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