The Importance of being
Earnest
Characters are
Mercenary, cynical, and unfeeling.
 They lie; they are shallow.
 But, we don’t find them repulsive. In
fact, we appreciate their wit, their
energy.
 We suspend our moral judgement and
find humor in their irreverence.

Mary McCarthy says:
“The London Roue is artless simplicity
beside the dreadnought society
dowager, and she, in her turn, is outbrazened by her debutante daughter,
and she by the country miss, and she
by her spectacles governess.”
 Wilde draws us into a moral vacuum
and challenges almost everything we
take seriously.

The Truth

No one is interested in telling it or
hearing it.
– Jack lies to Algernon, Algernon lies to
Cecily, Cecily lies to Dr. Chasuble.
– As Gwendolyn puts it: “In matters of grave
importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital
thing.”
– p. 1211 -- Jack
Conventional Morality

Everyone would much rather be and
find someone interesting, than do the
right thing.
– 1187, 1188
– He’s redeemed not by virtue of his
truthfulness, but because he’s got good
taste. Cecily tells him. “You’ve wonderfully
good taste, . . . It’s the excuse I’ve always
given for your leading such a bad life.”
Religion
Dr. Chasuble, whose theology is a
matter of form: p. 1190
 What kind of relationship has he had
with Ms. Prism?
 His flippant attitude toward baptism -1191
 Algernon and Jack aren’t exactly
reverent about it either. What’s for
dinner is more important.

Social Reform
We live, says Gwendolyn, in an age of
ideals. The fact is constantly
mentioned in the more expensive
monthly magazines.
 Miss Prism asserts, “I am not in favor of
this modern mania for turning bad
people into good at a moment’s notice.”
 Cecily is skeptical about women who
are interested in philanthropic work.
She thinks it’s forward of them.

More on Reform -- P. 1188
We laugh at the reversal of roles
 We laugh at the idea that reform can be
undertaken in an afternoon
 We laugh, finally, at the value of reform
in itself -- to reform is to conform,
which is exactly what we do not want
these characters to do.

Education
Lady Bracknell objects to anything that
“tampers with natural ignorance.”
 She claims that “fortunately, Education
produces no effect whatsoever in
England.”
 Cecily knows that her German grammar
makes her look plain.
 Gwendolyn protests against abstract
ideas.

The Surface is it.
Lady Bracknell claims that anything
deeper than that must be banished.
Doubts about anything must be put
down.
 P. 82 -- Miller

Heartless Play

George Bernard Shaw, another famous
playwright of the late 19th Century,
claims that Earnest was Wilde’s “first
really heartless play.”

Nothing here is redeemed or
redeemable, nothing is taken seriously.
Love and Marriage
Marriage isn’t a very interesting subject.
 It’s a business, not a pleasure.
 It’s unromantic, leads to unpleasant
responsibilities.
 Gwendolyn loves Jack even before she
meets him -- ridicules the idea of love
at first sight by taking it one step
backwards.

Women and Power
Gwendolyn is obviously in control in the
proposal scene. And more cynical than
Jack.
 Algernon says he could wait for Cecily,
but she won’t have it. P. 1207.
 They’re out for themselves, even more
than the men are.
 Lady Bracknell’s greed in making
marriage arrangement, another
example.

Death
Even Death isn’t sacred.
 Laughter at Earnest’s supposed death.
 Lady Bracknell’s comments on Mr.
Bunbury’s death. She is glad “that he
made up his mind at the last to some
definite course of action.”
 The widow who is quite some 20 years
younger since her husband’s death.

Existentialist Drama/
Theatre of the Absurd

“Always lurking in the play is a steady
contemplation of Nothingness.”
– David Parker