International Baccalaureate

Diploma Program

Extended Essay
Language B: English

To what extent do the main characters in The Importance of Being Earnest by

Oscar Wilde satirize the social behavior of the Victorian era?

Personal Code: gml114

Word Count: 3997

November 2017
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Abstract

The nineteenth century, and more specifically the Victorian era, is a time in
history which is sometimes forgotten in favor of the more popular proceeding
century. However, through art such as plays like The Importance of Being Earnest,
we can gain insight into life at that time and, perhaps more importantly, how
authors perceived and valued that social structure

This essay is guided by the question: “To what extent do the main characters in
The Importance of Being Earnest satirize the social behavior of the Victorian era?

Biographical and socio-historical aspects of the play in question were explored

in order to a better understanding. These are further explored in the first chapter,
titled “Oscar Wilde and Aestheticism, Victorian Society and Criticisms Regarding
the Play”.

The second part of this writing, titled “Characters: Social Outlook and Satire in
the Victorian Era” focuses on the analysis of the play in accordance with the
research question. The main object of analysis in this chapter was the different
characters’ behavior, although other literary devices were explored such as how
the play was structured and the way spaces were set.

From the analysis conducted in the aforementioned chapters, it was concluded

that the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest do satirize the social
behavior of the Victorian era, further helped by other resources such as the
strategic placement of criticisms and the distribution of spaces. They remark upon
hypocrisy, the unfair distribution of wealth, and the focus on status; in the end,
these aspects coalesce to instigate rebellion in an audience which had been
upholding an artificial system they didn’t like.

Word count: 268

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Index

Introduction ............................................................................................................ 3

Chapter 1: Oscar Wilde and Aestheticism, Victorian Society and Criticisms

Regarding the Play................................................................................................. 5

Chapter 2: Characters: Social Outlook and Satire in the Victorian Era. .................. 9

Conclusion: .......................................................................................................... 14
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Introduction

The Victorian era was characterized by a strict set of morals and behaviors
which were restricted by both law and a social sense of propriety morality.
However, it also saw the advent of many aspects which would shape modern
society, such as the second industrial revolution. It is in this context that the author
and playwright Oscar Wilde lived. Not only did he criticize said society with words:
his life was a symbol of rebellion towards that system.

Additionally, he also had a special vision of what art should be: it should revolve
around being beautiful; this is called the aestheticism movement. The author was
so devoted to this movement, he wrote essays and gave lectures promoting it, and
as such this may create conflict when trying to establish a critique or to identify the
moral significance of one of his writings.

Taking this into account, the following question arises: To what extent do the
main characters in The Importance of Being Earnest satirize the social behavior of
the Victorian era? To answer this, two specific objectives need to be fulfilled, the
first being to create a theoretical framework containing information about the
author, his time and criticisms regarding his play so as to have a better
understanding of the work; the second being to analyze the way in which the main
characters’ language and behavior satirize the Victorian era. These chapters aim at
answering the way in which the moral significance and criticism of the play are
shown, despite the importance of aestheticism for the author.

The importance of this essay is demonstrating that, despite aestheticism, the

author indeed satirized Victorian society through his characters and consequently
embedded moral significance in his play. Further, through this satire, he proposed
solutions to the problems he saw, taking its significance a level deeper.

My interest comes from my fascination with the author as a figure of rebellion,

his relationship with the uptight context of the Victorian era, and how this
discomfort was portrayed in this play. Likewise, the way Wilde expressed himself in
essays, speeches and his art—his wit, as it is often described—made me consider
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someone that died more than a hundred years ago from a very different
perspective, as a whole person instead of the preconceived notion I had of a
Victorian; this brought me closer to the author, and thus, sparked my interest in his
work, particularly this play.
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Chapter 1: Oscar Wilde and Aestheticism, Victorian Society and Criticisms

Regarding the Play

They are fond of laughter, and therefore witty;

for wit is cultured insolence. (Aristotle, trans.1926, p.303)

Comedy is versatile and has the advantage of entering people’s minds in a

pleasant way, although given the nature of its medium, this can also mean that its
message may be disregarded. However, comedy is not only a matter of making
people laugh, it can also be a way for an author to express his or her discomfort
regarding a topic, to ridicule or suggest new ideas at the same time as being
entertaining. A means of achieving these goals is by the use of characters’ way of
speaking and acting to convey meaning.

Considering the aforementioned aspects, the following question arises: To what

extent do the main characters in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
satirize the social behavior of the Victorian era?

Oscar Wilde was born in Ireland in 1854. He was a strong promoter of the
aestheticism movement or art for art’s sake, as it is also known. Wilde wrote
essays, and gave speeches where he expressed maxims such as “Love art for its
own sake, and then all things that you need will be added to you” (Wilde, 1913,
p.143) or “All things are either beautiful or ugly” (ibid., p.175). At first glance, these
may seem like polarizing absolutes, however, these phrases and, as a
consequence, Oscar Wilde himself, don’t define their core concept of beauty, nor
what it takes for something to be beautiful. Therefore this doesn’t mean that art
should be hollow or devoid of meaning to be aligned with the principles of
aestheticism. Accordingly, regarding aestheticism, Angeles (1992), the author of
the Harper Collins Dictionary of Philosophy, says “morality should be the servant of
art” (p. 4). This helps to cement the thesis that morality, criticism and beauty are
not mutually exclusive terms in an aesthetic play, although there should be a
prevalence of the latter.
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It’s reasonable to assume Wilde put moral significance to this play, taking into
consideration the words of Jordan (1970), lecturer at the University of Queensland,
with respect to the play in question, “The Importance of Being Earnest, after all, is
a product of the age of the New Woman—the suffrage movement, the rational
clothes movement, women in sport, women at the universities and so on.” (p.103).
These social changes are reflected in Wilde’s phase as the editor of the magazine
Lady’s World, the name of which he changed to Woman’s World to make it look
more professional. However, the contents of the magazine are what show Wilde’s
thought, as the Master in English Language and Literature, Lokšová (2014) says,
“focused mainly on the women’s suffrage, education and employment, and other
issues concerning the position of women in the society.” (p.13). This exemplifies
Wilde’s commitment to social change, and how he used his means to bring this
about. Considering he was also an artist, it is fair to assume he would use art to
present his views about society, more so having established that aestheticism does
not negate the possibility of moral significance.

Additionally, society was shaped by the changes produced due to the second
industrial revolution in one of the nations where changes were the most
pronounced: England. While, as its name states, industrialization grew rapidly
because of machines, this also meant many people were left unemployed and
unfair working conditions abounded. The PhD Scholar of the Department of
English, Hazra (2013) mentions, “The exploitation of the poor in this age of
industrialization became a serious concern for the social reformers and some legal
actions were taken to protect the lower class” (p.4). While this may show this
society had a little bit of fraternity, the word “some” implies these actions were not
enough. As Hazra mentions, this exploitation led to a reaction within society: with
part of this reaction taking the shape of socialism, it’s no surprise that Marx’s and
Engel’s Communist Manifesto was published during the Victorian era. Many
condemned the movement while others praised it. Wilde (1915) commented on the
matter that “Socialism, Communism, or whatever one chooses to call it […] will
restore society to its proper condition of a thoroughly healthy organism, and insure
the material well-being of each member of the community” (p.6), thus showing his
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sympathy with the movement. Although his position on socialism might be further
explored, this fragment bears witness to his commitment to and desire for social
change in yet another aspect.

However, Oscar Wilde not only advocated for social change, he was a
representation of change during his time, more specifically in not chaining himself
to the apparent general rule of heterosexuality of his time. Although according to
Darga (2002), the editor of the Drama series by Cengage Learning, this lead to his
imprisonment on “charges of “gross indecency between male persons”” (p. 322), it
helps to understand the morality of the time and the relationship of the author and
the society he lived in. As such, “Wilde’s severe deconstruction of his gender role
and duty was taken too far by his acts not being kept in the dark” (Wulu, 2013,
p.21). This shows his actions were not really a crime in themselves, but their crime
lay in their being made publicly, for this would hurt the status quo on which society
so strongly depended.

In the same way, the values of Victorian society were reflected in their
appreciation of art. Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey, shows us a
clear example of this, given that “British reviewers condemned the novel for its
immorality, vulgarity and its unclean and poisonous content, even after the deletion
of 'objectionable' texts.” (Lokšová, 2014, p. 53). This shows Victorian commitment
to its values, and once again to appearances, given the novel made a clear
transgression of accepted morality and on another level, how reluctant Victorians
were to change in whatever aspect could be presented.

In comparison, the play in question was said by critics to be bleak or shallow in

meaning, as is shown by “critic 23, no. 688” in the Review of The Importance of
Being Earnest, as quoted by Darga (2002), saying it was:

of the lightest possible texture, and never was intended to be subjected to the

test of serious consideration or analysis […] full of bright or rather "smart"

sayings, and with some well-directed thrusts at social foibles and hypocrisies,

but, as a rule, the satire is not very keen or very powerful […] The general
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representation was brisk and pleasing, and the audience retired in great good

humor. (pp. 357-358)

The author thus confirms the initial statement about the play’s shallowness;
even though the author recognizes there are some elements of criticism,
subordinating moral significance, portraying a more aesthetic outlook. However,
there’s an important detail: the positive mood of the audience, for, paraphrasing
Reinert (1956, p.17) quoting Bentley, (1946) the ridiculous action prevents the play
from being bitter criticism, as such making criticisms easier to accept for the
audience, thus becoming more effective in evoking change although this may fail
and end up being disregarded as just a funny play.

More recently, the purpose of the play has been revised and given more power
in terms of criticism and meaning, for instance, “If at one level the play is a social
satire and at another it is a farce, at the most important level it seems to be a
fantasy in which unattainable human ideals are allowed to realize themselves.”
(Jordan, 1970, p. 104). In this case, Jordan delves further in the play and does the
opposite to critics of the time when the play was published, seeing it as
transcending satire and giving it a bigger meaning.

In the next chapter, a similar approach will be taken, addressing the play’s
critique of the Victorian system through the behavior of its main characters in
contrast to regarding the play simply as a plain comedy.
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Chapter 2: Characters: Social Outlook and Satire in the Victorian Era.

The paratext of the play alludes to part of its underlying social critique: Victorian
society’s obsession with seriousness, i.e. earnestness. In fact, it goes even further
and states who the messages and criticisms are aimed at: the serious people, or to
put in a different way, the upper classes. However, not only are the high or upper
classes the target audience of the play, they’re also the ones that are represented
in it.

This characterization is established through the use of different resources, such

as the way the spaces are set, as seen in the first stage direction: “The room is
luxuriously and artistically furnished. The sound of a piano is heard in the adjoining
room” (Wilde, 2017, p. 4). This has the function of guiding the reader to a highly-
embellished setting which could only be expected to belong to upper-class
characters; in the same way, this definition of spaces is well in accordance with
Wilde’s focus on beauty as part of his devotion to the aestheticism movement.

However, a great deal of characterization is made by the characters

themselves, as such, the incipit of the play—which is said by Algernon Moncrieff—
says, “Did you hear what I was playing, Lane?” (ibid., p. 4). Algernon questioning
whether Lane was listening or not reflects the constant worry of the upper classes
of people looking at them, such that it’s not only about being wealthy, but also
about showing it. As such, the characterization is continued and brought to another
level by not only stating his status, but also the inner characteristics of this.

In the same vein, the idea of Algernon being from the aristocracy is cemented in
the following dialogue: “Why is it that at a bachelor’s establishment the servants
invariably drink the champagne? I ask merely for information.” (ibid, p. 5). Although
this statement may seem innocuous on Algernon’s part, it really is making a clear
distinction between him and Lane, pointing out the differences and reminding Lane
that whereas he (Lane) has to steal champagne to taste it, Algernon may as well
waste it carelessly given how little he need worry about money. In this way, the
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author is criticizing the unfair distribution of wealth among classes in Victorian

society.

Nonetheless, while it seems to be a fact that Algernon is wealthy, this is not

true. This is evidenced at the end of the first act, where the stage direction reads:
“Lane presents several letters on a salver to Algernon. It is to be surmised that they
are bills, as Algernon, after looking at the envelopes, tears them up.” (ibid., p. 35).
This action represents a contrast between opposite forces: Lane as a servant,
representing both the lower classes and submission; and the high classes,
represented by Algernon. Yet it’s the act itself which carries the most symbolism,
for there’s a transference of a symbol for the lower classes: the bills, and to a
larger extent, economic problems. In this regard, by ripping up the bills, Algernon
exemplifies the denial to which the high classes resort in case of a possible loss of
wealth and consequentially of status. Algernon’s future commitment to this role of
wealthy Victorian further cements this thesis.

A few lines later, almost at the end of the first act, there’s a final criticism of
Victorian society in the following conversation, where Jack says, “Oh, that’s
nonsense, Algy. You never talk anything but nonsense.” (ibid., p. 36). First, this
shows the final appearance of a common phrase Jack has been using in this act
(“That’s nonsense”), which serves the purpose of showing Algernon’s nonsensical
behavior is constant, as has been presented in this act. Further, it shows the way
this character is perceived by others, and to a certain extent, how the audience
should feel towards him: as almost a madman, coincidentally after it has been
shown that he’s no longer part of the high classes.

However, Algernon replies, “Nobody ever does” (ibid.). In this way, Algernon
almost adopts the figure of the madman who actually is the most sane, given that
they’re criticizing him for the irrationality of his actions, but by Algernon’s statement
he reflects that both parties are equally irrational, thus, bringing down possible
Victorian, or more particularly, higher classes’ feelings of superiority towards other
people’s ways of living.
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It’s no coincidence these two actions take place at the end of the first act:
through this, the author is taking advantage of a technical aspect of the structure of
the play, this being the waiting time between acts, to make the audience reflect
about what has been presented to them before any new criticism is presented.

The idea that Algernon has economic problems is taken up again by

characterizing Algernon in a different manner: presenting other characters’
opinions about him. In this regard, it is taken up and systematically rejected again
when Lady Bracknell says, “He has nothing, but he looks everything” (ibid., p. 51).
In this line, the previous idea of Algernon having economic problems is confirmed,
for there is now no possibility it might have been a single occasion. However, on a
deeper level, it unveils the idea of a superficial society which fools nobody but
themselves. This results in self-destructive behavior, at least in the case of
Algernon who doesn’t have money but he lives as if he did in order to maintain the
status quo, but this only makes his problems bigger, for he is essentially living
beyond his means.

Similarly, Jack incidentally helps to build a false image around himself in order
to maintain his status as an earnest or formal Victorian as was expected of him at
the time. For example, the following can be read in a conversation with Algernon, “I
don’t know whether you will be able to understand my real motives. You are hardly
serious enough.” (ibid., p. 13). This quote, more than describing Algernon, shows
the way Jack perceives himself and the way he wants the world, and more
importantly, the target audience to see him: as a fellow earnest Victorian, as an
ally. By making that judgment on Algernon, he transforms himself into a potential
figure of order within the play.

Nevertheless, he quickly dismisses that idea by saying, “a high moral tone can
hardly be said to conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness”
(ibid.). Saying this at the beginning of the play lets the audience know what will
happen next is fake.
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However, it is true that Jack shows an overall disdain towards Algernon’s

perception of the world and the actions he takes based on that view, nevertheless,
it should be considered this is only partial, for example the following quote: “Jack.
Oh no! I loathe listening. […] Oh, no! I hate talking. […] Oh, no! I can’t bear looking
at things. It is so silly. “(ibid., p. 32). It’s worth noting that this is also part of the
ending of the first act; thus, its relevance in terms of its placement in the play is
also valid. However, this syntactic and morphological parallelism brings another
element of criticism towards Victorian high classes; by using the element of
parallelism, the author is reiterating and trying to make the message clear that Jack
simply doesn’t like doing anything. This is confirmed when the author breaks the
parallelism with the last bit of the conversation saying, “Algernon. Well, what shall
we do? Jack. Nothing!” (ibid.) He thus closes the idea with a single word that
encompasses the whole idea: he and the high classes he represents won’t do
anything in society, even if he’s only pretending to be one of them.

Further on in the play, the initial impression that Jack conveys to the audience
succeeds through the way other characters talk about him, for example Gwendolen
says, “he is so serious that I think he cannot be quite well” (ibid., p.37), while Miss
Prism says, “I know no one who has a higher sense of duty and responsibility.”
(ibid., p. 38). If it were not for the initial statement made by Jack, the audience
might well end up believing something like that. It can be surmised that other
serious characters such as Lady Bracknell or Miss Prism might be pretending as
well, but given that they don’t admit it, neither the audience nor other characters
have any way of discovering this. Subtly, the author leads us to think all the
characters and the Victorians they represent might be pretending. By doing this,
the author instigates the audience to come to terms with their own reality and rebel
against the system by uniting and admitting they don’t like that system which
they’ve lived under because of their commitment to each other, despite their
unhappiness. For these reasons, the era has been said to be “well-known for its
sham seriousness, hypocritical morality and artificial sophistry” (Hazra, 2013, p.3),
having as a common denominator an element of fakeness in that system, given
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that they don’t like it but they pretend they agree with it and, maybe more
importantly, perpetuate it.

These phony ways penetrate even deeper into other aspects of the characters:
when Jack proposes marriage to Gwendolen and has to own up to the lie that he’s
not really named Ernest, but Jack, he decides to commit to his lie. This is in
accordance with what he said earlier on in the play, “the truth isn’t quite the sort of
thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl.” (ibid., p. 30). In this regard, he’s
making a critique of the current state of affairs regarding the treatment of women. A
feminist reading of this quote might be put into place, especially considering his
previous role as editor of Woman’s World, in which he can be seen to be criticizing
the Victorians unequal treatment of gender. However, and in a bigger picture it
could also be thought to be a reflection of the author’s own marriage and marriages
in general during this time, criticizing their shallowness and dishonesty. Finally, it
also has the function of tracking the progress of Jack’s character, given that this
quote is from the first act.

In terms of Jack’s evolution as a character, it seems as if none occurs, as is

exemplified at the end of the play when it’s discovered that Jack is indeed named
Earnest and, as such, the conflict of the play is resolved. However he says,
“Gwendolen, it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he
has been speaking nothing but the truth.” (ibid., p. 59). This quote continues to
explore the idea of the state of marriages during the Victorian era, but more
importantly it uses the device of inverting the usual meaning of phrase to give it
comedic value. This is done in order to first of all get the audience in a good mood
and then to relate this inversion of the norm of a linguistic term with the inversion of
morals which the character of Jack, and the whole Victorian system he represents,
holds; it represents through its relationship with the first act the absolute and
unchangeable corruption of morals society has and is unwilling to change, and
maybe even more importantly, it does not consider this as something bad, even
though the character (and to a larger extent, society) has had the time to
experience first-hand the effects of this corruption, they still refuse to change.
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Conclusion:

Going back to the main question, according to the analysis made it can be
concluded that the main characters in The Importance of Being Earnest satirize the
social behavior of the time to a large extent. In this way, the main issues that are
discussed include sacred institutions such as marriage, established standards such
as the capitalist system and the accumulation of wealth, and the essentially fake
morality and hypocrisy permeating almost every aspect of the lives of Victorians.

The way the play is structured helps to reinforce the critique and satire made by
the characters. For instance, the first act poses a more powerful critique than the
following acts, which helps the audience reflect and internalize what has been said
and done.

Likewise, the main characters that were analyzed represented two points of
view of society. As was shown, Jack represented moderate compliance with
Victorian standards, and Algernon a complete transgression and rejection of those
principles. Thus, by portraying opposite sides, the author may better criticize one
side or the other, and in the bigger picture, society.

However, in the end, the author presents a deeper insight: Jack, and Algernon
are very similar, united in their rejection of the current system, and more than
similar, they are equals. In this way, the author appeals to different statuses in
society to come together and rebel against the artificial system they don’t like but
live under.

As was shown by the aforementioned findings, the methodology of analysis has

been proven to be effective, given that these were derived from the behavior of
characters as well as other aspects leading to their characterization, such as the
analysis of physical spaces to yield greater insight.

Finally, for future analysis, and in contrast with the nature of this writing,
secondary characters, as well as particular kinds of characters, could be explored
and perhaps compared to those of the main characters in order to have a deeper
insight into different social groups and how the author dealt with their roles in the
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play.
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References:

Darga, S. (Ed.) (2002). Drama Criticism Vol. 17. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale

Group

Hazra, S. (2013). Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest: A Critique of

The Victorian Society. PARIPEX Indian Journal of Research, 2(1). 3-4. doi:

10.15373/22501991

Jordan, R. (1970). Satire and Fantasy in Wilde's 'The Importance of Being

Earnest'. ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature, 1(3). 101-109

Lokšová, L. (2014). Self-censored Wilde Social pressure on Wilde's revisions of his

society plays [Master’s thesis]

Reinert, O. (1956). Satiric Strategy in the Importance of Being Earnest. College

English, 18(1), 14-18. doi:10.2307/372763

Sadaf, F. (2015). The Motif of Inversion in the Importance of Being Earnest.

International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, 3(6). 1-

Wilde, O. (2017) The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious

People. Seattle, Washington: Loki’s Publishing

Wilde, O. (1913) Essays and Lectures (4th edition) London: Methuen & Co. Ltd.

Wilde, O. (1915) The Soul of Man Under Socialism. New York: Maisel
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Wulu, A. (2013) Liberating the Sexed Body: Oscar Wilde Erodes Victorian

Conventions as a New World Is Created in The Importance of Being Earnest

(Master’s thesis) Retrieved from ETD Archive (848)