Importance of Being Earnest

 Author: Oscar Wilde

The Importance of Being Earnest is a play written by Oscar Wilde in 1895. It is a classic satirical comedy that mocks the social conventions and customs of the Victorian era. The play is set in London and the countryside, and it follows the lives of two young men, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who lead double lives to escape the monotony of their societal roles. The play explores themes of deception, marriage, social class, and the absurdity of societal norms.

Background

The Importance of Being Earnest was written during the Victorian era, a time when societal norms and conventions were strictly enforced. The play was Wilde's last work before he was imprisoned for homosexuality. The play premiered in 1895 at the St. James's Theatre in London and was an immediate success. However, the play was also met with controversy due to its satirical nature and its portrayal of Victorian society.

Characters

Jack Worthing

Jack Worthing is the play's protagonist and the character around whom much of the plot revolves. He is a young, eligible bachelor who is known by two names: Jack in the country and Ernest in the city. In the country, Jack is a local magistrate with significant responsibilities, while in the city, he goes by the name Ernest and leads a double life. His family pedigree is a mystery, but his seriousness and sincerity are evident.

More than any other character in the play, Jack Worthing represents conventional Victorian values. He wants others to think he adheres to such notions as duty, honor, and respectability, but he hypocritically flouts those very notions. Indeed, what Wilde was satirizing through Jack was the general tolerance for hypocrisy in conventional Victorian morality. Jack uses his alter-ego Ernest to keep his honorable image intact. Ernest enables Jack to escape the boundaries of his real life and act as he wouldn’t dare to under his real identity.

Algernon Moncrieff

Algernon Moncrieff is a languid poser of the leisure class, bored by conventions and looking for excitement. He, too, leads a double life, being Algernon in the city and Ernest in the country. Algernon, unlike Jack, is not serious and is generally out for his own gratification. He falls in love and proposes to Jack's ward, Cecily, while posing as Jack's wicked younger brother, Ernest.

Algernon is a witty and charming character who is always looking for ways to have fun. He enjoys mocking Jack and his adherence to Victorian values, and he often uses his wit to deflect criticism. Algernon's humor and nonchalance are contrasted with Jack's seriousness and sincerity, making the two characters a perfect foil for each other.

Lady Bracknell

Lady Bracknell is the perfect symbol of Victorian earnestness—the belief that style is more important than substance and that social and class barriers are to be enforced. Lady Bracknell is Algernon's aunt, and she is trying to find a suitable wife for him. A strongly opinionated matriarch, dowager, and tyrant, she believes wealth is more important than breeding and bullies everyone in her path. Ironically, she married into the upper class from beneath it. She attempts to bully her daughter, Gwendolen.

Lady Bracknell is one of the play's most memorable characters, and her sharp wit and biting sarcasm make her a fan favorite. Wilde uses Lady Bracknell to satirize the Victorian upper class and their obsession with social status and wealth. Lady Bracknell represents the worst aspects of Victorian society, including its snobbery, arrogance, and hypocrisy.

The Honorable Gwendolen Fairfax

The Honorable Gwendolen Fairfax is Lady Bracknell's daughter and exhibits some of the sophistication and confidence of a London socialite. She believes style to be important, not sincerity. She is submissive to her mother in public but rebels in private. While demonstrating the absurdity of such ideals as only marrying a man named Ernest, she also agrees to marry Jack despite her mother's disapproval of his origins.

Gwendolen is a complex character who is torn between her desire for social status and her feelings for Jack. She is a strong-willed and independent woman who is not afraid to speak her mind. Gwendolen provides a counterpoint to Lady Bracknell's rigid adherence to social norms, and her rebellion against her mother's wishes is a small but significant act of defiance against the Victorian patriarchy.

Cecily Cardew

Cecily Cardew is Jack Worthing's ward, the daughter of his adopted father, Sir Thomas Cardew. She is of debutante age, 18, but she is being tutored at Jack's secluded country estate by Miss Prism, her governess. She is romantic and imaginative, and feeling the repression of Prism's rules. A silly and naïve girl, she declares that she wants to meet a "wicked man." Less sophisticated than Gwendolen, she falls in love with Algernon but feels he would be more stable if named Ernest.

Cecily is a charming and endearing character who adds a sense of innocence and naivete to the play. She is a dreamer who longs for adventure and romance, and she is not afraid to take risks to achieve her goals. Cecily's romanticism is contrasted with Jack's practicality, making the two characters a perfect foil for each other.

Miss Prism

Miss Prism is Cecily's governess and a symbol of Victorian moral righteousness. She is educating Cecily to have no imagination or sensationalism in her life. Quoting scripture as a symbol of her Victorian morality, she reveals a secret life of passion by her concern for the whereabouts of her misplaced novel and her flirtation with the local vicar. She becomes the source of Jack's revelation about his parents.

Miss Prism is a complex character who embodies both the virtues and the vices of Victorian society. On the one hand, she is a moral and upright woman who is committed to educating Cecily in the ways of propriety and decorum. On the other hand, she is a woman with a secret past who is not above engaging in a bit of flirtation with the local vicar. Miss Prism represents the contradictions and complexities of Victorian morality, and her character is essential to the play's satire of Victorian society.

Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D.

Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D. is like Miss Prism, he is the source of Victorian moral judgments, but under the surface, he appears to be an old lecher. His sermons are interchangeable, mocking religious conventions. Like the servants, he does what Jack (the landowner) wants: performing weddings, christenings, sermons, funerals, and so on. However, beneath the religious exterior, his heart beats for Miss Prism.

Rev. Canon Chasuble is a minor character in the play, but he plays an important role in the play's satire of Victorian society. He is a religious figure who is more concerned with his own desires than with the well-being of his congregation. Chasuble is a hypocrite who uses religion as a cover for his own immoral behavior, and his character is essential to the play's critique of Victorian morality.

Lane and Merriman

Lane and Merriman are servants of Algernon and Jack, respectively. Lane says soothing and comforting things to his employer but stays within the neutral guidelines of a servant. He is leading a double life, eating sandwiches and drinking champagne when his master is not present. He aids and abets the lies of Algernon. Merriman keeps the structure of the plot working: He announces people and happenings. Like Lane, he does not comment on his "betters," but solemnly watches their folly. His neutral facial expressions during crisis and chaos undoubtedly made the upper-class audience laugh.

Lane and Merriman are minor characters in the play, but they play important roles in the play's satire of Victorian society. They are servants who are subservient to their masters and who do not question the social hierarchy. Lane and Merriman represent the common people of Victorian society, who were often ignored or overlooked by the upper class.

Summary

The play begins in Algernon Moncrieff's stylish London flat, where he is waiting for his aunt, Lady Bracknell, and her daughter, Gwendolen. Algernon's butler, Lane, brings in "Ernest Worthing" (who is listed as "John Worthing" in the cast list and "Jack" in the body of the play), who has just returned from the countryside. Jack reveals he has come to London to propose to Gwendolen.

Algernon ridicules the notion of marriage and says that before Jack can marry Gwendolen, he has to clear up the issue of Cecily. Algernon orders Lane to bring in Jack's cigarette case and shows the inscription: "'From little Cecily, with her fondest love to her dear Uncle Jack.'"

Jack explains that Thomas Cardew, who adopted him, willed Jack to be guardian to his granddaughter, Cecily. Cecily now lives at Jack's place in the country under the guidance of her governess, Miss Prism. Since Jack must maintain a high level of morality to set an example, he needs an excuse to get into town. He has invented a ne'er-do-well younger brother named Ernest who lives in Albany, and whose problems frequently require Jack's attendance.

Algernon confesses that he has invented an invalid in the country, Bunbury, for when he needs to get out of town. Jack insists that he is through with "Ernest," but Algernon maintains that he will need him more than ever if he marries.

Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrive. Algernon tells Lady Bracknell that he will be unable to attend her dinner tonight, as Bunbury is ill. They go into the music room. Jack confesses his feelings to Gwendolen, and she admits that she likes him, too, especially since she has always wanted to love someone named Ernest. Jack asks if she would still love him if his name were not Ernest. She would not, she maintains. He proposes to her, and she accepts.

Lady Bracknell comes in, and Gwendolen informs her of their engagement. Lady Bracknell says that only she or her father can engage Gwendolen, and orders her to wait in the carriage. After she leaves, Lady Bracknell learns from Jack that he was an orphan, found in a handbag on a train. She is aghast and says she will not allow her daughter to marry him. She leaves, and Algernon enters.

Jack tells Algernon what happened, and promises to "kill off" his brother Ernest later in the week. Algernon expresses interest in meeting Cecily, but Jack does not want this to happen, as she is young and pretty. Gwendolen returns. She tells Algernon to turn his back. She asks Jack his address in the country, and Algernon slyly writes this down and checks a train timetable. Gwendolen promises to write Jack daily when he returns to the countryside, and Jack escorts her out.

In the garden at Jack's country house, Miss Prism and Cecily discuss Jack's seemingly serious demeanor. Miss Prism believes it is due to his anxiety over his reckless brother. Dr. Chasuble enters the garden. He and Miss Prism leave for a walk together. Merriman, their butler, announces the arrival of Ernest Worthing. Algernon enters, pretending to be Ernest. He and Cecily briefly discuss his "wicked" reputation. When he learns that Jack will be back Monday afternoon, Algernon announces that he must leave Monday morning. He flirts with Cecily, and they exit into the house.

Major Conflict

The main conflict of the play arises from Jack's desire to marry Gwendolen. Lady Bracknell objects to the union because she is concerned about Jack's "origins," which he is unable to define. Gwendolen, on the other hand, is obsessed with the name "Ernest" and insists that Jack must be named Ernest because it is "a divine name." Meanwhile, Algernon discovers that Jack is leading a double life and has a pretty young ward named Cecily. Algernon decides to pose as Jack's imaginary brother "Ernest" to woo Cecily.

Rising Action

The rising action of the play begins when Algernon discovers that Jack has been leading a double life and has a ward named Cecily. Algernon decides to visit Jack's country house posing as "Ernest" and falls in love with Cecily. Meanwhile, Gwendolen visits Jack's townhouse and declares her love for him. Jack proposes to her, but she insists that he must be named Ernest. Lady Bracknell arrives and interviews Jack to determine his suitability as a husband for Gwendolen. During the interview, Jack reveals that he was found in a handbag at a railway station as a baby and his real name is unknown.

Climax

The climax of the play occurs when Gwendolen and Cecily discover that both Jack and Algernon have been lying to them and that neither is really named "Ernest." Lady Bracknell returns and forbids her daughter from marrying Jack. However, it is revealed that Miss Prism, Cecily's governess, is the one who mistakenly abandoned Jack as a baby. It is also revealed that Jack is Algernon's elder brother. The play ends with Lady Bracknell grudgingly accepting the union of Jack and Gwendolen and Algernon and Cecily.

Motifs

The play uses several motifs to reinforce its themes, including puns, inversion, death, and the dandy. The use of puns and wordplay is a hallmark of Wilde's writing style and is used to satirize the triviality of Victorian society. Inversion is used to show how the characters' behavior and attitudes are often the opposite of what they claim to be. Death is used as a metaphor for societal decay and the moral corruption of the upper classes. The dandy, represented by Algernon, is used to satirize the shallow and frivolous lifestyle of the upper classes.

Symbols

The play uses several symbols to reinforce its themes and motifs, including the double life, food, and fiction and writing. The double life symbolizes the hypocrisy and deceit of the characters, who lead secret lives and pretend to be someone they are not. Food is used to symbolize the excess and indulgence of the upper classes, who use food as a way to display their wealth and status. Fiction and writing are used to satirize the triviality of Victorian literature and its obsession with romantic love and happy endings.

Conclusion

The Importance of Being Earnest is a satirical masterpiece that continues to captivate audiences today. Through its witty dialogue, clever wordplay, and biting social commentary, the play exposes the hypocrisy and moral decay of Victorian society. It is a timeless classic that reminds us of the importance of not taking ourselves too seriously and of the power of satire to expose the flaws and foibles of our society.