Evaluate Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” as a social satire.
The Importance of Being Earnest is a notable literary work by Oscar Wilde. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Answer
Evaluate Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” as a social satire.
Or, To what extent is “The Importance of Being Earnest” a picture of contemporary upper-class society?
Oscar Wilde’s (1854–1900) play “The Importance of Being Earnest” (1895) is a brilliant comedy that uses humour to criticize the society of his time. This play focuses on the lives of the upper-class people in Victorian England. Wilde uses satire to expose the foolishness of the upper class. They are more concerned with appearances than real values like honesty and love.
The Superficiality of the Upper Class: The upper-class characters are shown as being very shallow in the play. They care more about how things look than about what is true. For example, Gwendolen and Cecily, the two main characters, say they can only love a man named “Ernest.” They do not care about the man’s true character but are obsessed with the name because it sounds serious and respectable. Gwendolen says,
My ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest.
This shows how superficial the upper class can be, valuing something as trivial as a name over real qualities like kindness or honesty.
Marriage as a Social Tool: Wilde satirizes marriage in the upper class. For example, Lady Bracknell prioritizes wealth and family background over love. She considers Jack a match for Gwendolen based on wealth and family background. She says,
To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
This line shows how marriage in the upper class is more about social status than love.
The Hypocrisy of the Upper Class: Hypocrisy is another key theme in the play. The characters often say one thing but do another. For example, Jack and Algernon both pretend to be someone else to escape their social responsibilities. Jack pretends to have a wicked brother named Ernest. He says,
When one is placed in the position of guardian… in order to get up to town I have always pretended
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