The importance of being earnest, a play by Oscar Wilde, is infamously known for having challenged the traditional ideas of gender. The traditional views of gender relations in the Vidtorian Era was that men were active, manly, and independant, whilst women were passive, pliant and dependant. **** This is not shown in the play whatsoever. The men are passive, pliant and dependant whereas the women are strong, or rather strong willed, as well as being far more masculine and independant. Oscar Wilde challenged the traditional views by reversing the roles on most, if not all, of the characters in the play. Wilde also shows that life is possible with the reversed roles, as well as showing that both of the genders have the ability to do negative things.
In traditional gender role views, it is expected that the
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They are the ones at home, or the submissive and passive characters, and are shown to have little if any control over their lives. This also shows how dependant they are, and further takes away their masculinity and conventional gender ideas. For example, at the beginning of the play, Algernon reveals to Jack that he created a friend by the name of Bunbury who lives out in the country to give himself excuse to not attend events, due to Bunbury being ill. ^^^^ This shows his dependance and lack of control as he needs to create a person to give him reason to leave rather than having the power to do as he pleases, as is expected of a man of the time. As mentioned before, the same is shown with Lord Bracknell as he does not and cannot leave his home, due to being feminine if he does. Wilde uses the invertion of the gender roles in the play to challenge the idea that people have to follow their gender roles, and shows that it is possible to exist without having been a part of the traditional ideas. He also shows that women can be as powerful as men, and men can be as passive as