How Is Honesty In The Importance Of Being Earnest

Oscar Wilde lived and wr¬¬ote during the late Victorian period, where the idea of living life earnestly was the most ideal. The Victorian era is a time viewed by strict moral values. The play’s humor takes part with characters maintaining a false identity to break away from the social obligations. Being truthful, sincere, or serious could be the idea of earnestness. It will also reveal the true definition of honesty versus the Victorian definition of honesty. The comedy of this play shows several of the ways that the characters make fun of the moral strictness of the Victorian era. In The Importance of Being Earnest, there is false virtue and hypocrisy that shows being earnest is the greatest challenge of morality. Wilde’s characters are presented as comical to mock the Victorian correctness. The title of this piece is a play on word of “Earnest” which has two different meanings. Ernest, who is
For example, Jack presents himself as a gentleman, but is shut down by Lady Bracknell because of not having a desirable background. However, Lady Bracknell immediately changes her mind when Jack mentioned his wealthy income and his many properties to her. Although Lady Bracknell is very honest about her views of society, she is a representation of a typical snobby aristocrat. Another example shows Lady Bracknell showing great hypocrisy towards the engagement of Algernon and Cecily. She does not approve of their engagement until she finds out that Cecily is also one with great fortune. In Act 3 Scene 1, Lady Bracknell says, “When I married Lord Bracknell I had no fortune of any kind. But I never dreamed for a moment of allowing that to stand in my way.” She claims that she did not marry for riches, but her marriage with Lord Bracknell was motivated by money. By identifying the flaws of the characters, this play also shows exceptional criticism towards the strict morals of the Victorian