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Importance Of Being Ernest - Context - Coggle Diagram
Importance Of Being Ernest - Context
Social Issues
Consistent to Wildes doctrine (a belief or set of beliefs, especially those related to religion, politics, or philosophy) of aestheticism (a literary movement used beauty or the experience of beauty to evaluate literary texts)
He would prefer to think that people are capable of speaking something other than nonsense
Main critique is that the play is form without content, and does not deal seriously with any social issues
Introduction
The play makes references to contemporary historical events, which suggest a troubled society underneath the glossiness of the characters that Wilde portrays
A Farce, comedy of manners whose goal is to amuse the audience, rather than making them think
French Revolution
The threat of a revolution like the french revolution constantly hangs over British society
Lady Bracknell is alarmed to hear Bunbury died by explosion 'Exploded! Wad he the victim of a revolutionary outrage? ... He is well punished for his morbidity' - Unease, reflects that of society
'Morbidity does well to describe Wildes characters' attitudes to politics, difficult for them to understand an interest in something that is so far removed from their daily pleasures
Political Issues
Such as the Ireland home rule and being a liberal
Lady B examines Jacks suitability and inquires about his politics 'oh, they count as tories. They dine with us' Act I
Some topics mentioned briefly in the play indicate larger political issues that were the subject of heated debate at the time it was produced
Only affects her social engagements, rather than caring about Ireland
Women And Femininity
The angel in the house: depicted what was the ideal woman should be, pure and sweet domestic goddess
The new woman: Feminist ideal, described the growth in numbers feminist career woman in society, pushed the limits set by a male dominated society.
Separate sphere theory: believes men are from the sphere of work, economy and law, where as women are from the spheres of domestic life, child rearing, housekeeping and religious education, very different and gender roles are natural - anachronistic (Out of date)
Class Conflicts
Higher class have virtuous attitudes, believe they're high ground
Believe lower class should have seen through their errors of their ways
Reform = Keeping current social and economic systems in place
Education
Aesthetic purposes
A way of life, instead of enriching personal goals and values
Not for learning to think, for mindlessly following convention
Secret Lives
Wilde questions whether more serious issues in victorian society are overlooked in favour of appearances and duty
Someone could have an affair but must keep up the air of respectability and duty for it to be alright
Valued duty and repeatability above all else. hence the title 'earnest'
Reflects Wildes own views on politics and society
Victorian social norms were extremely restrictive, people used and constructed secret lives to escape these restrictions
Marriage
Wilde presents marriage as a legal contract between consenting families of similar backgrounds
Family, politics and housing was just as important
Fortune was especially important
Marriage was a careful selection process
Duty was far more important than joy or happiness
Marriage and courtship had its own rules and rituals
The new woman
Threatened conventions about ideas and ideal womanhood
She was free-spirited, independent, educated and uninterested in children and marriage
More opportunities for women
Sexual desire became more relevant
More focus put on the double standards of victorian marriage (women must chaste and men must not, people critiqued it more)
The Aesthetic Movement
Leader in promoting this movement
Not meant to instruct, should not concern itself with social, political or moral guidance
Arts for arts sake
Characterisation of the upper class shows they do and say things just for the sake of political or social reasoning, Wilde was against this
Mocked the upper class
Dandy
The dandy symbolises self-indulgence as well as the revelation of truth
Wilde used his wit and charm to point out societies hypocrisy and double standards
Threatened the acceptance view of masculinity and only sought pleasure
A man who payed a lot of attention to his appearance, dress and lifestyle to the point of excess
The absence of compassion
Everyone was too worried about their own lives to worry about others
Wilde is presenting social class that only thinks of itself with no compassion for the misfortune
Showed very little compassion at illness and death
Passion and Morality
Victorians had to shows morality in all of their actions
Wildes characters allude to another life beneath the surface of Victorian morality
Eating and writing in diaries were acceptable venues for passion
Various chacrters in the play allude to passion, sex and moral looseness
Gender
The Victorian era developed the idea of 'separate spheres'
Men dominated the public sphere of work and politics
Women stayed in the private sphere of the home where they did domestic chores and looked after children
Women were not usually well educated as that was the 'mans world'
Some believed education would damage a woman's reproductive organs
'Angel of the house' poem Women were supposed to be obedient to their husbands and bring up children, as stated in the poem
The upper class
Perpetuates the gulf between the upper, middle and lower classes
Aristocratic attitudes further preserved these attitudes
Members of the same class marry one another
French Revolution shows what would happen if the lower class questions their 'betters'
Strict Victorian class system
Finally
However, Wildes referenced to the crucial issues of his time are usually overshadowed by his characters own petty concerns
Unfair to suggest TIOBE is shallow, universal farce which has no ties to the historical context in which is was created