Steven Williams Ms. Kline English II 10/3/17 Dystopian Family “Take a look in the mirror and what do you see? Do you see it clearer or are you deceived in what you believe. ”- “Human” by Rag’n Bone.
Another prominent broad subject of mockery throughout the play is women. Specifically, Wilde jokes on the supposed “morals” that women claim to have and their tendency to be easily deceived and manipulated. For example, women’s principles during this time states that they were supposed to have religious motivation for their courtships. However, both Gwendolyn and Cecily only wanted to marry their man if his name was Ernest. This comical situation demolishes the morals that women claimed to have in their relationships and expressed that as shallow, clueless, and untrue to their word.
Yes, I do think this play has a darker, less forgiving tone than other Wilde's works. This play delves into the inequalities between women and men during Victorian times, specicifially, the unfair roles of women in society compared to those of men. In the play it is revealed that Mrs. Arbuthnot was not really married like everyone thought and had given birth to an illegitimate child, which during this time period was absolutely scandalous. During this time period it was the mother who suffered in those times and would be punished solely for her indiscretions while the man responsible came out unscathed. Hester Worsley addresses this injustice and in her opinion she feels that both the mother and father should be blamed and punished not just
Wilde exaggerated the thoughts of Algernon to emphasize that they are unable to decide on their own without thinking of what the society would do. Algernon said how girls are “never” attracted to who they marrying, inferencing that even if someone said they were attracted to their spouse, they would be lying since it goes against the societal norms. While Miss Prism and Chasuble were talking, they both agreed marriage isn't really about love because in marriage,“ No married man is ever attractive except to his wife.” Chasuble- “And often, I’ve been told, not even to her” (63).
I will first discuss how the Indigenous value of humor is used in the play as both an expression of care in relationships, and as a coping mechanism
Through this satirical writing, Wilde uses comparison of beauty and industrialism and juxtaposition between compliments and criticism to paint American social values as backwards and unappealing in order to dispel the glamour of a romantic American culture.
Oscar Wilde’s satirical play The Importance of Being Earnest, set in the late Victorian era, London, is a portrayal of British upper class society and its conventions surrounded by a strict code of conduct. In 1890’s class society, earnestness was desired; to follow the moral code and social obligations in order to keep up one’s appearance. Besides, there was a huge gender disparity between men and women. In the play, Wilde criticizes the social inequality and Victorian upper class standards. He characterizes Victorian personae making fun of their qualities; hypocrisy, arrogance and absurdism, ultimately the very vital state and lifeline of not being earnest at all in Victorian society.
Oscar pulled from his life experiences in order to write his poetry, and one constant thing he used was his sexuality. The reason why this is significant is not only because of the time period he lived in but also because it affected his real life. However, even if Wilde was a writer who truly pulled from his own life to write, not all the topics he wrote about, were impactful to his life. This was something Wilde himself even admitted he did, showing just how connected his life was from his writing (Marcus). This shows how even if his writing style matched his time, with his lifestyle being different; Wilde works would not always match the status quo of the Victorian period.
It is the first goal of our essay to understand how marriage and courtship in Shakespeare´s plays are an important exciting theme because it was something real during XVI century. The objective of the essay is to examine how courtship and marriage affects the issues and formation of the play named A Midsummer Night´s Dream (The Malone Society, 1996) focusing on the social and emotional relationships between men and women. Consequently, the aims are: first, to show the importance of the female character in the play according to virginity, chastity and sexuality; second, to explain how love is treated in the play; and lastly, to illustrate how courtship and marriage are depicted through the characters. It is crucial to understand that all of
The play An Ideal Husband was written by Oscar Wilde in 1895 in England’s Victorian era. This era was characterised by sexual anarchy amongst men and women where the stringent boundaries that delineated the roles of both men and women were continually being challenged by threatening figures such as the New Woman represented by Mrs Cheveley and dandies such as Lord Goring(Showalter, 3). An Ideal Husband ultimately affirms Lord Goring’s notions about the inequality of the sexes because of the evident limitations placed on the mutability of identity for female characters versus their male counterparts (Madden, 5). These limitations will be further elaborated upon in the context of the patriarchal aspects of Victorian society which contributed to the failed attempts of blackmail by Mrs Cheveley, the manner in which women are trapped by their past and their delineated role of an “angel of truth and goodness” (Powell, 89).
The idea that marriage is treated as a business is expressly shown by multiple characters. The most recognizable example is Lady Bracknell after she learns that Jack proposed to her daughter, Gwendolen. “Lady Bracknell: I feel bound to tell you that you are not down on my list of eligible young men,
The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde is an excellent play which has many underlying themes and suggestions especially with regards to the Victorian era, during which this was written. Many themes within the play are reflective of Wilde and his life, including his secrecy and supposed “double life,” his interest in aestheticism, his life pertaining the mannerisms and social etiquette during his lifetime. Today, Oscar Wilde is often remembered in part due to his well known homosexuality trial of 1895 (Linderd, 1), but his “second life” per se had been speculated on for years prior to it, in fact many of his plays contain subtle yet effective implications towards a possible piece of his life kept hidden from the public eye. The Importance of Being Earnest mirrored this double life through the utilization of Jack and Algernon's “Bunburying,” and their motives for lying to the ones whom they love.
Marriage was more like a trade or a union between families. People like Jack who didn’t have a strong social background couldn’t marry a girl like Gwendolen who came from a strong family. Other than marriage, Wilde is also making fun of people like Gwendolen and Cecily who have strange interests in just a name. They fell in love just because of the name “Ernest”. All of these characters reflect
Love is a complicated affair, it involves the two lives of the couples and the lives of everyone around them. There are many factors that could break or make a relationship, for one to be successful they must be able to succeed in all of those factors. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest delves into these factors regarding love and marriage. Wilde stresses the importance of social status and gender expectations as a key guideline for a successful marriage. For Wilde, social status is defined as birth, wealth, and power.
Therefore, Wilde’s style of poetry reflects his time as a Victorian writer, even if his topics and ideas did not, and this is because his own lifestyle did not fit into society, especially since his feminine side and sexuality were a big part of his life on which he
