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Importance Of Being Earnest" Major Themes
Manners and SincerityThe major target of Wilde's scathing social criticism is the hypocrisy that societycreates. Frequently in Victorian society, its participants comported themselves
inoverly sincere, polite ways while they harbored conversely manipulative, cruelattitudes. Wilde exposes this divide in scenes such as when Gwendolen andCecily behave themselves in
front of the servants or when Lady Bracknell warmsto Cecily upon discovering she is rich. However, the play truly pivots around theword "earnest." Both women want to marry someone
named "Ernest," as thename inspires "absolute confidence"; in other words, the name implies that itsbearer truly is earnest, honest, and responsible. However, Jack and Algernonhave lied
about their names, so they are not really "earnest." But it also turns outthat (at least in Jack's case) he was inadvertently telling the truth. The rapid flip-flopping of truths and lies, of
earnestness and duplicity, shows how truly muddledthe Victorian values of honesty and responsibility were.Dual Identities As a subset of the sincerity theme (see above), Wilde explores
in depth what itmeans to have a dual identity in Victorian society. This duality is most apparent in Algernon and Jack's "Bunburying" (their creation of an alter ego to allow them toevade
responsibility). Wilde hints that Bunburying may cover for homosexualliaisons, or at the very least serve as an escape from oppressive marriages.Other characters also create alternate
identities. For example, Cecily writescorrespondence between herself and Ernest before she has ever met him. Unlikereal men, who are free to come and go as they please, she is able
to control thisversion of Ernest. Finally, the fact that Jack has been unwittingly leading a life of dual identities shows that our alter egos are not as far from our "real" identities aswe
would think.Critique of Marriage as a Social ToolWilde's most concrete critique in the play is of the manipulative desires revolvingaround marriage. Gwendolen and Cecily are interested
in their mates, it appears,only because they have disreputable backgrounds (Gwendolen is pleased tolearn that Jack was an orphan; Cecily is excited by Algernon's "wicked"reputation).
Their shared desire to marry someone named Ernest demonstratesthat their romantic dreams hinge upon titles, not character. The men are notmuch less shallow-Algernon proposes to the
young, pretty Cecily within minutesof meeting her. Only Jack seems to have earnest romantic desires, though whyhe would love the self-absorbed Gwendolen is questionable. However,
the sordidness of the lovers' ulterior motives is dwarfed by the priorities of LadyBracknell, who epitomizes the Victorian tendency to view marriage as a financialarrangement. She does not consent to Gwendolen's marriage to Jack on thebasis of his being an orphan, and she snubs Cecily until she discovers she has alarge personal fortune.Idleness of the Leisure Class and the AestheteWilde good-naturedly exposes the empty, trivial lives of the aristocracy-good-naturedly, for Wilde also indulged in this type of lifestyle. Algernon is a hedonistwho likes nothing better than to eat, gamble, and gossip without consequence.Wilde has described the play as about characters who trivialize serious mattersand solemnize trivial matters; Algernon seems more worried by the absence of cucumber sandwiches (which he ate) than by the serious class conflicts that hequickly smoothes over with wit. But Wilde has a more serious intent:
hesubscribes to the late-19th-century philosophy of aestheticism, espoused byWalter Pater, which argues for the necessity of art's primary relationship withbeauty, not with reality. Art
should not mirror reality; rather, Wilde has said, itshould be "useless" (in the sense of not serving a social purpose; it is useful for our appreciation of beauty). Therefore, Algernon's
idleness is not merelylaziness, but the product of someone who has cultivated an esteemed sense of aesthetic uselessness.FarceThe most famous aspect of Oscar Wilde's literature is his
epigrams: compact,witty maxims that often expose the absurdities of society using paradox.Frequently, he takes an established cliché and alters it to make its illogicsomehow more
logical ("in married life three is company and two is none"). Whilethese zingers serve as sophisticated critiques of society, Wilde also employsseveral comic tools of "low" comedy,
specifically those of farce. He echoesdialogue and actions, uses comic reversals, and explodes a fast-paced, absurdending whose implausibility we overlook because it is so ridiculous.
This tone of wit and farce is distinctively Wildean; only someone so skilled in both genrescould combine them so successfully.
Manners and SincerityThe major target of Wilde's scathing social criticism is the hypocrisy that societycreates. Frequently in Victorian society, its participants comported themselves
inoverly sincere, polite ways while they harbored conversely manipulative, cruelattitudes. Wilde exposes this divide in scenes such as when Gwendolen andCecily behave themselves in
front of the servants or when Lady Bracknell warmsto Cecily upon discovering she is rich. However, the play truly pivots around theword "earnest." Both women want to marry someone
named "Ernest," as thename inspires "absolute confidence"; in other words, the name implies that itsbearer truly is earnest, honest, and responsible. However, Jack and Algernonhave lied
about their names, so they are not really "earnest." But it also turns outthat (at least in Jack's case) he was inadvertently telling the truth. The rapid flip-flopping of truths and lies, of
earnestness and duplicity, shows how truly muddledthe Victorian values of honesty and responsibility were.Dual Identities As a subset of the sincerity theme (see above), Wilde explores
in depth what itmeans to have a dual identity in Victorian society. This duality is most apparent in Algernon and Jack's "Bunburying" (their creation of an alter ego to allow them toevade
responsibility). Wilde hints that Bunburying may cover for homosexualliaisons, or at the very least serve as an escape from oppressive marriages.Other characters also create alternate
identities. For example, Cecily writescorrespondence between herself and Ernest before she has ever met him. Unlikereal men, who are free to come and go as they please, she is able
to control thisversion of Ernest. Finally, the fact that Jack has been unwittingly leading a life of dual identities shows that our alter egos are not as far from our "real" identities aswe
would think.Critique of Marriage as a Social ToolWilde's most concrete critique in the play is of the manipulative desires revolvingaround marriage. Gwendolen and Cecily are interested
in their mates, it appears,only because they have disreputable backgrounds (Gwendolen is pleased tolearn that Jack was an orphan; Cecily is excited by Algernon's "wicked"reputation).
Their shared desire to marry someone named Ernest demonstratesthat their romantic dreams hinge upon titles, not character. The men are notmuch less shallow-Algernon proposes to the
young, pretty Cecily within minutesof meeting her. Only Jack seems to have earnest romantic desires, though whyhe would love the self-absorbed Gwendolen is questionable. However,
the sordidness of the lovers' ulterior motives is dwarfed by the priorities of LadyBracknell, who epitomizes the Victorian tendency to view marriage as a financialarrangement. She does not consent to Gwendolen's marriage to Jack on thebasis of his being an orphan, and she snubs Cecily until she discovers she has alarge personal fortune.Idleness of the Leisure Class and the AestheteWilde good-naturedly exposes the empty, trivial lives of the aristocracy-good-naturedly, for Wilde also indulged in this type of lifestyle. Algernon is a hedonistwho likes nothing better than to eat, gamble, and gossip without consequence.Wilde has described the play as about characters who trivialize serious mattersand solemnize trivial matters; Algernon seems more worried by the absence of cucumber sandwiches (which he ate) than by the serious class conflicts that hequickly smoothes over with wit. But Wilde has a more serious intent:
hesubscribes to the late-19th-century philosophy of aestheticism, espoused byWalter Pater, which argues for the necessity of art's primary relationship withbeauty, not with reality. Art
should not mirror reality; rather, Wilde has said, itshould be "useless" (in the sense of not serving a social purpose; it is useful for our appreciation of beauty). Therefore, Algernon's
idleness is not merelylaziness, but the product of someone who has cultivated an esteemed sense of aesthetic uselessness.FarceThe most famous aspect of Oscar Wilde's literature is his
epigrams: compact,witty maxims that often expose the absurdities of society using paradox.Frequently, he takes an established cliché and alters it to make its illogicsomehow more
logical ("in married life three is company and two is none"). Whilethese zingers serve as sophisticated critiques of society, Wilde also employsseveral comic tools of "low" comedy,
specifically those of farce. He echoesdialogue and actions, uses comic reversals, and explodes a fast-paced, absurdending whose implausibility we overlook because it is so ridiculous.
This tone of wit and farce is distinctively Wildean; only someone so skilled in both genrescould combine them so successfully.
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