Why Is There Are No Coincidences In The Importance Of Being Earnest

My students always ask, “Did the author do that on purpose or was that just a coincidence?” The question is following some discussion of circumstance, character, or wording. My response is always some version of, “There are no coincidences in [good] literature.” Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a fast-paced comedy of errors and chance that shows the transitioning gender roles of the Victorian era. The play provides numerous laughs thanks to Wilde’s wit and wordsmithing. Contemporary audiences probably saw the play as an instrument to entertain. The play is definitely that, however there are also underlying messages about gender roles, sexuality, society, and self-actualization. Wilde’s portrayal of women, specifically
Bennet had in the marriage of her daughters. Mrs. Bennet was not able to speak to her daughters’ suitors in the same manner as her permission was not necessary for them to marry. Her husband’s permission was. Austen was criticizing the gender roles that were prevalent in society in the 1810s by using satire to make Mrs. Bennet as ridiculous as possible. Wilde is doing the same thing to an extent. Even though he portrays Lady Bracknell as overbearing and a bit ridiculous with the questions she asks Jack, the fact still remains that in 1890s England Lady Bracknell has power over her daughter’s
Lady Bracknell says, “Never speak disrespectfully of Society, Algernon. Only people who can’t get into it do that” (349). She continues by explaining that Algernon has nothing but debts and says, “But I do not approve of mercenary marriages. When I married Lord Bracknell I had no fortune of any kind. But I never dreamed for a moment of allowing that to stand in my way” (349). Her own husband had nothing when they were married, and she was the one who pushed them forward into society and up the proverbial ladder. Consent for the marriage is given at that point. It is no coincidence that she had just found out the vast fortune to which Cecily was entitled upon her coming of age. Wilde uses this circumstance to further Lady Bracknell’s gauche ideas, thus increasing the somewhat uncouth portrait of the older upper class Victorian