...The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 2 In The Importance of Being Earnest, almost every character is in pursuit of another; Jack is in pursuit of Gwendolen’s love, whom is in pursuit of Jack, who she believes is Ernest. Meanwhile in the country, Dr Chausible is in pursuit of Miss Prism’s love, and Cecily of Algernon’s love; similarly to Gwendolen’s situation, Cecily is fooled into believing Algernon is called Ernest. Wilde has created this situation to mock the upper class of the time and also uses it in various ways to build comedy throughout act 2. Within act 2, the audience witness many entrances and exits, one of the most significant from the Merriman during the dispute between Gwendolen and Cecily. During the dispute, Gwendolen and Cecily are disrupted by the Merriman, ‘followed by the footman’, with ‘the presence of the servants [exercising] a restraining influence, under which both girls chafe’. This builds the comedy within this scene as the Merriman sets the table slowly, with ‘a long pause’, further infuriating Cecily and Gwendolen; this creates anticipation within the audience, as they would be anxiously wait for the dispute to continue. One could interpret the entrance and exit of the Merriman as Wilde placing more importance in the servants than the people they are serving, another way to mock the upper class of the time. Another important exit in the act is when Cecily and Gwendolen ‘retire into the house with scornful looks’, expecting the men to chase after...
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...rarely of a first- rate brand. Algernon: Is marriage so demoralising as that? Lane: I believe it is a very pleasant state, sir. I have had very little experience of it myself up to the present. I have only been married once. That was in consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person. Even though lane does not think marriage is demoralising, he is not to be trusted as he later says, ‘consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person’. This then raises the question of why did his marriage end, if it was not ‘demoralising’ or a ‘pleasant state?’ Algernon regards Lane’s views on marriage as “somewhat lax.” Laid back or not as strict as it should be taken + Questions of marriage and whether its ‘demoralising’ or a ‘pleasant state’ are mentioned so early in the play, by lane and Algernon. This depicts that the rest of the play will be an ongoing debate on the institution of marriage. Algernon; Oh! There is no use speculating on that subject. Divorces are made In Heaven (Act1, page 4) this shows an inversion as the actual phrase is meant to say that ‘marriage are made in heaven’. (A reversal of the usual order of words) this might also have a deeper meaning, as it might show Wilde’s feelings or attitudes to marriage. As by committing the act of divorce, you have to be married first, therefore marriage is an entrapment. Algernon and jack have led a double, to avoid their duties and have used these fictionious characters as a tool of...
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...“Wilde empowers his female characters but also undermines them”. To what extent do you agree with this view? Wilde’s comedy of manners play, The Importance of Being Earnest, holds a satirical outlook on Victorian life. Wilde uses both satire and farce in his play written and set in 1895 to depict a slightly exaggerated version of society as it was, with all its forms of hypocrisy, double standards and repression of women. Wilde chose to invert the usual gender roles in Victorian literature by portraying the women with a position of power and influence in their relationships and the men as fairly passive. However, as Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff “Bunbury” about the women they love, they appear to dominate not only their facades but the women’s own lives and relationships. In addition, Wilde uses comedic effects throughout the play when presenting Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew, allowing them to be seen collectively as foolish and incredibly naïve. Lady Bracknell is first and foremost a symbol of Victorian earnestness. Initially, we see that she is powerful, arrogant, conservative, and proper. In many ways, she represents Wilde's negative opinion of the Victorian upper-class, their power and conservative and repressive values. Lady Bracknell's authority and power are extended over each and every character in the play. Her decision about the suitability of both marriages in the play provides the conflict of the story. She tells her daughter quite...
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...reference to the Importance of Being Earnest Throughout the Importance of Being Earnest the female characters exercise power briefly, although they also confirm too many female stereotypes – ultimately ensuring that the play upholds traditional gender stereotypes instead of challenging or changing them. This causes the women to become the pun of the jokes within the play rather than the creator. The private and public spheres are the two gendered spheres that have become a common practice to think of the social world divided into two. The private sphere is the stereotypically feminine world of household, family, and unpaid domestic labour, while the public sphere is the stereotypically masculine world of politics and paid employed. The men and the women both uphold to the gender spheres or invert them. For example Lady Bracknell is unlike a conventional woman as she is portrayed to have the role of her husband and therefore fits into the public sphere rather than the private sphere. Both Cecily and Gwendolen within the play conform to their stereotypes and therefore become the butt of the jokes. Whilst Algernon and Cecily are talking, Algernon compares her to ‘a pink rose’ and Cecily replies with ‘I don’t think it can be right for you to talk to me like that.’ Algernon’s line about Cecily being ‘like a pink rose’ reveals that men flirt with women by praising their beauty. Although Cecily protests the propriety of Algernon’s comment, she secretly revels in it, as it can be seen in...
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...married. I think Wilde was trying to accomplish something when writing this story and that was to show how ridiculous the process of marriage was in the upper class in particular. His main point of this story is to show how shallow and hypocritical Victorian society is. The main two characters in the story are Jack and Algernon. They both have alter ego’s in order to escape the restraints that Victorian society impresses upon them. Jack is expected to take care of the young Cecily but he cannot resist the urge to party and have fun. As a result, he comes up with an alter ego named Ernest. He tells Cecily that Ernest is his younger brother and that he gets in trouble all the time. Being that he is the older brother he expresses that he has to get his Ernest out of trouble all the time when really he is just partying and escaping the life he really doesn’t want to live. Algernon also has an alter ego named Bunbury whose grave health conditions provide him with the excuse to escape to the country as and when he pleases. The fact that the two main characters have created alter egos to escape the life they are currently living shows that Wilde wanted to portray how people would do certain things and act a certain way just to be accepted by society. In the beginning of the story there is a part of a conversation that shows this in plain sight. Lady Bracknell greets Algernon and says “I hope you are behaving very well.” Algernon responds saying that he feels very well and Lady Bracknell...
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...town for “pleasure”. When Algernon informs him that Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen will be coming by, Jack, delighted, confides in Algernon of his intentions to propose to Gwendolen. 2. Jack and Algernon have a debate over whether the subject of marriage is of “business” or “pleasure” which eventually leads to Algernon confronting Jack about the “cigarette case Mr. Worthing left.” 3. Algernon forces Jack to explain the inscription on the inside of the case: from “little Cecily” to “her dear Uncle Jack”. Jack admits that his name is not Earnest but rather Jack, claiming that he is “Earnest in town and Jack in the country.” 4. Jack tells Algernon about the false brother he created as an excuse to get out of the country. Algernon tells Jack that he has invented a friend call Bunbury whose sudden illnesses give him Algernon a chance to get away to the country. 5. Jack tells Algernon that if Gwendolen consents to marry him then he will “kill off” his imaginary brother Earnest, as “little Cecily” is getting too interested in Earnest. Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrive. 6. Algernon tells Lady Bracknell that due to the illness of his friend Bunbury he will be able to keep their dinner appointment. Lady Bracknell replies by voicing her irritation about Bunbury’s indecisiveness about whether to “live or die.” 7. Jack proposes to Gwendolen but becomes somewhat dismayed when she admits that her affection for him is based upon her belief that the name Earnest “inspires...
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...that Lane’s class seems to have a lack of moral responsibility. Unexpectedly, Algernon’s friend Jack Worthing drops in. Jack resides most of the time in the countryside and is visiting town. Lane and Algernon are under the impression that Jack’s name is Ernest and refer to him as so. Jack is happy to learn that Lady Bracknell (Aunt Augusta) and her daughter Gwendolen are coming because he wants to propose marriage to Gwendolen. Algernon says that he will not be able to marry her because he flirts with her, which Aunt Augusta does not like. Furthermore, as Gwendolen’s first cousin he will refuse to offer his consent unless Jack settles a question for him. He has found a cigarette case that Jack had forgotten upon his last visit. There is an inscription, which states: "From little Cecily, with her fondest love to her dear Uncle Jack." Jack tries to pretend it is from an aunt. Eventually, he must admit that Cecily is his ward. To escape the...
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...ridiculousness of their own attitudes in order to teach them a moral lesson. Marriage has always been subject to the whims of fashion, but in Wilde’s era the problem as he saw it, was that marriage appeared to have lost any connection with love. The societal rules and rituals which had to be followed for the arrangement of a marriage were necessary to sustain or improve an individual’s social position; eligibility was determined by a thorough interrogation of an individual’s name, wealth, family background and rank. However it could be argued that far from pushing the boundaries in making the audience understand their shallow values in relation to marriage and respectability one of the huge structural ironies of the comedy is that all characters marry their social equals- whether this is because Wilde thinks that they deserve each other or whether his challenge to conformity is rather half hearted is part of the puzzle as the curtain falls. It is evident from the very opening of the play that Wilde- through satire- is addressing the paradox of marriage in the Victorian era being little more than ‘business’ when in fact it should be recognised as a union of two compatible individuals celebrating their love for one another....
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...The Importance of being Earnest - THEMES # Lies and Deceit: The most prevalent reason characters in The Importance of Being Earnest lie is to get out of social or familial duties and, instead, to do something more enjoyable. Not surprisingly, few characters hold honesty in high regard. However, we see how hard it is for characters to set things straight once they’ve lied about them. As the situation gets increasingly complicated, characters must weave more complex lies to get out of the tangles of their previous lies. Eventually they reach the point where lies will no longer work and the truth is revealed. Perhaps the most striking thing is that none of the characters ever shows true remorse or guilt about lying. 1. Algernon: Yes. But why does your aunt call you her uncle? 'From little Cecily, with her fondest love to her dear Uncle Jack.' There is no objection, I admit, to an aunt being a small aunt, but why an aunt, no matter what her size may be, should call her own nephew her uncle, I can't quite make out. Besides, your name isn't Jack at all; it is Ernest. Jack: It isn't Ernest; it's Jack Jack lies to cover up his double life. A simple white lie that he doesn’t know anyone named "Cecily" gets him into an incredibly messy situation. When he’s forced to admit he does know a "Cecily," he tries to pass her off as his aunt. But Algy, a fellow Bunburyist, eventually sniffs it all out and forces Jack to confess. What is most surprising is that Jack seems to have no shame...
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...Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Lenka Drbalová Comedy of Manners: William Congreve and Oscar Wilde Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. 2014 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Acknowledgement I would like to thank prof. Mgr Franková , CSc., M.A. and PhDr. Věra Pálenská, CSc. for their guidance, advice and kind encouragement. Table of Contents Preface ...............................................................................................2 Introduction ......................................................................................3 Chapter I – The Way of the World 1.1 In General ..................................................................................8 1.2 True Wit and False Wit ............................................................9 1.3 Courtship and Love .................................................................14 1.4 Invention vs. Reality ................................................................18 Chapter II – The Importance of Being Earnest 2.1 In General ................................................................................22 2.2 True Wit and False Wit ..........................................................23 2.3 Courtship...
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...Theme of death in The Importance of Being Earnest It is obvious from the very first conversation in the play (between Algernon and Jack) that the characters are lackadaisical in their actions and views. This theme continues through the play, evident in the ridiculously comical and odd comments they make, their eccentric and aloof mannerisms and their general air. Many might look at The Importance of Being Earnest and see it as a play wrought with frivolities and meaninglessness, including author Oscar Wilde himself, who described it as "A trivial comedy for serious people." However, the play does contain a few serious undertones which are subtle enough that most readers (serious people or not) fail to notice them. One of the most noticeable of these is the trend of death. Death is mentioned several times throughout the play, in the form of flippant comments and offhand jokes. The initial thought one might have when realising the frequency with which death is mentioned in the play is that this was added to give the play dimension and a bit of dark humour. That may be true, but at the same time it highlights and compliments the lighthearted and flippant theme that is so evident throughout. Since the characters in Being Earnest* do not act in a manner that is appropriate or socially acceptable in modern times, it would make sense that their view on death, as a group, is exceedingly callous. The subject is handled with less gravity than most other issues (such as the consumption...
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...The Importance of Not Being Earnest In a society where intricately developed double lives and irrevocable obsessions with ideals and fantasies are the norm, there is bound to be mass confusion and colliding paths. As a result, two significant questions arise: What is truth and who verifies its legitimacy? Oscar Wilde states in regards to his play, “We should treat all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality” (1829), which perfectly exemplifies the overall mindset of the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest and provides a broad template for reinterpretation. A focus on the seriousness behind the irony and epigrams within the play could be followed, or contrastingly...
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...statement, he states that moral laws are divided into two, one for women and the other for men. He’s claiming that the “moral laws” that society has implanted has double standards. Ibsen and Wilde present gender roles through morality, marriage, food delicacies, dance and wealth. These four factors affect how the characters in both plays are viewed by society. Both writers present the expectations society has for both genders. They highlight the obscurity, the society they lived in, had. This method was to leave the audience questioning about the society they lived in. Ibsen displays the realness of a typical marriage and he doesn’t follow the conventions of a Well-Made play, he presents the hardcore facts of marriage and family life; he does this by giving both genders unequal power, which contradicts the meaning of marriage, “the joining of two equals”. Whereas Wilde switches the gender roles, this method is very effective as it emphasises and reveals clearly how ridiculous the social class behaves. Even though Ibsen uses highly respected jobs to portray the archetype of men, Wilde uses the absence of occupation to concentrate on the other aspects of Victorian life. In the first Act, Ibsen outlines the stereotypical views of both genders; women were to be domesticated and men were to be the bread-winners. Wilde uses the noun “Bunburying” which is to avoid “one's duties and responsibilities by claiming to have appointments to see a fictitious person”. The term branched off of Algernon’s...
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...over loved ones while portraying to the world that they are honest, faithful men. Quote- “You have invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town as often as you like. I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose. Bunbury is perfectly invaluable. If it wasn’t for Bunbury’s extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn’t be able to dine with you at Willis’s to-night, for I have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week.” Middle – Action Oriented (Ex)- The beginning of the play displayed to the audience hypocrisy that made the readers dislike the two bachelors. Whereas Act II gives the reader some much needed comic-relief as Algernon sneakily infiltrates into John’s life as his made-up brother Earnest. The plot is thickening as the lies begin to catch up and directly screw up the deceptions that Jack had weaved into his unknowing friends. Algernon, being a devious genius takes the identity of Earnest with ease after being told everything about him from John seemed to be in complete control of the situation as...
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...her a visit to see if her husband Torvald could help her secure employment at the bank where he works. During the visit, the two of them catch up on what has been going on in each other’s life, which is perfectly logically for two old friends to do. It is through their conversation that Nora’s secret that she took out a loan to go on a trip to help save her husband’s life without his knowledge is revealed to the audience. She had to keep the secret from her husband because he does not believe in taking out loans and getting into debt. Through their conversation, the audience is brought up to the fact that Nora has been keeping this secret for years. It also allows the audience to feel like they are part of the conversation between the characters. Page 2 Techniques of a Well Made Play in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest In Oscar Wilde’s comedy, The...
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