The Importance of Being Earnest: Setting 1 key example

The Victorian era saw the rise of several nonconformist religious movements that campaigned for higher moral standards. The Importance of Being Earnest satirizes this religious trend through characters like Algernon and Miss Prism, who show great disdain for the moral character of others, and Dr. Chasuble, who balks at the practices of radical nonconformist Christian sects like the Anabaptists.

The late Victorian period was also a time of political and social upheaval. The British aristocracy was beginning to cede power to a rising middle class, and a general unease regarding social unrest was pervasive among members of the gentry. Even many decades after the end of the French Revolution, the threat of a working-class uprising loomed over British society. In 1886, intense riots occurred in Belfast over the defeat of a bill supporting self-government for Ireland, and in 1887, working-class protesters in Trafalgar Square clashed with members of the Metropolitan Police and the British Army.

In The Importance of Being Earnest, this upper class anxiety is epitomized in the character of Lady Bracknell, whose main goal throughout the play is to preserve her family's elite status. She is pleased when Jack explains that he is a Liberal Unionist, since this means he is opposed to Irish home rule, but she is skeptical because he is not a member of the aristocracy.

The Victorians also believed in the notion of "separate spheres" for men and women, which held that women should leave public affairs to the men and concern themselves with more domestic responsibilities. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde inverts this notion—female characters dominate in the social sphere, while men like Lord Bracknell are relegated to the home.

The play's physical locations are also significant. The first act takes place in Algernon's "luxuriously and artistically furnished" flat in Westminster, London, a setting that reflects Algernon's hedonistic, dandy lifestyle and highlights his family's social importance—Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and 10 Downing Street are all located in Westminster. The second and third act, by contrast, take place at Jack's "old-fashioned" manor in Hertfordshire, which is populated by elderly, prudish individuals like Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble. 

Jack succinctly sums up the difference between town and country in Act 1, Part 1:

Jack: When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses others.

Cite this Quote

Several other characters comment on the difference between these two settings. Lady Bracknell states that land is neither "a profit or a pleasure" while conceding that Jack's country estate does provide him a position. Gwendolen views Cecily, who lives in the country, as an unsophisticated rube, while Cecily considers Gwendolen, who lives in the city, to be vulgar and snobbish.

By juxtaposing these apparently opposite settings, Wilde makes the argument that they are essentially the same: the characters flirt, attend tea service, and lead double lives in the country just as well as they do in town. Wilde also shows how both settings are inherently paradoxical. Jack's country estate gives him a position in society, but it also saddles him with legal and economic obligations. Algernon's flat is tasteful and indulgent, but he must contend with dull social engagements and endless bills while in London. Jack leaves the country and goes to town to pursue pleasure, while Algernon leaves town and goes to the country to do the same.

The Victorian era saw the rise of several nonconformist religious movements that campaigned for higher moral standards. The Importance of Being Earnest satirizes this religious trend through characters like Algernon and Miss Prism, who show great disdain for the moral character of others, and Dr. Chasuble, who balks at the practices of radical nonconformist Christian sects like the Anabaptists.

The late Victorian period was also a time of political and social upheaval. The British aristocracy was beginning to cede power to a rising middle class, and a general unease regarding social unrest was pervasive among members of the gentry. Even many decades after the end of the French Revolution, the threat of a working-class uprising loomed over British society. In 1886, intense riots occurred in Belfast over the defeat of a bill supporting self-government for Ireland, and in 1887, working-class protesters in Trafalgar Square clashed with members of the Metropolitan Police and the British Army.

In The Importance of Being Earnest, this upper class anxiety is epitomized in the character of Lady Bracknell, whose main goal throughout the play is to preserve her family's elite status. She is pleased when Jack explains that he is a Liberal Unionist, since this means he is opposed to Irish home rule, but she is skeptical because he is not a member of the aristocracy.

The Victorians also believed in the notion of "separate spheres" for men and women, which held that women should leave public affairs to the men and concern themselves with more domestic responsibilities. In The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde inverts this notion—female characters dominate in the social sphere, while men like Lord Bracknell are relegated to the home.

The play's physical locations are also significant. The first act takes place in Algernon's "luxuriously and artistically furnished" flat in Westminster, London, a setting that reflects Algernon's hedonistic, dandy lifestyle and highlights his family's social importance—Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and 10 Downing Street are all located in Westminster. The second and third act, by contrast, take place at Jack's "old-fashioned" manor in Hertfordshire, which is populated by elderly, prudish individuals like Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble. 

Jack succinctly sums up the difference between town and country in Act 1, Part 1:

Jack: When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses others.

Cite this Quote

Several other characters comment on the difference between these two settings. Lady Bracknell states that land is neither "a profit or a pleasure" while conceding that Jack's country estate does provide him a position. Gwendolen views Cecily, who lives in the country, as an unsophisticated rube, while Cecily considers Gwendolen, who lives in the city, to be vulgar and snobbish.

By juxtaposing these apparently opposite settings, Wilde makes the argument that they are essentially the same: the characters flirt, attend tea service, and lead double lives in the country just as well as they do in town. Wilde also shows how both settings are inherently paradoxical. Jack's country estate gives him a position in society, but it also saddles him with legal and economic obligations. Algernon's flat is tasteful and indulgent, but he must contend with dull social engagements and endless bills while in London. Jack leaves the country and goes to town to pursue pleasure, while Algernon leaves town and goes to the country to do the same.