Society portrayed by Wilde in The Importance Of Being Earnest
Uploaded by natsyc on Mar 31, 2004
The society presented by Wilde in the first act of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is the late Victorian society within which he lived. This society was highly influenced by the nouveau riche and aristocracy. Wilde’s play focuses upon this sphere of social society with its drawing room setting. The late nineteenth century society was very much based upon rigid class distinctions and this comedy of the same period holds this same ideal. Evidence of the society this literature was drawn from can be seen throughout the opening act both in the reportee of the characters and its general plot line. This play is clearly linked with the critic ideal that ‘art mirrors the society it stems from’ and the distinction of the reaction from a contemporary audience as opposed to a modern audience viewing this play is further evidence of the picture Wilde creates of late Victorian society.
The opening scene of the first act introduces us to Algernon and Lane who are opposites of the social spectrum. It is clear from the stage directions that precede the first few lines that Algernon is a socialite: ‘Morning – room in Algernon’s flat in Half Moon Street’. This area of London in the time of Wilde would have held high social status and housed many members of high society, indeed this play was premiered in the same region of London. This introduces us to the setting of the play without any speech taking place. As dialogue begins between the characters it is obvious from Lane’s subservience, calling Algernon ‘sir’, that he is of lower social status and therefore a servant of Alge’s. To a contemporary audience the inclusion of a servant would not have felt alien as it maybe would to a modern audience viewing Wilde’s work. In fact, many contemporary onlookers would have housed a servant of some kind as a social status indicator. Wilde definitely portrays the rigid class distinctions found within the society of this era and this can also be seen with the inclusion of Miss Prism and Chasuable later in the play.
Marriage is a constant theme in Act One and throughout the play. Within the opening act talk of marriage forms much of the reportee between the characters. Many of the comments made are highly poignant when studying Victorian high society. Jack’s reason for visiting the city is to propose to Gwendolen and on realising this,...