Wilde characterized Jack Worthing, the chief supporter in this drama, as an edgy and serious individual who would n’t mock or stain the nature of civility or the justnesss of Victorian high society, therefore making a facade typical of a Victorian gentleman. This initial word picture of Jack seems to be more suited in a play or calamity, but Wilde gives to Jack the foible of being found in a pocketbook by coincidence in the cloakroom at Victoria Station, therefore non cognizing who or what the social standings of his existent parents. Wilde did this to expose the Victorian canon stressing normalcy every bit good as to roast the manner in which the Victorian elite frowned upon that which, “ seems to expose a disdain for the ordinary decencies of household lifeaˆ¦ ( Lady Bracknell, Act I, pg. 134 ) . ” Despite the quandary that Wilde leaves Jack in, Wilde uses this circumstance of Jack ‘s forsaking at the Station to typify Jack ‘s potentially fatal position throughout the drama, every bit good as to repeat the antonym of Wilde ‘s old purpose ; the latent upward mobility of his societal category. As would be expected nevertheless, Lady Bracknell looks upon Jack ‘s quandary with sick grace and advises Jack to larn from whom he was borne, lest he ne’er acquire the opportunity to go a possible suer for Gwendolen. Wilde uses everything in the drama to his advantage ; the pocketbook is used to stand for the societal ambiguity of Jack ‘s societal position, for this bag possessed all the hallmarks of normality, and even is described in all its wrinkly and dishevelled glorification:
“ aˆ¦here is the hurt it received through the upsetting of a Gower Street omnibusaˆ¦ Here is the discoloration on the liner caused by the detonation of a moderation beverageaˆ¦ And here, on the lock, are my initialsaˆ¦ ( Ms. Prism, Act III, pg 187 ) ”
This banal bag is now revealed to the audience as a container of a kid of blue birth and that this common handbag/baby container had been discovered in a cloakroom is no happenstance either, for cloaks have the possible to be worn when one is trying to hide their individuality or signifier from another individual. Consequently, Wilde uses the location of the Victoria Station to typify the divide that separates the lower and in-between categories from the upper category and the nobility. The ground that Wilde had Jack found in the cloakroom of the Brighton Line was because, historically, the western path of Victoria Station led to the wealthier parts of London and this included the Brighton Line, instead than the path that led to the E, to topographic points like Chatham and Dover, which historically were known for their poorness. Wilde uses this intersection as a transparent effort to do the audience ask the unmistakable inquiry about the societal standing of Jack, who had until late acted under the nickname of Ernest Worthing, a Victorian elite, while in London so that he could court the love of his life, the just Gwendolen Fairfax. The inquiry about the legitimacy of his high category birth nevertheless, can be answered in merely one manner ; Jack had evidently come from an blue name for he was found in the cloakroom of the Brighton Line at the Victoria Station, which Wilde uses to bode to the audience the regality of Jack ‘s birth and the inevitableness of Jack ‘s battle to Gwendolen.
Throughout the entireness of the drama, Wilde is continuously holding his characters stating half-truths and or contradictions to what they had antecedently said, so that anything that was said efficaciously was a prevarication. In fact, the huge bulk of the drama is a pretence upon an untruth interior of a falsity. These prevarications, for the most portion, were created by Wilde ‘s character so that they could short-circuit societal and familial duties, and alternatively, prosecute in more gratifying activities. From the luxuriant fictions that Wilde is making, one can clearly see Wilde ‘s purpose ; that honestness was n’t held in really high respect and that for many of the characters, “ it is really painfulaˆ¦ to be forced to talk the truth ( Jack, Act II, pg. 169 ) . ” The viewing audiences can see, nevertheless, that it is difficult for Wilde ‘s characters to maintain the prevarications they have been stating afloat. Wilde continuously is weaving more and more prevarications and prevarications within prevarications that it becomes of all time more hard for his character usage these prevarications to get away from the bonds of the responsibilities of Victorian high society and, finally from their old prevarications. The most obvious and greatest illustration of the fraudulence practiced by Wilde ‘s characters was the invented people created by Jack and Algernon, Jack ‘s brother Ernest and Algernon ‘s aged, invalid friend Bunbury. In the instance of Jack, he is being double deceitful, for his character Ernest is anything but earnest, non to advert that Ernest does n’t even truly be. Both of these bogus people allow Jack and Algernon to merrily populate their prevarications ; they to look uphold high moral criterions, valued by the grandiloquent and conceited Victorian elite, while they gallivant around without enduring any reverberations. Even when Jack and Algernon after their prevarications have been revealed, there is no existent sense of compunction from either Jack or Algernon and as they ne’er had to endure any existent penalty, the spectator is forced to the realisation that these people could non care less whether they had lied at all. That they can both throw aside their alter self-importances and fanciful friends without 2nd ideas, shows what Victorian society truly valued ; a neglect for earnestness, civic responsibility, or compassion for the under-privileged, for neither Lady Bracknell nor Algernon displayed any kind of sorrow with Bunbury ‘s “ decease. ”
The true purpose of Wilde ‘s drama is chiefly to expose the lip service and shallowness that was prevailing throughout the Victorian Era. As was seen through the mode in which Lady Bracknell treated Jack in the beginning of the drama, it is plain to the audience that she merely wanted chic, wealth, and an of import blue name from the fiance of her favorite Gwendolen. As the drama proceeds it becomes of all time plainer to the audience merely how shallow everyone ‘s desires are. Wilde ‘s tone ne’er becomes heavy or dark, but instead the spectator finds the absurdity and pettiness of the characters simply diverting.
