The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing
Be able to: Discuss the play as a critical commentary on the Victorian upper class (consider what controls and motivates the characters) Examine the impact irony and sarcasm have on the reader and Wilde s critical perspective Discuss gender expectations and sexuality how do we define the sexual roles in a given society? Discuss the significance of the notion of being earnest for the play Discuss notions of triviality and excess in the play (food, for example) Todd 2
Brief Biography the son of an eminent Dublin surgeon His one time fiancé Florence Balcombe left him for Bram Stoker 1882 Wilde, short of funds, embarked on a lecture tour of the United States. Of his trip he said "They say that when good Americans die they go to Paris. I would add that when bad Americans die, they stay in America founded the Aesthetic Movement Wilde was sentenced to two years' hard labor for homosexual practices Sent to Wandsworth Prison in November, 1895 bankrupt and ruined in health, Wilde left prison in 1897 and settled, bitter and broken, in Paris under the pseudonym "Sebastian Melmoth Died in 1900 destitute and alone in Paris Todd 3
The Victorian Period (1837-1901) Queen Victoria inherited the throne of Britain at age eighteen in 1837 Victorian England saw a great expansion of wealth & power becoming the wealthiest country in the world British expansion under Colonialism turned England into a mighty and influential world power (power was created externally) experienced great deal of doubt in institutionalized religion changes in ideology, politics, and society including: feminist movement, democracy, socialism, unionization of workers, Darwinism notion of the White Man s Burden determined that it was Britain s duty to spread western culture and order throughout the world Witnessed rapid progress of the Industrial Revolution, changed England from a rural society into a fully industrialized, modern, urban state Todd 4
Darker Side of the Victorian Era working conditions for men/women, boys/girls were horrible common servants worked 80 hours a week there were no child labor laws; the average child worked 64 hours a week in the summer & 52 hours in the winter learning a trade(if they were lucky) the not so fortunate girls & boys became prostitutes the average age was 15-22 & their were literally thousands of them in London these conditions became the source for most of Charles Dickens works he was forced to work as a child because of his father s debt Society was marked by strict class distinctions: Men dominated the public sphere in politics and industry women were relegated to the private sphere where they were to oversee the household and supervise the educations of their children The ideal Victorian woman was a domestic angel always quiet and demure m - she had no business participating in public life or politics Todd 5
Aesthetic and Decadent Movements Developed as a reaction to the conservatism and restrictive moral and social code of the Victorian Age championed artistic excess and rejected morality as a measure for the value of artistic expression the Aesthetes considered art as a means to obtain unbounded pleasure, and they promoted the creation of art for art s sake Writers and artists of the Aesthetic Movement believed that art should not be judged on moral grounds but, instead, should be valued for pure beauty, sophistication and refinement, and the pleasure derived from its design and composition Influenced notions of sex and gender - the idea of the effeminate man (often referred to as a dandy ) and the manly woman became popular such terms as homosexual or lesbian were coined to describe the complex range of human sexuality Wilde ridicules conservative notions of gender and the division between the public sphere as the realm of men and the private or domestic sphere as the realm of women Todd 6
Issues and Topics Earnestness vs. Triviality earnestness embodies haughtiness and affection rather than true seriousness a quality advocated by such central Victorian figures as Arnold and Tennyson it was mocked as a trait of the rigidly moralistic middle class by other Victorians who found middle-class values self-serving and middle-class tastes dull. Consider how this is embodied in the play triviality, or the discussion of topics that are seemingly meaningless, is often embodied by the characters as a contrast to pretentious seriousness and false morality Bunburying Used as an escape from unpleasant social obligations and accountability to the rigid expectations of the Victorian period Also a means to take on an alternative identity Marriage How does the play define marriage? Is it simply an unjust social convention void of emotion? Or does it serve some other purpose? Todd 7
Literary Techniques & Wilde s Style Verbal fencing matches Irony Satire Non sequitars Comedy of Manners a literary genre that became particularly popular in England during the Restoration period of the 17 th century usually uses elements of satire in order to ridicule or expose the behaviors, manners, flaws, and morals of members of the middle or upper classes incorporates love affairs, witty and comical exchanges between characters, and the humorous revelation of societal scandals and intrigues Wilde s works generally include: A shameful secret Mistaken and assumed identities Sensational denouement Dual morality especially as it concerns gender expectations Todd 8