Oscar Wilde Satire

Oscar Wilde was an author, poet, and playwright in late Victorian England. Wilde was known for his wit and exuberant style. His unconventional writing is what drew many to his work, and many of his plays were well received. He spent the last three years of his life in exile after being imprisoned for “gross indecency”, and died in Paris, France from Meningitis at the age of 46. Among his last work before his death is The Importance of Being Earnest, a play in which Oscar Wilde delves into different aspects of Victorian society. The Victorian era was the time during Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901 in Great Britain. This time is often thought of as a time where society along with its rules were rigid and strict. Courtship was taken very seriously during this time. Special events were held when families believed their son or daughter was ready to be married off. This along with sexual restraint, etiquette, religion and a plethora of other things were greatly valued during this time . There were also things that specific social classes valued. For example,
the upper class, or the elite, valued lineage, heritage, and the continuity of their family line. They also believe that it was their duty to serve as an example for what the lower classes should strive for as far as respectability. However, the Victorian era is seen as extremely hypocritical by many. A class system that emphasized ethics and morals also allowed for the continuance of poor living conditions for many. Oscar Wilde highlights these many contradictions throughout the play.
Oscar Wilde uses satire throughout The Importance of Being Earnest.
Satire is a literary device that uses humor, exaggeration, irony etc to criticize something. This is usually done because the writer wants to bring awareness and/or change. The story is of John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who create alter egos as a way to escape their lives. It eventually turns into their way of courting women. They both use the name Ernest, and try to win over two women who just so happen to love men with the name Ernest. The men have trouble balancing their double lives and eventually their stories of deception and disguise fall apart. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde satirizes courtship as well as manners within the Victorian society. He does this to display the selectiveness for things that are trivial. Wilde also highlights the hypocrisy of a society that emphasizes proper manners, however, lacks
it.
Within Victorian society, a man or women must meet high standards before the family decides to okay the marriage. Wealth and lineage are just a few of the things that they look for. The characters Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew exemplify the selectiveness within the Victorian society through their attachment to loveless life. Both characters love men with the name Ernest, Gwendolen even says “ I am told; and my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Earnest. There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence” (122). Cecily says “You must not laugh at me darling, but it had always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone whose name was Ernest (288)”. Jack and Algernon are both living double lives and neither one of them is named Earnest. However, Gwendolen and Cecily are so blinded by this minor qualification, that they fail to notice the men for what they truly are. Neither one of the men is earnest at all. The girls do not take into account how the men are internally. Gwendolen is so keen on the name Ernest, that she doesn’t realize Jack has been lying about his brother for their entire relationship. They are in love with the name of the beloved. This love devoid of emotional depth is what Wilde satirizes in the play.
Wilde also demonstrates this with Lady Bracknell. When Jack proposes to Gwendolen, her mother, Lady Bracknell, believes it is her duty to question him to see if he is suitable to marry her daughter. She tells Jack that he is not down on her list of “eligible young men”, and that his answers to her questions must satisfy her in order for him to be allowed to marry Gwendolen (124). Lady Bracknell asks about Jack’s income, and is pleased with the number (125). The questioning continues until Jack states that he was found in a handbag as a baby and therefore has no lineage. Lady Bracknell states “You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter...to marry into a cloak-room and form an alliance with a parcel? (128)”. Lady Bracknell only cares for lineage, wealth, and appearance. Upon hearing that Jack had no ties to his family, Lady Bracknell quickly deemed him unfit to marry her daughter. This further illustrates the selectiveness for trivial matters within Victorian society because she cared very little for who Jack was as a person. In fact, whether he was a decent person or not was completely irrelevant to her questioning. Lady Bracknell having a book with “eligible young men” further emphasizes the absurd selectiveness as well. This shows how shallow the system of marriage is. It’s just an exchange of family names and wealth, not the union of two people who love each other. Marriage is portrayed as a business agreement and not something based on romance. It is more about moving up in social ranking than it is about love. Overall, Wilde is satirizing courtship/marriage within Victorian society by showing that it’s not about affection for one another, but instead vain, superficial standards.
This selectiveness substantiates claims made by Algernon earlier in the play; marriage is merely just a social obligation. In Act one of the play, Algernon is having a conversation with Jack. He states that he loves Gwendolen to which Algernon responds with “I thought you had come up for pleasure?...I call that business (111).” He believes marriage isn’t about love, it’s about duty and appearance. Algernon also states “...if I ever get married, which seems to me extremely problematic, you will be very glad to know Bunbury. A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time (117).” Bunbury is Algernon’s excuse to escape his responsibilities. He believes Bunbury would then be good for a husband or wife to be unfaithful. Algernon believes that most couples aren’t faithful to one another after marriage. It can be argued that Algernon is included as a character who challenges marriage and courtship customs and represents the views of Wilde himself.
Oscar Wilde also showed that you can find someone you love without adhering to a strict list of standards that your partner must meet. Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble challenge this rigid social structure. When Dr. Chasuble senses that Cecily is trying to get out of her studies, he states “Were I fortunate enough to be Miss Prism’s Pupil, I would hang upon her lips…(136).” He basically states that he would cherish everything that Miss Prism has to say, which may mean that he does cherish everything she has to say. Miss Prism also subtly shows interest in Dr. Chasuble in a similar way. On their walk, Miss Prism begins to tell Dr. Chasuble he should be married, referring to him as a “womanthrope.” When he says that sometimes a married man isn’t attractive to even his own wife, Miss Prism states “That depends on the intellectual sympathies of the woman. Maturity can always be depended on. Ripeness can be trusted. Young women are green (140).” Miss Prism is hinting that if she were married to Dr. Chasuble, and she wants to be, that she would always find him attractive. She isn’t so subtle as Dr. Chasuble does pick up on what she is saying. However, she then catches herself and claims that it was a metaphor drawn from fruits. Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism are genuinely attracted to one another. Their attraction is not motivated by social class, wealth or lineage unlike the other characters in the play. This is what makes these two characters, who may not seem to play much of a role in the story, very significant.
Wilde also satirizes the manners and sincerity within the Victorian society. Etiquette was greatly valued at this time in Great Britain. People were expected to have patience and be gentle. Women, specifically, had to abide by certain etiquette rules. Women were expected to keep the feelings of others in mind, one source stating “The most obvious mark of good breeding and good taste is sensitive regard for the feelings of others (CLXXXVII)” They were expected to carry themselves with elegance and be polite, whether engaged in conversation with a friend or a stranger (Fortin). After both women announce that they are engaged to Ernest Worthing, Gwendolen and Cecily begin to argue. It isn’t until Merriman enters that their argument stops. Cecily then offers Gwendolen a meal. Cecily conceals her anger at Gwendolen by giving her a large amount of cake and sugar, both of which she specifically declined because they are not fashionable. Even when angry, women are expected to carry themselves with grace and poise. Wilde is satirizing this overly sincere politeness, when in all actuality, they’re harboring unkind feelings. Gwendolen eventually tells Cecily “From the moment I saw you I distrusted you. I felt that you were false and deceitful (158).” Here, Oscar Wilde is demonstrating the insincerity of the Victorian society. She tells Cecily that she felt she couldn’t be trusted from the moment she met her, however, when they first met she stated that she felt they were going to be good friends (153). The Victorian era emphasized manners and etiquette, yet in many cases held hostile attitudes from one another that they just conceal. Many would actually view many during this time as egotistical, as a opposed to well mannered.
Another moment of insincerity can be seen with Lady Bracknell. When Algernon tells her that he is engaged to be married to Cecily, Lady Bracknell begins to question Jack about his ward. She is ready to dismiss Cecily after hearing all of the “events” in her life. It isn’t until Jack mentions how much Cecily is worth that she begins to warm up to her. Lady Bracknell states “A hundred and thirty thousand pounds! And in the Funds! Miss Cardew seems to me an attractive young lady, now that I look at her (169).” For Lady Bracknell, marriage is primarily about wealth, as we see earlier in the play when she asks about Jack’s income. She suddenly finds Cecily “attractive” because she’s wealthy. In fact, she doesn’t really like Cecily seeing as though she was ready to dismiss her only moments before hearing how much she was worth. While this demonstrates insincerity, this also goes back to marriage customs and what was greatly valued in Victorian society at this time; wealth.
As you can clearly see, there were surely many changes that Oscar Wilde wanted to see made within Victorian society. When it came to marriage customs and courtship, he believed there was too much emphasis placed upon social status. Ordinarily, the institution of marriage is supposed to be the union of two people based on love and romance. However, during the Victorian era, it was seen more as a business agreement and a way to move up in social ranking, which can be seen with Lady Bracknell when questioning Jack and Cecily. Marriage served as a way for families to improve their finances as well as the continuance of their family names. Wilde did not want marriage to be a shallow, superficial system about social status and wealth. He perhaps felt that marriage was not that important and all; that it was just a document, seeing as he does include the views of Algernon who seemed to strongly oppose marriage. Nonetheless, he does feel that if one should get married, it should be for love and romance not business and finance (e.g. Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism). Wilde also highlights hypocrisy in the Victorian values of the manners and sincerity.