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Garrett Park

Mrs. Borkert

AP English

9 March 2019

The Importance of Satirizing Class

Something in society always bothers people. Some get upset with gender and how a

culture treats gender, others find fault in religion, and still others disagree with marriage in

society. No matter how a country or society operates, there will always be controversy among

the people. For Oscar Wilde, when writing The Importance of Being Earnest, he was upset at

societal and class differences, and decided to write a satirical play highlighting the problems with

the hierarchy that was so prevalent. Wilde satirizes class differences throughout the play by

skillfully creating characters and using their respective views on society to illustrate the

frivolousness of their opinions.

Out of the small list of characters that influence the plot of the play, nearly every person

is used at some point to signify the ridiculousness of satire, none more so than Lady Bracknell.

One of the first encounters in the play involving Lady Bracknell occurs after Jack proposes to

Gwendolen. After Gwendolen tells her mother, Bracknell, about the proposal, Bracknell

responds by telling her she is “not engaged to anyone. (23)” She goes on to explain to Jack that

she has already created a “list of eligible young men,” which Jack is not on (23). Bracknell

reveals that Gwendolen must marry a reputable, wealthy, and influential man, not someone like

Jack, who does not have any relations or parents. Lady Bracknell illustrates the Victorian, upper-

class thought. She focuses on the materialistic benefits of marriage instead of love and dominates

the conversation, leaving no question of who has the final say in Gwendolen’s marriage. Wilde
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uses the conversation between Jack and Bracknell, and subsequent conversations later in the

play, to exemplify the problems with high society. Instead of focusing on love and commitment,

they cared about monetary gain and reputation; instead of giving those less privileged than them

fair treatment, they dictated every conversation and meeting.

Wilde also uses the relationships between Jack and Gwendolen as well as Algernon and

Cecily to criticize the superficiality of the upper class. When Jack first proposes to Gwendolen,

before Lady Bracknell rebukes him, Gwendolen explains that ever since she knew his name was

Ernest, she knew she “was destined to love [him]. (20)” Gwendolen did not truly love Jack, she

barely knew him, rather, she was so shallow that she loved his name, so much in fact, she was

willing to marry him because of it. In a similar, almost mirroring way, Algernon has a

comparable experience with Cecily. Algernon proposes to Cecily after meeting her for the first

time, which already shows the absurdity of the upper class, and then Wilde takes it even farther.

He shows that Cecily had fabricated an engagement between her and Algernon after Jack told

her about him. She says that she has always had “a girlish dream . . . to love someone whose

name was Ernest.” And that she pities “any poor married woman whose husband is not called

Ernest. (55)” Wilde uses these two nearly identical conversations and proposals to satirize the

ridiculousness of high society. By first showing the foolishness of the two men for proposing,

especially Algernon, after just meeting the woman, then, by having the two women express their

love for anyone named Ernest, Wilde satirically shows the levels of superficiality so prevalent in

the upper class and how bizarre it is.

When writing the conversation and eventual argument between Gwendolen and Cecily

during tea, Wilde continues to satirize the higher class of society and their triviality as well as

their deceptive nature, in addition to their aggressiveness. Gwendolen and Cecily meet at Jack’s
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country house, and first are very cordial towards each other, but quickly become hostile once

they learn they are both engaged to Ernest. When they first meet, Gwendolen tells Cecily that

she thinks they “are going to be great friends” and that her “first impressions of people are never

wrong. (57)” Once Gwendolen learns of Cecily’s engagement to Ernest, however, she

immediately has a change of demeanor, calling Cecily “presumptuous,” “detestable,” and

“deceitful. (60-62)” In a similar way, Cecily starts the conversation very amicable towards

Gwendolen, but quickly shifts to a insulting Gwendolen, telling her that she has been “wearing

the shallow mask of manners. (61)” By making the two women have such immediate changes in

character and transition from amiable friendliness to instant disagreement, Wilde shows how

disingenuous the upper class is. They put on a mask of pleasantness but can take the mask off

and reveal the hostile side without a second thought. The play shows that once the real

personality of the upper class is revealed, they are much less genial than what they first appear to

be.

Wilde intentionally created characters for The Importance of Being Earnest that

exemplify the problems he saw in high society, from their materialistic attitudes to their

disingenuity. The play was not written to insult every rich person in Victorian society, but rather

to highlight the prevailing attitude and actions that most rich people had. Oscar Wilde set out to

show everyone what the problem was, and hopefully start a change, not just mock those who

were apart of the problem. After reading the story, Wilde leaves the reader with a question, are

they part of the problem, or part of the solution?