Classic Literature Considered
Wilde, 1686-1687; The Importance of Being Earnest, 1698; Gilbert, 1534; “When I, Good Friends…” 1534; “If You’re Anxious…”, 1535
1. This play starts out in Act 1, Scene 1 with that notion— “Jack. …When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects. It’s one’s duty to do so. And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness, in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest, who lives in the Albany, and gets into the most dreadful scrapes. That, my dear Algy, is the whole truth pure and simple.” Jack (Ernest) is lying to protect those around him, so by being untruthful, he is being moral.
Further on, in Act 2, Jack is advised by Lady Bracknell, “I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible, and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over.” This is a ridiculous request that relies only on superficiality and façade. One truly cannot choose one’s parents, but Jack needs to improve his social standing.
2. This play has multiple moments wherein marriage is contemplated, valued, criticized, lauded, etc. This happens from the bachelor’s point of view, from the established guardians’ view, and even from the servants’ view. My favorite scene is in Act 2, Part 2, with the dialogue, “Algernon. Oh, I don’t care about Jack. I don’t care for anybody in the whole world but you. I love you, Cecily. You will marry me, won’t you? Cecily. You silly boy! Of course. Why, we have been engaged for the last three months. Algernon. For the last three months? Cecily. Yes, it will be exactly three months on Thursday. Algernon. But how did we become engaged?” I find this very charming even though Cecily is slightly daft, but love makes everyone “twitterpated” doesn’t it?...=)
3. I think the statement in Act I, Scene 1 that goes, “Algernon. I really don’t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I’ll certainly try to forget the fact” says a lot about the notion of romantic love in English culture. We read of this in Lord Byron’s and Keat’s poetry about mysterious women and the allure they have. Marriage, in the Victorian Age, was normally a matter of reason, political alliance, and economic betterment. Wilde suggests (ironic considering his name) that true love is natural, undialogued, and liberal.
4. I love the character of Lane who plays the part of the “stupid, uncaring servant,” but Lane knows what is going on in high society and carefully mocks it when he plays along in the rich man’s game—“Algernon. Why is it that at a bachelor’s establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne? I ask merely for information. Lane. I attribute it to the superior quality of the wine, sir. I have often observed that in married households the champagne is rarely of a first-rate brand.” Wilde is definitely critiquing the differences between the classes and the fantasy of the rich being more moral than the poor.
5. I really enjoyed the witty banter and quick retorts. It reminds me of Archie Goodwin in the Nero Wolfe novels who always had a snappy comeback to a stupid statement or comment. Of course, Wilde probably spent hours and hours figuring out the clever responses of his characters; nevertheless, it is pleasant to dream that we readers can do the same. For example, in Act 2, Part 2, the dialogue goes, “Miss Prism. Memory, my dear Cecily, is the diary that we all carry about with us. Cecily. Yes, but it usually chronicles the things that have never happened, and couldn’t possibly have happened.” I love it—a sarcastic, cynical swipe at an overused platitude, which was/is common in high society, no doubt.