Amy Painter 8653 Heanor Gate Science College 23218

Examine the comic effects of relationships between men and women in The Importance of Being
Earnest.

The Importance of Being Earnest is a dramatic comedy, referred to as a Comedy of Manners. This
type of comedy explores society’s upper and middle classes of the time. Oscar Wilde wrote the play
in 1895 in the heart of the Victorian era, a period well known for its flamboyant characters and
strict social etiquette. Wilde wildly ridicules society through the characters in The Importance of
Being Earnest, such as the up tight Jack, the hypocritical Algernon and the formidable Lady
Bracknell. The comical aspect of the play comes mostly from the interactions of the characters,
especially the relationships between those that are male and female.

A relationship within The Importance of Being Earnest that is humorous is the one between Lady
Bracknell and Algernon. A reason for this is that they are both stock characters that are often found
in Comedy of Manners, where Lady Bracknell is the ‘interfering old parent’ and Algernon is the
‘hypocrite/schemer’. The stereotypes of Comedy of Manners make easy targets of the characters,
and in some way the stereotype is exaggerated to inflict more humour. Wilde’s characterisation of
both Lady Bracknell and Algernon in turn creates a clash between their personalities. Lady
Bracknell tends to dominate the conversation as well as the stage time; the character comes across
as an authoritative role. “Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr Bunbury
made up his mind whether he was going to live or to die.” Lady Bracknell here does not pause for
breath, the rest of the dialogue continues for another ten sentences which suggests that she is in
control and likes to hear the sound of her own opinions rather than others. Using ‘Well’ at the
beginning of the sentence acts as a way of preparing the character Algernon and the audience for
the rest of her dialogue, it also suggests that Lady Bracknell has got strong opinions, and does not
want to hear anything more after what she has said. The use of ‘… I must say…’ and ‘… I think it
is …’ emphasises how dogmatic Lady Bracknell is as well as the lack of empathy and sympathy for
others misfortune this character has. Algernon’s ‘Bunbury’ excuse informs us of his scheming
ways, and the way Wilde presents Lady Bracknell as not realising this, emphasises the
ridiculousness of Comedy of Manners and also links to an overlap through Parody and Satire.
Parody and Satire are often confused with one another; parody mimics a subject directly to create
comical effect whereas satire makes fun of a subject without a direct imitation.

The way in which Wilde presents the relationship both characters have with one another, rests upon
the lies that Algernon creates. Within the first Act Algernon makes a number of lies to get out of
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what could cause a threat to him: the ‘Bunbury’ excuse and the ‘cucumber sandwiches’. Algernon’s
character can manipulate other characters to suit him, he is also rather predictable which becomes
humorous for the audience that would be watching. Algernon’s character is also rather flippant and
trivial linking to the subject matter of his utterances, he makes lies about certain things that can be
explained and sorted, although decides to take the easy option and not tell the truth. Everyone
would know what’s about to happen but the characters are so self-absorbed that they are oblivious
to Algernon’s plots that Wilde creates. Wilde’s use of dramatic irony around Algernon’s character
can be seen in many of his lines in the play, “[Picking up empty plate in horror] Good heavens
Lane! Why are there no cucumber sandwiches? I ordered them specially.” This type of line is
beneficial in creating humour within Oscar Wilde’s play. The reason that this comes across as
funny, is that Algernon has eaten the sandwiches and has told an extravagant lie to cover his tracks.
Having the audience in the know would have possibly made them feel far superior to the characters,
in turn this would allow for an increase in flow of laughter and relaxation in the audience.

Lady Bracknell’s character doesn’t fit with the symmetry between the characters, each character has
a pair, Jack and Gwendolen, Algernon and Cecily, Miss Prism and Chasuble, Lane and Merriman,
then there's Lady Bracknell. Wilde creates a separation between Lady Bracknell and the rest of the
characters to emphasise the power that this character has. The distant yet respectful relationships
that Lady Bracknell and characters such as Algernon and Jack have impose a humour that would
not be there if the relationships were stronger ones. Lady Bracknell’s stock character as being an
interfering character and one that judges others evokes a sense of separation, Wilde's intention of
making the characters have humorous banter can be shown through this disconnection of emotions
between characters. This disconnection of emotions can be seen in Act 1 where Lady Bracknell is
interviewing Jack, “I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as
soon as possible…” this kind of remark could be in some circumstances rather offensive. However
her higher status and lack of awareness of others creates a sense of humour as she so plainly points
out his shortage of parents.

Jack and Gwendolen's relationship is seen as the first romantic love interest in the play. It can be
viewed as comical for the fact that their love relies upon Gwendolen wanting to marry a man of the
name ‘Ernest’, which she believes Jack’s name to be. Gwendolen's character is blinded by the
thought of marrying ‘Ernest’ which can be seen in the section of the proposal: “The fact is
constantly mentioned in the more expensive monthly magazines, and has reached the provincial
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pulpits, I am told; and my ideal has always been to love someone of the name of Ernest”.
Gwendolen expresses that she is destined to marry a man of the name ‘Ernest’, she only thinks this
as that is what society suggests is right for her, as a woman. Gwendolen is a character that has to be
directed and ‘told’ by others what she is thinking, she doesn’t wholeheartedly have her own
opinions, in this case she has taken her ‘beliefs’ from the magazines she reads and her character in
this sense can be seen as superficial. Wilde uses the words ‘provincial pulpits’ to suggest a sense of
importance of society and the modern life of magazines. This kind of quote could also be
interpreted as Wilde poking fun at religion and how even that is tainted by the modernism of
everyday life. The significance of ‘pulpits’ being mentioned is rather large as it proposes that even
the most religious preachers have heard about the ‘importance’ of having the name Ernest which
imposes an insight into how a Comedy of Manners play can change directions. Wilde seems to be
poking fun at the ‘correct behaviour’ that is portrayed within society of this era, indeed for a woman
this was important as without guidance they could not reach their ‘ideal’; a stereotype that is pinned
to women of this era. Word play and puns are a strong element in Gwendolen and Jack’s
relationship, The emphasis on the deceit of Jack’s name being ‘Ernest’ just to please Gwendolen
allows for a humorous amount of dramatic irony. The gap that Wilde creates between language and
reality flows through the whole play; Gwendolen’s lack of a grasp on reality compared to Jack’s
language suggests that these characters do not have a true connection. Another interpretation on
this for instance is that Gwendolen is encountering a conscious decent into fantasy, wherefore the
character does not grasp truth or reality. For its own reasons, the division between the characters of
Jack and Gwendolen, is unearthed as amusing in a rather solemn manner. Within a play that is in
the Comedy of Manners the manners and affections generally have heightened characteristics.
Gwendolen’s removal from reality becomes heightened, and is exaggerated in her language and
actions. It was Wilde’s intention to uses the remoteness of Gwendolen’s character to emphasise his
use of stock characters; Gwendolen in this case is the absent-minded, gullible character with a self-
conscious awareness of being so. These intensified features create relations that otherwise would
not be amusing to the audience.

Algernon and Cecily’s relationship engenders much of the humour within the play. Wilde’s
depiction of Cecily, a character with an ingenious nature, along with fantasist ways allows for
comical opportunities between her and the character of Algernon. As the two of them discuss their
relationship, the relationship that Cecily has indeed imagined, she remarks “It would hardly have
been a really serious engagement if it hadn't been broken off at least once.” Marriage in the
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Victorian Era was not entirely seen as romantic, and love played a small part. With Cecily saying
‘serious’ it suggests that the relationship in fact isn't that serious at all, a serious relationship may
class as it revolving around the love and emotions the characters feel. Another interpretation of
Oscar Wilde's use of ‘serious’ , indicates a link between that and the title The Importance of Being
Earnest. The characters, especially Algernon and Cecily, conform to high society, and try to
convince themselves that they are honourable people with strong morals, even if the characters do
not see it themselves. The title is a perfect example of how the character’s views and ethical ideas
may seem senseless and of no importance. The high moral society within the play is echoed within
the relationship between Cecily and Algernon; both try to comply with the ideals of the Victorian
era, although the ridiculousness of their personalities and the way in which both Cecily and
Algernon do not understand how absurd Cecily's fantasies are, counteract the attempt made by the
characters. It was Wilde’s intention to make a distinction between morality and ideology, and how
the ideals of characters were more important than the morals. In Algernon’s case he would be sure
to admit that he is an immoral character, although he is yearning to conform with the ideals of upper
class society. Cecily would rather be in a stereotypical ideological relationship than one with any
moral value. The actions of characters and the differences between morals and ideals become
ironic; the plays overall comic impact originates from Wilde’s satirical intentions.

1,591 Without quotations

Bibliography
- The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde
- Dramatic Genres: Studying Comedy - English and Media centre - Authors- Barbara Bleiman,
Anna Sarchet and Lucy Webster
- Sparknotes