Satire and Social Commentary in The Importance of Being Earnest

Introduction: Satire as Social Critique

The vast majority of Oscar Wilde's efforts toward fiction invoke satire, and in this regard, his drama The Importance of Being Earnest is no different. The crux of Wilde's play is that it provides a scathing piece of social commentary regarding the very Victorian society in which he lived—and which was the intended audience for this work. A close reading of the play indicates that the author is attempting to show his audience the error of its ways and that of the Victorian society whose conventions were so important to their modes of behavior.

Hypocrisy and Invented Identities

The type of reaction that the author is attempting to evoke in his audience is one of ridiculousness. Ultimately, through the clever manipulation of comedy and the profound issues that affect virtually all of the characters in this play, Wilde is attempting to expose Victorian society for the folly that it is. Virtually all of the major characters are hypocrites who pretend to be a certain way—to follow social conventions—when they are actually something else.

It is for this reason that both Jack Worthing and Algernon invent fictitious family members so that they can leave the confines of society and act as they please. The same sentiment applies to the female characters, all of whom are superficial (again for the sake of society) and ultimately preoccupied with the falsity that Victorian society supports. By having both Gwendolen and Cecily taken with a man's name and not the man himself—which both women believe inspires confidence—Wilde is demonstrating how artificial the very values upon which Victorian society is based are. He does so in order that the audience will realize this fact and attempt to change those values.

The Artificiality of Victorian Values

It is so that the audience will see how ridiculous the mores upon which their society is built are that Wilde chooses to satirize them. Therefore, he makes every attempt to have the characters as real and relatable to Victorian society as possible. Perhaps one of the best examples of this is Lady Bracknell, who is not so extreme that she invents fictitious relatives to pry her away from society, but who is every bit as false and pretentious as Jack and Algernon pretend to be.

It is clear that Lady Bracknell cares more about an individual's family history—which is perhaps the most representative facet of traditional Victorian society and its values—than the individual himself. That is why she forbids Gwendolen's marriage to Jack, even though her daughter wants to marry him. Yet when a unique series of events reveals that Jack is actually descended from a wealthy, respectable family, she willingly gives her consent for Gwendolen to marry him.

Her situation ethics and the speed at which she changes her mind from abhorring the proposed marriage to condoning it attest to the plastic nature of the Victorian virtues that she and the audience embrace. Wilde wants to satirize these facets of society so that people can see how silly society actually is. Lady Bracknell's sudden reversal of judgment serves as a perfect microcosm of the entire play's satirical project: by exposing the arbitrary nature of social values, Wilde undermines their legitimacy and forces his audience to question the foundations upon which their own society rests.

Conclusion: Satire as a Call for Change

Wilde satirizes the people buying tickets because he was attempting to create social change. He wanted the audience to laugh and see how ridiculous its principles are, see the error of its ways, and ultimately change them.