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The Importance Of Being Earnest Marriage Essay

1295 Words6 Pages

He wrote this play to make fun of the rules and manners of Victorian society, especially the rules of marriage. In “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Jack wanted to marry Gwendolen Bracknell, the only daughter of a lord. Lady Bracknell had a list of young men who wanted to marry Gwendolen, and she interviewed them. It turned out that Jack’s answers were satisfactory according to Lady Bracknell’s standards, but she was stunned and drove him away because he didnn’t know who his parents were. This showed that in Victorian society, a strong family would want their children to be married into a strong family. 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 …show more content…

By reading the story, we can tell by some of those hints that Jack listens to and obeys Gwendolen because he wants to marry her. Presenting a good image of himself to her is very important if he wants to marry her because she needs to accept him. “Mamma! (He tries to rise; she restrains him) I must beg you to retire.” (Wilde, 991). Also, when he was explaining to Lady Bracknell that he was found in a handbag, he said that he was found in the Brighton line, which is the rich side of the town. However, Lady Bracknell didn’t care about where he was found, and was still concerned about the fact that he didn’t have parents. After Jack said to her he was found in the Brighton line, Lady Bracknell said: “The line is immaterial.” (Wilde, 994). This reveals that to her, having parents with high social status is the most important. She doesn’t care a lot about where Jack was

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