Lady Bracknell the Importance Being Earnest Oscar

¶ … Lady Bracknell "The Importance Being Earnest" Oscar Wilde title ' make laugh make mad?"

Oscar Wilde wrote an amazing piece of satire of Victorian times, placing his characters at the intersection between social normality and personal normality. As some of the most important characters of "The Importance of Being Earnest" have a double life, he goes deep into societal norms and presents a world where individuals take the freedom to be themselves.

The play rotates around the issue of marriage and the fact that in Victorian times, for the upper class, these were made in the ways of interest. The important issues were not love, matching or personal chemistry, but nobility -- coming from origins and parents, and money.

The action starts when Algernon Moncrieff receives the visit of his good friend Ernest Worthing, coming there to propose into marriage Algernon's cousin, Gwendolen. As a condition of acceptance, Algernon wants to know who Cecily is, as he finds an inscription in Ernest's cigarette case. The two gentlemen admit in the end of their discussion that they each have a double life that offers them the possibility to exist out of the norms of their society. Ernest's real name is Jack and he offers himself a libertine life in the city. On the other hand, Algernon invents a friend in the countryside whom he can visit in order to escape society when he needs.

This is the moment when Lady Bracknell enters the play. She represents the symbol of Victorian ethics and norms and she will not allow for a marriage between her daughter Gwendolen and Ernest as she sees him unfit for her. Victorian society was a closed and rigid world where women like Lady Bracknell represented the models of normality. Contrary to modern perceptions on values, her marriage plans for her daughter were based on how well off such a marriage could get her daughter. Lady Bracknell is the keeper of traditions, rules and ethics and creates a world around her where people respect her, but most likely obey her.

As her daughter rushes to the countryside to find Ernest-Jack, Lady Bracknell goes to find her, as her stance on the marriage has not changed. Ernest's social status make him an unsuccessful candidate for Gwendolen and nothing can make that different. When she arrives at Manor House, where her Algernon, Cecily, Ernest and Gwendolen are, she find a dilemma. His nephew wants to marry Ernest's protege, Cecily, and this can only happen if Lady Bracknell approves of her daughter's marriage. Any doubts about this disappear when Miss Prism, Cecily's governess, meets the Lady. They discover that Ernest-Jack is actually Algernon long lost elder brother, and in this position eligible to marry Gwendolen.

Altought the end seems happy for everyone; it could be seen as a very sad one, from a modern perspective. Social norms, incorporated in Lady Bracknell, prevailed over individualism. All marriages would not have been possible without her consent, and this came only after all conditions were met. As a symbol in the play, the Lady is the only one without a partner. She represents actually the Victorian society and her existence could also be seen as some sort of social conscience for the Algernon and Ernest.