Preview

Importance of Being Ernest

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
703 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Importance of Being Ernest
All the Wrong Reason to Marry

The work that will be discussed in this essay is the "The Importance of Being Ernest" and it was written by Oscar Wilde. The topic of marriage in this play involves the manipulative desires and dishonest values of marriage. The female characters in this story including Cecily, Gwendolen, and Lady Bracknell are all guilty of scheming and controlling marriage. The desires and mentalities of these women are identical to the women of the Victorian Period. The men in this play are also guilty of the manipulative desires for marriage. Oscar Wilde's work is an aggression on Victorian Society because marriage was used as a social convenience. Oscar Wilde gives foreshadowing in the beginning of the play of what he has in mind about marriage. "Good Heavens! Is marriage so demoralizing as that?" (Wilde 1762) This essay will be proving the critique of marriage being used as a social tool.

During the Victorian Period, women did not have a choice of their role in society and there rights were very limited. The main factor was the lack of education that was available for women. The only education a woman could receive was to become a teacher or a nurse, but this extremely limited. The majority of women were taught to get married, have children, and be a housewife. Women were born and raised to have children, be a wife, and rely on men for everything and anything. Married during this time were controlled by there husbands because they had no rights. Issues regarding ownership of property and divorce were terrible for women giving them basically no rights. The desire of manipulating marriage in "The Importance of Being Ernest" is directly related to these factors. Oscar Wilde portrays his characters regarding these factors and has a point to teach his audience the flaws about marriage.

The characters in this work are all involved in manipulative desires regarding marriage. The main reason for marriage should be because of the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the Canterbury Tales Chaucer depicts marriage in many different ways and has different attitudes towards it. On one end he has a very traditional view which is illustrated in Franklin's tale. The opposing end though he has a very liberal view in other tales such as wife of Bathes and Franklin's tale. Although Chaucer has a mixed attitude towards the way marriages are suppose to be he does gives aspects of what is needed to have a good marriage and that will be the main focal point of this essay.…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    People often dream of finding the perfect soul mate…a special someone with similar hopes and goals for their future. They dream of someone to share the good and bad times with them. They dream of a person that will love them unconditionally until death parts them. And although I seriously doubt anyone has ever said the sacred marriage vows to another while believing the union would not last forever, the high divorce rate shows that more and more, marriages are failing and separation is highly probable. It’s not clear why some marriages are successful and why some fail, but after reading the two poems, “Most Like an Arch This Marriage” and “Conjoined”, it’s crystal clear to me that marriage can indeed be either dream come true, or a living nightmare. In fact, it’s also quite possible for one partner to be happy in a marriage and the other one to be completely miserable. In this analysis, I plan on comparing the two poems, their similarities as well as their differences and how the poets used various writing techniques to illustrate their ideas on the marriage theme they have written about.…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Odyssey Vs Swede

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In both The Odyssey and The Swede a character makes a decision regarding whether or not to trust someone that reveals a more in-depth reading of the character to the reader. In both stories the main character makes a decision to listen to another individual regarding whether they should do what they’re “supposed to.” Odysseus listens to Circe and does not fight the monster Scylla even though his identity is built off of winning fights. Similarly, Danny listens to Luke about why they bully Per-Erik and has his identity as a union kid thrust upon him. Both the decision to listen and the resulting decisions from their actions change the course of the story.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    in the story is marriage. This theme is well developed by all of the characters personalities and…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Major Works Data Sheet Fabbiha Chowdhury, Rebecca Rich, Yusra Ahmed- Band 2 Title: The Importance of Being Earnest…

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    While reading Oscar Wilde’s story “The Importance of Being Earnest” I can see that the play is about a debate of pleasant and unpleasant marriage. Wilde explores sincerity in his play by really gearing the play around the word “earnest”. In the play both women wanted to marry a person named “earnest” because they thought that it actually meant to be sincere, responsible, and earnest. The play presents many scenes of sincerity versus hypocrisy. For example, when Lady Bracknell asks Jack about Cecily with the intention to judge her as a wife for Algernon, while Lady Bracknell notices Cecily after she found out about her money. But, also the men characters play having a double life or secret life. Both men Jack and Algernon make up a fake…

    • 187 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Shakespeare’s, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ provides an insight of the experience of women in an Elizabethan society. The play was written in the late 1600’s, and is about two feuding families whose children fall in love. Their love leads to marriage, however, Juliet’s decision to marry Romeo was against her father’s will, this made life even harder for her, as in the 1600’s a women did not have the privilege to choose her husband. This decision was made by her father only. Moreover, she was not allowed to refuse to get married as this meant being disowned by her family. This shows us the unjustness that occurred in the Elizabethan period. Therefore, this essay will be discussing ‘what we learn from Juliet’s relationship with her father?’…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An Ideal Husband Analysis

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Conversations between characters in the play are the best indicators of the exact position that women hold in the community. Several issues of interest for instance how men and women feel about each other is clearly seen from the dialogue. Apart from quotes that are found in this play, other sources have been used to explain the same theme of women’s position in the society. The play is a clear indication of what happens in the real life settings. For example in 1890s in England, women did not hold same social status like men. Women were seen as inferior in the society. The life of men was valued more than women’s life. To support these inequalities between men and women, this paper has used examples of issues like lack of equal voting rights where women did not have a right to vote. Oscar Wilde focused on such issues to come up with his play. In the recent years, the position that women hold in society in England has risen. Women are currently allowed to do some things that they were not allowed to do in the past years. Currently, men and women are treated equally concerning different matters affecting their normal…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both Jack and Algernon pretend to be a man named Ernest to satisfy their love interest's wish, reflecting the Victorian obsession of social appearance and standing. This obsession may have lead to this hypocritical nature of lying and cheating in order to look truthful and honest. There is also the way marriage is handled within the play that contrasts with Victorian society. Marriage in the play is treated as a simple process, with a simple proposal, then engagement, and then marriage. This view pokes fun at how Victorian parent plan in great detail about their children’s marriage, shown especially with Lady Bracknell, who questions Jack after his proposal to Gwendolen, and scrutinizing every aspect of his status. During the questioning, she is quick to judge the status of Jack’s finances, occupation, and housing, describing the concerns of many upper class Victorians of the time. Also, this play allows the couples wins their marriage, even with the disapproval with their guardians.. Likewise, despite the truth eventually coming out, all the main characters get their happy ending, which in essence illustrate that although Victorian society discourages dishonesty, the individuals of the Victorian time will allow it to pass if it is going to benefits them in some way, either now or later.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In two societies where social hierarchy rules over love in marriage, the tones of selfish progression in teh passage from Pride and Prejudice counter those of loving sercurity in the passage from Our Mutual Friend. The character of Mr. Collins uses marriage fro social gain, having it take precedence over the feelings of the woman to whom he wants to marry. The other man longs to probide for the woman he loves and wishes to marry.…

    • 1097 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book A Woman of no Importance Oscar Wilde hints in several places through the negative attitude of the characters his feelings about the role of marriage in English upper class.…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In Victorian society, the male role would be to rule, protect and provide for his family. Men were always making the political decisions and women had the job of wife, mother and domestic manager. When married, it was men who owned all properties of the women, and she must be faithful to her husband. Divorce led to shame only on females and loss of the right to see their children. In this patriarchal society, men were clearly dominant over women, however, this is not entirely the case in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. The play portrays particular female characters in very different and unexpected manners, some less favourable than others.…

    • 1509 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Elizabethan Gender Roles

    • 1772 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Gender roles are something that affect every aspect of life, in Elizabethan times and present day. Although the differences between eras may seem immense, modern America has similar morals and ethics to Elizabethan times. Marriage is a major way of life in both times and important to most people. Since the beginning of time, people have always looked for a companion that will care and love them no matter what (“Marriage and Family”). This is a similarity between Elizabethan times and today because finding somebody to love is a natural way of life, and almost all humans want to complete this task. Women today and in the Elizabethan times are very alike because they find a need to get married more than men do (“Chronobiology?”) Women feel the need to satisfy their biological clock with marriage and children, and they always will. For that reason, women in both eras are the primary care givers to children (“Chronobiology?”) Even though women satisfy their children’s needs more than men do, men and women together have always loved their children to full capacity (“Marriage and Family”).…

    • 1772 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    David Collins 26 October 2014 Ms. Sussman English 3 Deciphering “The Importance of Being Ernest” Through Props In a play, some objects can have meanings greater than mere props. In Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”, the handbag and cigarette case take on greater meanings pertaining to the plot. Ernest Worthing’s cigarette case is a prop that, although seemingly ordinary, contributes to the plot. The cigarette case gives deeper insight into Mr. Worthing’s private life.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lying, deflecting, omitting, are all similar in the sense that they all have a similar goal — avoiding the truth, or keeping a secret. In order to successfully keep a secret, one must divulge the secret and understand how that secret can affect the future, and the present. One person’s secret can lead to countless more secrets and problems, and before once can realize it, they could be living their lives in a lie. The character Jack, also known as “Ernest” creates a lie about himself in the Importance of Being Earnest that ultimately causes there to be chaos. While Jack chooses to continue his lie, it results in others to lie, and he causes people to change how they view him.…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays