'Importance of Being Ernest' by Oscar Wilde

1. 1
By Gopi Dervaliya
❏ Themes of "Importance of Being Earnest":

2. ● Name : Gopi Dervaliya
● Roll no.09
● Enrollment no. 4069206420220009
● Sem : 1
● Paper Name : Literature of the Victorians
● Paper no. : 104
● Paper Code : 22395
● Submitted to : S. B. Gardi Department of English
● Email : gopidervaliya02@gmail.com
Personal Information

3. 3
● Oscar Wilde was a 19th cent
dramatist, author and Poet.
● He was born on Dublin, Ireland
on October 16,1854.
● Wilde's first successful play, ‘Lady
Windermere's Fan’, was produced
in 1892.
● The following year he wrote
‘Salome’ and ‘The Woman of No
Importance.’
❏About the Author :

4. 4
● These, in turn, were
succeeded by ‘An Ideal
Husband’ and ‘The Importance
Of Being Earnest’ both
produced early in 1895.
● ‘The Importance of Being
Earnest’ is a comedic play
written by Oscar Wilde. It
tells the story of Jack
Worthing. He is the play's
protagonist.

5. Themes
Satire on the
upper Classes
The triviality
of Marriage
Victorian Manners
Importance of Wealth
Importance
Of Indentity

6. 6
❏ Satire on the upper Classes:
● The dramatist targeted Upper Victorian Class the most.
● He has presented a society, which has lost its values.
● Three major characters of this play belong to the upper
middle class.
● Lady Bracknell, Algernon, and Gwendoline are the
remaining characters.
● She focuses on personal benefits.
● Apparently, she is a sober and respectable lady but deep
down the audience knows that she is foolish, arrogant and

7. 7
❏ The triviality of Marriage:
● From the very beginning of the play, we realize that
marriage has no importance in the society, which has been
presented by the dramatist.
● Lady Bracknell has a list of wealthy persons and she is
going to interview them one by one in order to choose a
life partner for Gwendoline.
● This act of Lady Bracknell shows that marriage is just a
contract instead of a serious love relationship.
● Likewise, Gwendoline and Cecily want to marry a person
whose name is "Ernest".

8. 8
● For them, the name "Ernest" is enough to spend a whole
life instead of love.
● Algernon and Jack want to live bachelor life. They do
not support marriage.
● Oscar Wilde instead of focusing on the importance of
marriage has focused on its unimportance in order to
show the thinking of society.
● Wilde's most concrete critique
in the play is of the manipulative desires revolving
around marriage.

9. 9
● Lady Bracknell presents the usual old ladies of the upper
class. Algernon presents young bachelors. Gwendoline
and Cecily are representatives of young ladies.
● In that society: old ladies want money; young men want to
remain bachelors and want to enjoy life without doing any
work; Gwendoline and Cicely are fashion conscious
ladies.
● This play does not depict both sides of Victorian society;
rather, it shows us only the negative side. Perhaps the
dramatist wants to say that positivity does not exist at all.
❏ Victorian Manners:

10. 10
● Wealth, indeed, has its own importance. Lady Bracknell wants
a wealthy son-in-law.
● In the same way, Algernon wants money to survive. Jack is
living a prosperous life because he has wealth.
● He has created an imaginary person "Earnest" and does not
care about earning money.
● Lady Bracknell first rejects Jack but subsequently accepts him
as husband of Gwendoline just after knowing that he is in
possession of a good fortune.
● Thereby, in one way or the other, it is shown that wealth has
much importance in one's life.
❏ Importance of Wealth:

11. 11
❏ Entertainment :
● In this movie male protagonist
Akhil has no money so female
protagonist Sakshi's father refuses
to marry him but when Akhil
comes to know that Pannalal
Johari is his father, who is a
billionaire in Bangkok and after
his death Akhil becomes the
owner of all his properties.
● Seeing this, Sakshi's father
arranges the marriage of both of
them.

12. 12
● Gwendolen's mother disapproves of her engagement to Jack
because of his unknown origins.
● Discovering that Jack was discovered in a handbag in a
cloakroom when he was a baby, she insists that her
daughter will not ''marry a parcel,'' insisting that Jack must
discover who his relatives are before he can marry
Gwendolen.
● This problem is resolved when Lady Bracknell recognizes
Miss Prism, as the maid who lost her sister's baby. Because
it is revealed that his first name has in fact been
Ernest.(Name & Identity in The Importance of Being
Earnest: Theme & Quotes)
❏ Importance of Identity :

13. 13
❏ Conclusion :
● To conclude, Oscar Wilde has focused on reality. He has
presented these themes in "The Importance of Being
Earnest because he wanted to reform his society.
● Oscar Wilde wants them to do something good for the
people. He wants morality in society.
● Algernon and Jack are living double lives.Apparently,
they are pious but in reality, they are wicked.

14. 14
❏ Work Cited :
● Grinstein, Alexander. “OSCAR WILDE.” American Imago,
vol. 37, no. 2, 1980, pp. 125–79. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/26303564. Accessed 17 Oct.
2022.
● Name & Identity in The Importance of Being Earnest:
Theme & Quotes." Study.com, 6 October 2017,
study.com/academy/lesson/name-identity-in-the-
importance-of-being-earnest-theme-quotes.html
● Wayne, Derek. Nolan, Rachel ed. "The Importance of
Being Earnest Themes". GradeSaver, 27 April 2006 Web. 17
October 2022.