I remember having to read The Importance of Being Ernest in high school, and I was genuinely surprised with how much I enjoyed it, and still do. This play explores the taboo of living a “double life,” either real or fictitious, the latter being case for Oscar Wilde’s protagonist of the play, Jack Worthing, who lives a double life as his alibi, Ernest. Jack represents his “proper, mature” side, while Ernest represents his “free, flamboyant” side. While the play’s biggest message comes from its last line as a pun from Jack, “I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Ernest” (Wilde), being that it is important that one is not only truthful, but completely themselves, I’ve come to question as to why Wilde deemed this message important enough to write an entire play about. After a little digging, I learned from the Encyclopedia Britannica that some periodicals referred to Wilde’s approach to literature as “unmasculine” (Beckson), and gender roles were radically socially reinforced during Wilde’s time, and the reigns have only loosened a bit nowadays. It’s difficult to imagine what such labelling does to someone, especially with gender roles breathing down the necks of Victorian age denizens, and I’m sure such comments have caused Wilde to reflect on identity, and shaped some of his writing. The Victorian Era was not particularly kind toward homosexuals either, as, according to The Atlantic, “sex between men was a criminal offense” (Cohen). I like to think of Oscar Wilde’s play as a message of strength to others faced by any form of discrimination, and wishing themselves living a different life—like Wilde likely did, since his play circled the idea of double lives and duality—and wanted to remind his readers that nothing is more important than staying true to oneself.
Cited Sites: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Wilde https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/before-straight-and-gay/513812/
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5/24/2020 06:50:28 am
Julia,
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