorough implicit characterisation, intriguing use of language devices and aesthetic features evident in the Victorian era. To wittingly grasp the deeper message of Oscar Wilde’s, play The Importance of Being Earnest genuinely astounds oneself to recognise that society in itself is really has not altered.