By Oscar Wilde. Named after Queen Victoria of England Movement ran from mid-1830’s to 1901. Marked the height of Industrial Revolution in America. Victorians.

by Oscar Wilde

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

Named after Queen Victoria of England

Movement ran from mid-1830’s to 1901.

Marked the height of Industrial Revolution in

America.Victorians wanted

tradition, ritual, and regularity

Synonym for “prude”; extreme repression…..even

furniture legs had to be concealed under heavy cloth

not to be “suggestive”

VICTORIAN PERIOD (1833-

1901)

Public self and private self were separate

Public life may adhere to routine while the privately one may make a habit of “going

underground”….to London’s Red Light District.

Victorians saw themselves as progressing morally and intellectually.

Powerful middle class obsessed with “gentility,

decorum”=“prudery/Victorianism”

APPEARANCES WERE EVERYTHING!

Derived from old French verb

estiquer, which means “to attach.”

Rules of social interaction were defined and one adhered to them

because it showed class and proper

upbringing.

ETIQUETTE

RULES FOR DINNER

There should always be an equal number of women and men at the table.

Otherwise, your table would be “put out.”Guests should be spaced two feet apart when

seated at the table.This ensured no inappropriate contact between

guests.Loud talkers should be near the center of the

table so everyone can hear them.

RULES FOR TEA

Very important and expensive commodityIt was reserved for only very important

guests!Light refreshments should always be

served.Tea biscuits, muffins, cake,

thin slices of bread and butter, or chocolate ice cream.

Sugar was expensive.It was kept locked up with the tea.

Women wore the key to the tea cabinets on their belts.

RULES FOR CALLING CARDS

Calling cards were used to announce your presence.

You would announce your arrival or departure to specific families.

Usually delivered by a footman to the butler.

It was delivered on a special tray to the person or left on the mantle.

Ladies of the house were required to return the call of their visitors.

Either in person or by letter.

A proper call generally lasted only 15 minutes.

Women could acknowledge the advances of their suitors by returning their cards to them.

If she kept it that meant “she’s just not that into you!”

RULES FOR THE BALLROOM

A lady or gentleman should finish their toilet before entering the room for dancing.

It is indecent to be pulling on your gloves or brushing your hair when re-entering the room.

If you do not know the steps to the dance, it is proper to refuse the request of the gentleman.This keeps people from bumping into each other or

stepping on each other’s toes!A lady should not attend a public ball without an

escort, promenade the room alone; in fact, no lady should be left unattended.

If you see a group of friends across the room, ask your escort to walk you across the room in order to speak

with them!

Never addressed a gentlemen without introduction.

Never walked alone, but with a preferably older, married chaperone.

Did not call on an unmarried gentleman at his home.

No impure conversations!

Men were only received at woman’s home when a family member was present.

Intelligence or interest in politics were not encouraged.

When crossing the street, must raise dress a bit above ankle while holding dress in right hand.

Could not wear a dress that showed her legs.

RULES FOR WOMEN

As a guest in a home, women had to be introduced every time they entered a room

with men. If they left the room, they must be re-introduced!

Women flirted with men using their fans.There was a secret code between young people.Women did not approach men they did not know unless they were introduced either by

another friend or a mutual friend.If a man approached a women, she would respond

with a slight nod of the head.

RULES FOR WOMEN

RULES FOR ENGAGEMENT

Courting would last from 6 months to 2 years before actual marriage.

Families analyzed genealogy, bank accounts, and political connections before considering engagement.

Just to make sure that they were marrying into the right kind of people.

Proposals were generally made in person using clear, distinct language, so the woman would not

misunderstand.

She didn’t have to accept the first time either; she could play coy!

After engagement, couples were allowed to hold hands and take carriage rides with each other, but at

nightfall they must be separated.

If the woman did not follow all the rules, the engagement could be broken and she would be labeled as a spinster and

remain unmarried for the rest of her life!

Illegal to marry a deceased wife’s sister.Encouraged only in same social class.

Man had to prove he could provide a future.Woman had to have a dowry.

Marriage was considered a business deal instead of a romantic endeavor.

If marriage is broken, it should be done by letter! All presents and letters given should accompany

the letter.

MARRIAGE

Picks the teeth nor scratches the head.Swears or talks uproariously.

Picks his nose!Smokes/Spits upon the walk.

Stares at anyone in a marked manner.Dresses in an odd or singular manner, so as

to create remark.Fails to raise his hat politely to a lady

acquaintance, to a male friend walking with a lady.

A GENTLEMAN NEVER……IN PUBLIC

Be rude or dress to attract attention.Allow her skirts to drag upon the walk to

annoyance of other pedestrians. Look back at anyone who passed her.

Eye another lady’s dressMake the street a place of meeting…..can

receive person in home. Offer her hand when introduced to a man, merely

bow politely

A WOMAN WOULD NEVER…

Criticizes Victorian society in The

Importance of Being Earnest (IOBE)-most

famous comedy.

Shows how shallow and hypocritical

society is.

Believed in “aesthetism”:

movement that embraces art for the sake of beauty and

beauty alone.

OSCAR WILDE (1854-1900)

Born in Dublin, IrelandMother and father were morally

questionable.Mother was revolutionary and brilliant

writer.Had a younger sister that died.

Kept her picture and a lock of her hair around his neck.

Lived majority of life in LondonExcelled in classical literature

WILDE

WILDE

Published first set of poems, Poems, in 1881.

Lectured in America in 1881.

Originally scheduled for 120 days but he liked it so much he stayed for 260.

Met with Walt Whitman and Henry Longfellow.

WILDE

Married Constance Lloyd in 1884Oscar was 30, Constance was 26.

Published The Picture of Dorian GrayIt was his only novel and his most successful piece

of work.

Sent to prison for gross indecency. He was sentenced to two years of hard labor.

Last few years of his left were spent wandering around Europe.

Died from Meningitis in 1900 in Paris. This was brought on from an ear infection.

KEY FACTS

themes · The nature of marriage; the constraints of morality; hypocrisy vs. inventiveness; the importance of not being “earnest”

motifs · Puns; inversion; death; the dandy

symbols · The double life; food; fiction and writing

EPIGRAMS

Epigrams are a concise, clever, often paradoxical statement, discourse, or

expression.

Wilde uses these frequently in the play.

“I love acting, it’s so much more real than life.” “Friendship is far more tragic than love. It lasts

longer.” “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys

them so much.” “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are

looking at the stars.”

John( Jack/Ernest) Worthing-the play’s protagonist. Jack is a seemingly responsible and respectable young man who leads a double life. In Hertfordshire, where

he has a country estate, Jack is known as Jack. In London, Jack is known as Ernest.

Algernon Moncrief- the play’s secondary hero. He is charming, idle, decorative bachelor who is nephew of Lady Bracknell, cousin to Gwendolen, and best friend

of Jack Worthing, whom he has known for years as Ernest.

CHARACTERS

Gwendolen Fairfax-Algernon’s cousin and Lady Bracknell’s daughter who is in love with

Jack, who she knows as Ernest.

Cecily Cardew-Jack’s ward, the granddaughter of the man who found Jack and adopted him. Like Gwendolen, she is obsessed with the name Ernest, but she is

even more intrigued by the idea of wickedness.

CHARACTERS