The Importance of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde was quite the witty character. I never imagined that I would find The Importance of Being Earnest to be so funny. Now that we are nearly finished, it’s cool to see all of the connections. First we have Jack who is interested in Gwendolyn. He is incredibly responsible and has a high moral tone in the country for his ward, Cecily. However, he has a double life. He is also a more care-free person called Ernest. It is obviously ironic that a name such as Ernest would be the name for a double life. Perhaps Wilde is noting that what appears earnest is most likely not earnest at all. Then there is Algernon. He is incredibly sarcastic and cynical, but also the voice of truth about society. Ironically, Algernon is almost never telling the truth about personal matters. He too has an alter ego which he calls “Bunburrying”. So, both Jack and Algernon lead double lives as a way to escape the real world. Next there is Lady Bracknell. She is something else. Lady Bracknell is the epitome of what was wrong with society at the time. Everything trivial she takes seriously and everything serious she takes trivially. She cares deeply about social standing and outer appearance. However, she is rather indifferent to actual feelings. To Lady Bracknell, life is a business deal. Also, we have our dear air-headed young women, Gwendolyn and Cecily. They are essentially the same person. They are dead set on marrying men named Ernest but could not care less if the men they marry are actually earnest. Evidently, the girls care more about how the world sees a person named Ernest rather than the actual character of the person. Both of them are completely lied to by their beaus to the point where they pretty much know nothing about them. Yet, they quickly forgive them once the men express their love for the ladies. Wilde seems to be commenting a bit on the role of women in society. He apparently finds women superficial and dumb. I suppose it makes sense that Wilde was into guys. It is interesting that this entire play is based on materialistic awards. The love that the couples have for one another is halted because a) the men’s names are not actually Ernest b) Jack has no important background or name for himself. Their relationships are fueled by a) Cecily’s million dollar fortune b) their names potentially being Ernest c) Jack’s habit of smoking. Okay, obviously something is wrong with this society. Life at this time period is strictly money, names, and deception. As long as the lie is good, it is acceptable. Basically all society wanted was for society to approve of them. The members of society trapped themselves in a vicious cycle of superficiality and snootiness. Overall, I like this play. It is short, funny, and satirical. It brings up some interesting points about society that are still relevant today and probably always will be.