I have a confession to make,
readers. With holidays and sickness and a bout of winter laziness, working on a
book review did not score high on my list of priorities and eventually fell by
the wayside. If you are at all familiar with The Importance of Being Earnest[1],
you probably think I’m cheating. Honestly, I am cheating because I could not let
myself do nothing for this month. So instead of a full-length novel, you are
getting a theatrical production. That does not mean that Earnest isn’t
worth the read. This work by Oscar Wilde is a comedic classic and has long been
one of my favorites.
Earnest was first presented
in London in 1895 on Valentine's day. I wouldn't really suggest taking your
sweetheart to this one though because the characters' ideas on romance and
marriage are highly questionable. The main character is the bachelor, Mr. John
Worthing, who has an inconsistent relationship with the truth. This failure to
adhere to honesty causes him a great deal of trouble when he decides it is time
to get married. What follows is witty repartee and a hilariously tangled chain
of events that teach Jack an unforgettable lesson about always being earnest.
Oscar Wilde is one of those authors
that I have a hard time liking. He goes on the same list as Jack London and
Ernest Hemingway for me. Most of his works that I have read were plain not for
me, but Earnest is an exception. Because of Wilde’s stellar humor spread
throughout the play, I keep returning and still laugh even though I've read the
jokes countless times. Whether it’s a play on words or a jab at the government,
Wilde does have a knack for finding the right amount of humor in each moment.
Even though society is not the same – and there's the pesky detail of the play
being located across the Atlantic – the humor is still there and still packs
just as powerful of a punch because it transcends time and place.
A large part of the humor and what
makes this play great are the characters. The ladies of Earnest are fickle and
have absurd notions of what constitutes a good husband. Lady Bracknell won me
over the moment she started in her ridiculous interrogation to decide if Mr.
Worthing would be suitable enough for her daughter Gwendolyn. Starting with her
comments about smoking being an occupation and ending with her emphatic
assertion that Gwendolyn could not marry into a coat-closet, Lady Bracknell
personifies the more questionable aspects of the Victorian era. Her social
commentary about the shallowness of society matrons, the lack of proper
education, and disgust over even the slightest hint of "French
morals" ring very true for the era. For all the good and wholesomeness of
the era, it also produced its share of hallow ideals and masked problems. Just
the same, there are few ladies so formidable that they can easily decide to
change what’s fashionable.
Then there is Miss Gwendolyn Fairfax
and Miss Cecily Cardew. Both ladies have plenty to say without really saying
anything. They both personify fickleness in that they are both always right and
never wrong in everything they say. Miss Fairfax just knew she would be friends
with Miss Cardew and the next instant always knew that Miss Cardew couldn’t be
trusted. Similarly, Miss Cardew regularly contradicts herself and changes her
opinions as they suite her each moment.
The two main gentlemen of the play,
Mr. John Worthing and Mr. Algernon Moncrieff, each have their interesting
qualities and character flaws. The most notable thing about Mr. Moncrieff is
that when he’s not eating, he actually has more substance to him than one might
think. The things he says are on the surface, outrageous and jaded. But if one
takes the time to think about it, they have a grain of truth in them. Algy
might actually understand the world much better than anyone realizes. Jack has
his issues with life and society. He takes the wrong things too seriously and
gets himself worked up over details that really shouldn't matter. Because of
their opposing personalities, Algy and Jack's conversations hold some of the
best jokes and most biting sarcasm.
The truth, unfortunately, is the elusive piece
throughout the play. Mr. Worthing has built an entire web of lies to make life
easier for himself. When he decides to correct the matter by getting rid of the
lies in one fell swoop, they all come back to haunt him. When finally faced
with actual truth, Mr. Worthing's lies take on a whole new image that he never
expected them to. Mr. Moncrieff’s series of lies is also a problem and when
combined with Mr. Worthing's, they create a perfect storm.
While I agree with Wilde in his social
commentary throughout the play, I have always questioned his treatment of the
truth. There is something about the idea that the lies were truth and the truth
was a lie that bothers me. It almost feels like Mr. Worthing gets off a little
too easy after lying to everyone for so many years. On the other hand, it seems
deserved. It’s not like Mr. Moncrieff or Miss Fairfax are saints. When one
really thinks about it, no one in the play takes the truth very serious. I
believe that the play is showing that honesty is better, but I’m not sure it
does it in a very convincing matter.
I suggest you either watch or read this fantastic play and tell me what you think of the ending. Did you see it coming? What do you think of Oscar Wilde's handling of the truth? No matter how one feels about the moral implications of the story, all must agree that the humor transcends the years making this play just as biting and hilarious now well over one hundred years later.
[1] Oscar
Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/844,
Accessed January 27, 2020.
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