Essay --

Lockhart1 Taylor Lockhart B4 Thoughtful Laughter in The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest Written, written in 1854, by Oscar Wilde, discusses many social matters occurring in the 19th century. Since The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedy, it â€Å"awakens thoughtful laughter† (George Meredith). This comedic play often awakens thoughtful laughter, or laughter that makes someone ponder more about important issues. One of many of the primary instances of this is created by the ideas of marriage and love is a social device during this era. The characters didn’t fall in love because there was a romantic spark or that they felt a love connection with one another, they fell in love because the people they loved had a specific name, history, physical characteristics or economic status. Gwendolen confesses to Jack, or his confidante Ernest, â€Å"The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you† (10). That quote proved that Gwendolen’s drive to marry â€Å"Ernest† for him having the name Ernest, rather than marrying him for his character. Cecily also confesses something along the same lines as Gwendolen to Algernon, that even though she had never met him before she fell in love with him: â€Å"Well, ever since dear Uncle Jack first confessed to us that he had a younger brother who was very wicked and bad, you of course have formed the chief topic of conversation†¦a man who is much talked about is always very attractive†¦I daresay it was foolish of me, but I fell in love with you, Ernest† (32). She is led to believe that Algernon’s real name is Ernest. Cecily and Gwendolen are attracted to Jack and â€Å"Ernest† because of their histories. Gwendolen wa s excited to find o... ...Lady Bracknell was excited to hear that Cecily has wealth; she almost instantaneously consented to her marriage to Algernon. Wilde uncovers the frivolousness of their proclaimed love by displaying how Lady Bracknell would only consent for Lockhart 3 marriage if the partner came from a wealthy background, instead of falling in love because you actually loved that person. Wilde â€Å"awoke laughter† in The Importance of Being Earnest. Wilde showed rather than falling in love because you actually liked a person, the people of the Victorian Era fell in love solely on minute details such as physical features, a person’s name, or how much wealth they had. The comedy comes into play when Wilde pokes fun at the process of falling in love, because the characters rush falling in love with the right person, the audience compares the character’s reality with the world’s reality.