Satire In The Importance Of Being Ernest

How far is it appropriate to consider The Importance of Being Earnest as a Satire on the hypocrisy of ‘polite’ British society?

It can be argued that Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays (2000) explores in depth the idea of satire on the hypocrisy of ‘polite’ British society. Wilde uses dramatic language to amplify the satirical nature of the play; by using irony and satire he is able to mock the polite Victorian etiquette. The play is set in middle class Victorian London, and was written in 1895. Wilde was renowned for being a dandy and somewhat of an extravert, and so the fact he wrote ‘a trivial comedy for serious people’ (2000, p.291) can be seen as satirical due to his frivolous nature and attitude towards
Due to laws of social etiquette that dominated throughout the Victorian era, they’re both exceedingly polite to one another to maintain the social norms, for example Gwendolen (2000, p.333) says ‘I like you already more than I can say’ within her introduction to Cecily. As the conversation progresses, it’s clear to see that they both believe they’re engaged to the same man, Ernest, yet the dramatic irony is that there is no Ernest, and they’re in fact engaged to two separate men who simply claim to be Ernest. Their reaction to this falsehood is, instead of confronting one another, to maintain their façade and not react to any of the fowl things they do to each other. Cecily deliberately spoils Gwendolen’s tea and cake, and even though it’s blatantly obvious, Gwendolen simply continues the polite façade. This relates to the satire on polite British society as Oscar Wilde is arguably mocking the Victorian attitude towards confrontation and social etiquette by amplifying the absurdity of it. They go to great lengths to avoid the confrontation which contributes to the satirical humour of the play. The hypocrisy is evident in the way in which Gwendolen (2000, p.333) says ‘I like you already more than I can say. My first impressions of people are never wrong’ then goes on to
Is marriage so demoralising as that?’ (2000, p.295) yet, later in the play, he proposes to Cecily ‘I love you, Cecily. You will marry me, won’t you?’ (2000, p.330). The way in which Algernon jumps from one extreme to the other, saying such controversial things such as ‘Divorces are made in heaven’ (2000, p.297) to proposing to a lady he has only just met in person could be Wilde’s use of satire to mock just how absurd the hypocrisy in what is supposed to be a polite British society. Wilde’s attitude towards to hypocrisy is evident in the way he depicts his characters, for example the ones that could be argued to be hypocritical generally have one fatal personality flaw, such as Gwendolen’s desire to marry a man called Ernest, regardless of his personality, and Algernon’s ‘Bunburying’. The way Jack and Algernon act in public is entirely different to the way they actually are, they are perceived as respectable gentlemen in company, yet at home they admit to leading a double life and even glorifying divorce, Felix Liman