Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a story about two main characters, Algernon Moncrieff and Jack Worthing, who seek to bend the truth in pursuit of excitement. Jack, who is the main protagonist in the play, is established as a pillar of the community through his responsibilities as a guardian to Cecily Cardew, the granddaughter of his adoptive parent. The play is set in Hertfordshire, where Jack is a major landowner and a peaceful individual. In addition to that, many people in this community including servants, tenants, and farmers are dependent on Jack as a pillar of justice and peace (Wilde, 2014). For years, Jack has pretended to have an irresponsible brother named Earnest. This black-sheep brother, whose life is scandalous and motivated by pleasure, is always getting into some sort of trouble for which Jack has to rush off to assist. Earnest has, therefore, become Jack’s all-time alibi that he uses to do as he wishes and disappear for days. Only Jack knows that Earnest is a made-up personality that he uses. In London, where he frequents on those Earnest-saving occasions, Jack is known by the name Earnest. Jack’s friend Algernon also has a fictional friend Bunbury whom he uses to get out of dull and unpleasant situations (Wilde, 2014). In The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde inverts serious and trivial issues to show how various values of society such as moral responsibility and earnestness are misrepresented in the Victorian society .
This play is a criticism of the belief systems of society, lifestyles, as well as social expectations. Here, Wilde uses the main characters to express the hypocritical nature of many Victorians. For example, Jack often takes a moral tone when dealing with a serious issue within the community. This moral hypocrisy is evident when he speaks about the ‘Bunburying’ of his friend Algernon. Here, Jack assumes a moral tone when he is, in fact, leading the same kind of double life. The criticism of society is also seen in the way that Jack talks about women. In the beginning, it appears that Jack has an honorable and respectful attitude towards women. This perspective is shown in the way that Jack makes clear of his disapproval of the secret that Algernon is keeping from his sister Gwendolen. In fact, he shows the intent of telling Gwendolen about Bunbury and Earnest. However, he later contradicts that opinion when he says that the truth isn’t the sort of thing to tell (Wilde, 2014).
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In the criticism of society, Wilde uses Algernon in a different way from Jack. For this character, puns and paradoxes are used as critiques in themselves. For example, when Algernon says that he hates people who are not serious about meals, it creates the idea that this community has a wrong opinion about the important things in life. When Algernon talks about his hate for “washing clean linen in public,” it comes as a contrast to the typical ideas in the community about everything being done becoming public knowledge (Bloom, 2013).
This play is set in a time people were split into different social classes according to their standing in society. These classes were the upper, middle, and lower, with each of them characterized by their lifestyle and wealth. The upper class people were the investors in land, and the tradesmen who had just acquired their wealth from businesses belonged to the middle class. The lower class people were the servants of the other classes. The characters in this play, therefore, symbolize certain values according to their social classes as well as their perception of people from other classes. For example, Algernon is a selfish character who lives in debt and likes blaming the lower classes when something goes wrong (Lloyd, 2013).
According to Algernon, it is “hard work doing nothing,” which can be seen as a justification of his jobless and idle life. Gwendolen is a representation of morality and authority in the community (Lloyd, 2013). These values are evident in her insatiable desire to uphold honesty and good morals. For example, she says that she will not marry a man without the name of Earnest hence distancing herself from the desire to live double lives like Jack and Algernon. Lady Bracknell is a domineering, cunning, and authoritarian character whose desire in life is to see her daughter marry well as she did.
There are some characters in the play who uphold their values while others do not. For example, Lady Bracknell displays her authoritarian values by involving herself in the search for her daughter’s suitor. Here, Lady Bracknell shows her desire to see her daughter marry well by having a list of eligible suitors who she interviews for suitability. Furthermore, Lady Bracknell does not waiver from her domineering nature as seen when she sends her husband to eat with the servants (Gregory, 2009).
Although Jack can be seen as a representation of respect and responsibility, he fails to uphold these values by leading a double life. His Justice of peace reputation in Hertfordshire does not stand in London, where he becomes Earnest. The name Earnest is given a lot of importance in the play even though it represents a made up personality and hence should not be used to define a person’s values. In this play, Wilde criticizes the absurd nature of the Victorian values by trivializing important issues in society and treating the trivial ones with seriousness. By inverting these matters, Wilde shows the failure of the Victorian society to differentiate important issues from those that are not important.
References
Bloom, H. (2013). Oscar Wilde's the importance of being earnest . New York: Chelsea.
Gregory, F. (2009). Oscar Wilde's the importance of being earnest: Insight text guide . Elsternwick, Vic: Insight Publications.
Lloyd, J. (2013). The importance of being Ernest: The life of actor Jim Varney (stuff that Vern doesn't even know) . North Charlestion, SC: Createspace.
Wilde, O. (2014). The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People . Minneapolis: Lerner Publishing Group.
