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The Importance Of Being Earnest, By Oscar Wilde

1870 Words8 Pages

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is, “A trivial comedy for serious people”, but it is much more than a simple comedy. The Importance of Being Earnest is actually a commentary mocking the ideals of the Victorian Era Society. Throughout the play, Wilde subtly integrates his feelings towards society through the use of his characters. Wilde’s commentary commences the instant Wilde introduces readers to the first character, and his mockery begins at the same instant too. Wilde manages to focus his attention primarily on the role of women in society, class distinctions, along with wealth throughout his play. From the moment the play begins, Wilde’s commentary on class distinctions is clearly evident. The very first scene begins in Algernon’s …show more content…

During one of the first conversations between Lane and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest, the two men discuss the fact that Algernon’s most recent reception consumed approximately eight bottles and one pint of champagne, and given that champagne is not the average priced alcohol, readers are able to determine that Algernon has an abundance of wealth, which he loves to flaunt around (Wilde 116). Societal structure of the Victorian Era determines what class people fit into by the amount of wealth a person has, and those who achieve that are encouraged to display it as abundantly as they possibly can (Victorian Era Society). Algernon’s gathering consuming over eight bottles of expensive liquor is an extreme display of wealth, and Wilde soon mocks this abundant spending plus the showmanship of the upper class very subtly. Not long after Gwendolen and Aunt Augusta leave Algernon’s abode, Lane arrives with bills Algernon must pay, but he tears them up after reading them (Wilde 140). This simple gesture of tearing up bills while consuming over eight bottles of champagne displays Wilde’s mockery of the Upper Class in addition to society as a whole, due to the fact that it shows readers the wealthy will only give money towards what they think will make them look better as well as higher than everyone else in society, and bills are not one of those items in their minds. This also leads readers to ascertain that Wilde feels as though money controls the Upper Class and those people only care about spending their money on things that will put them higher than everyone else. He also felt that money determines a substantial amount of critical decisions the upper echelon had to

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