The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Algernon is not having a dual identity pretending to be bad and good at the same time ( Being Earnest ' 2007 .The quick shift in the dialogues is also another Wildean gem . This is best exemplified in the scene where Gwendolyn asks Cecily whether they should forgive Jack and Algernon after finding out that they lied to them , Yes . I mean no ' was Cecily 's reply ( Being Earnest ' 2007

But of all the characters in the play , Lady Bracknell is perhaps the most comical . When Jack said that he was found in a handbag as

an infant , Lady Bracknell dismisses him , saying that the line is immaterial (Being Earnest ' 2007 . That line is not immaterial but for Lady Bracknell 's character , a Victorian lady who emphasizes social class and all , being found in a handbag is irrelevant . It implies how she thinks of Jack , as an unimportant person . Another Lady Bracknell quote that is remarkable is when she informs Jack that losing one parent is bad luck but losing both is reckless

The play also shows Victorian living of the aristocrats at night- theaters , restaurants and ballets . This is even a line where Algernon expresses his dilemma of doing nothing ( Being Earnest ' 2007 . Again this insinuates the trivial lives of the aristocrats

Dual identity is also another theme expressed in the play . In the play both Algernon and Jack lead such lives , either to protect their identity or to avoid challenging situations . Algernon 's Bunbury ' is also something . Wilde is a known homosexual and while neither Algernon nor Jack is gay , there is a tinge of homosexuality in the scene where Algernon said that nothing will make him want to give up Bunbury ( Being Earnest ' 2007 . He even suggests that a married man is in dire need of a Bunbury . Again...