Importancce Of Being Earnesr Essay, Research Paper
Marxist Criticism on “The Importance of Being Earnest”
“Excuse me Geoffrey, could you get me some more water. I’m
terribly thirsty, and the weather out here isn’t doing any good for my
complexion.” declares the man as he sighs in exhaustion.
“Right away sir, anything else?” proclaims the servant.
“No that will be all.” says the man as he waves off the servant.
So is this the scene of yesteryear’s society or one of today’s,
well in actuality it can be either. In today’s world the rich still rely
on butlers and maids. It seems to be a practice that will always exist in
this world, but the question largely is not on their jobs, but if they are
deemed of a different class, and sadly to say yes. In today’s world it
seems that class is still a huge part of the world order, and moreover it
seems that there will always be the rich and poor, the owner and the worker.
This is even demonstrated by the literature of our time and that of other
era’s, such as the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde.
In this play Wilde display’s the class structure with a different and
interesting twist. He makes a reflection on the society with his own sense
of humor, but however it still leaves a very good opportunity to make a
Marxist critique about the way the class structure influences the play. He
leaves room for these critiques when he writes about the servants, the
nobles, and the middle class. His view on society and class is very
evident on the way the servants are portrayed.
“?I don’t know that I am much interested in your family life,
Lane’”
“?No sir; it’s not a very interesting subject. I never think of it
myself.’”
In this passage from the play it is very clear that Wilde likes to
give his characters some life, but however it seemed that he was giving the
servants a bit too much, but nevertheless it does establish very well the
position of those servants. In the society Wilde is presenting it seems
that the place of the servant was not only for manual labor, but also to
provide conversation, and to compliment the employer’s personalities. In
the story the idea of class was demonstrated by the interaction between
Lane and Algernon even though Lane was witty he did know his place as a
servant and throughout the play the servants were an excellent reminder
that class structure did exist. Wilde’s idea of a witty servant has even
spawned off into today’s society with television sitcoms such as “The Fresh
Prince of Bel- Air” and “The Nanny”. In these shows the class structure is
inherent, but the gap between master and servant is smaller. That is one
of the things that Wilde seemed to make apparent, one can have servants,
but the gap between doesn’t have to be that large. There can be class
structure in the world, but the need for class discrimination doesn’t need
to be there, and another interesting critique can be made of the nobles of
that time.
In the Victorian period, and today’s nobles exist. These are
people who are of noble birth right and is only passed on from generation
to generation. It is a well respected position, but the difference between
the nobles of today’s day and the older ones is the power that they have.
In today’s time the nobles have little power only respect, but in the
Victorian period the power was starting to diminish but it still existed.
The characters in the play who were of noble birth did indeed know how to
use that power.
Well when one makes a Marxist criticism it can’t be solely based on
the story’s view of the servants, but however one needs to also look at the
way the nobility are viewed. In Oscar Wilde’s play he seems to make almost
a mockery of the nobility. When one sees the way the nobles are portrayed
one will think this is a sarcasm on the nobles, but however if one examines
it closer he/she may realize this is closer to the truth than previous
accounts of the nobles. In the play Oscar Wilde does not hold back in
fears he would offend anyone he wrote a play to entertain, but he also did
an excellent job on reflecting how the nobles are. Firstly he displays the
character of Algernon, who is, quite frankly, a languid in debt young man,
but nevertheless he is still a noble. With this character Wilde show’s the
reader that all nobles aren’t perfect and can be more flawed than the
average person, and portrayed was the fact that the rich and noble
sometimes seem to abuse that position and end up in a deeper hole than most
others. Then there is his Aunt Augusta, who is a very powerful character.
Aunt Augusta in her own rights is the dominant persona in the play. She
holds the cards and plays them at her own discretion. Her character
reveals to the audience that in nobility there isn’t just the man who
controls things, but in many cases it is the female. She takes over the
role of leader and makes for an interesting view on the female aspect of
nobility, but however there is another aspect to female nobility, and that
is inherent in Gwendolyn. She possesses all the attributes of, plain and
simply, a snob. She has the beauty, the upbringing and the turned up nose
of a noble. She symbolizes a part of nobility that most people will not
talk about, but however Wilde does talk and better yet he reveals all of
the little quirks of the noble class. In Gwendolyn is the part of the
class where, nobility has turned from respect and prestige and into vanity.
She has abused the prestige she has and turned into a vain quest to be
looked upon and desired. It seems that the Victorian class had little
class in the nobles, but however there is one last class to look at.
In the Victorian era a new class was being born that integrated the
two distinct upper class and lower class, that class was the Bourgeoisie,
or the middle class. Wilde put this new class into his play with grand
success. They were a class of business men and investors, and from that
spurned the character Jack. Jack was the character who not only symbolized
the middle class, but he also carried the turmoil of, “What class do I
belong to?” He was from a lower class community, but had worked his way up
to infringing on noble status. He wanted to marry a noble but at the same
time he wanted to keep his roots, this is excellent symbolism for actual
class struggle, and when one views this from a Marxist viewpoint, then this
is a grand criticism to be made, because throughout the whole play Jack
ponders this question, and its symbolism is too great to be missed. The
entire play is a reflection upon class struggle. However his struggle was
not as difficult as he had assumed because in the end he discovers, he is
of noble birth, s thus leaving him with an easier decision, and moreover
this is another support for the nobility taking the easy way out, and not
striving to accomplish they’re goals with arduous work. All in all the
classes presented in this book lent itself to a Marxist criticism.
In the play “The Importance of Being Earnest” were many facets that
could have been criticized by numerous viewpoint’s, but however the most
thorough would be that of the Marxist view because it allows the reader to
take a step back and see the play for all it is, and it is true that the
play’s main plot line is that of s relationship between a man and woman,
but however the underlying real issue is that of their class and society.
The play makes a great example for a Marxist criticism on the effect of
classes on literature. Wilde’s own wit and intellect make for an
excellent view of the classes of the previous era. It is a work that will
be a not only viewed as a comedic triumph, but also as a social one as well