The Importance Of Being Earnest By The Victorian Era

The Importance of Being Earnest was written in the Victorian Era when many of the â€Å"religious, social, political, and economic structures were experiencing change† (Joshi). Many writers such as Oscar Wilde criticized Victorian morality and snobby social customs in their writing (Peltason). In his play, Wilde uses Algernon Moncrieff, a wealthy and witty gentleman with no morals, to satirize Victorian values and customs. The play opens with Algernon receiving Jack, or John, Worthing, his friend and fellow bachelor who is in love with Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax. Algernon has a philosophy called Bunburyism, which involves â€Å"inventing an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury† with â€Å"extraordinary bad health, whom he uses as an excuse to visit the country whenever he likes (1.294). Jack, similarly, invents a younger brother who â€Å"gets into the most dreadful scrapes† as an excuse to come up to town (Wilde 1.294). Under the name of Ernest, Jack wins the love of Gwendolen, who confesses she fell in love with his name and feels destined to â€Å"love some one of the name of Ernest† (1.300). However, he doesn’t win the approval of Lady Bracknell, who objects to his origins of being found â€Å"in a hand-bag †¦ [in] the cloak-room at Victoria Station† and refuses to let her daughter marry him unless he produces â€Å"a parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over† (1.306). When Jack returns to the country home where he lives with his ward Cecily Cardew and her governess MissShow MoreRelated The Importance of Being Earnest Essay1376 Words   |  6 PagesWilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a timeless comedy of manners in which two young, light-hearted men, pretend their names are ‘Ernest’ in a bid to impress their love interests, who both believe the name Ernest bestows magical qualities on the possessor. Throughout the play, Wilde uses a mix of social drama, melodrama and farce to appeal to the audience. Through his gentle use of parody Wilde is able to ridicule his contemporaries and attack the values and attitudes of Victorian society, suchRead MoreThe Importance Of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde1642 Words   |  7 Pagesnda Beckwith AMU/APUS ENGL200 Professor Green 25 Oct 2015 Satire in The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde can be termed as a complete satirical work because of the path it chooses on harshly, but at the same time humorously criticizing and ridiculing social issues, such as marriage, wealth and death. The author approaches these issues with absurd mockery evidently with the intention of tickling his audience while driving his point home. Regarded as one ofRead MoreThe Importance of Being Earnest Essay1439 Words   |  6 PagesA Trivial Comedy for Serious People Oscar Wilde mocked his audience while he entertained them. 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