Schlegel 1
Melissa Schlegel
Dr. Marck
Literature 420
3 March 2011
Structuralist Criticism of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
Mankind is on a constant struggle to assign the world to categories. We perceive the world as fitting into certain structures. We want all items to fit nicely into niches so that they can be easily categorized. Structuralists assert that we do this, “in order to be able to deal with the world” (Tyson 211). They assert that one way in which humans make sense out of the world is through literature: “Literature is a fundamental means by which human beings explain the world to themselves, that is, make sense out of chaos” (Tyson 219). The world is in a constant state of chaos and one way in which man organizes it, it through looking at the scenario in literature. And since man is always categorizing, it would only make sense for him to analyze literature through a structural technique. This type of analysis, known as structural criticism, does not designate whether a text is good literature or not, or even the meaning behind it. It instead defines the structure which creates the meaning: “Structuralism isn't interested in what a text means, but in how a text means what it means” (Tyson 220). Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is a prime example of a text that can be analyzed using the structuralist format. The text demonstrates how the play relays its meaning through a certain structure, most notably through Northrop Frye's theory of myths.
Frye's theory of myths relays the idea that certain structures underlie all of Western literature (Tyson 221). He opines that all literature falls into the categories of comedy, romance, tragedy, or irony/satire. He further asserts that, “human beings project their narrative imagination in two fundamental ways: in representations of an ideal world and in representations of the real world” (Tyson 221). The ideal world is better than reality, it is the world of “innocence, plenitude, and fulfillment” (Tyson 221). The real world is one of experience and failure. Myths either occur in one of these worlds or involve a transfer from one to another. The Importance of Being Earnest is an example of a text that involves two myths. It is both a satire and a comedy and thus falls into the category of the mythos of winter and the mythos of spring.
Satire is defined as the device used to highlight human folly. It is “the real world seen through a comic lens, a world of human folly, excess, and incongruity” (Tyson 221). Wilde's play is a satire based upon the qualities of the Victorian Era, namely mocking repression, marriage, and the church. The Victorian Era began after King Albert's death, when Victoria went into mourning. This mourning and depression created a tone of restrictions and repressions throughout Victorian England. It was a time when “social conduct [was] governed by strict rules, formal manners...rigidly defined gender rules... sexual prudery, and an intense concern for maintaining the appearance of propriety in public...In matters of character, Victorians prized respectability, earnestness, a sense of duty and public service” (Henderson & Sharpe 453). In other words, the Victorians expected people to act in a refined and restricted manner. Any deviation from this way of life was considered rebellious and improper. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest was written to contradict this firm belief. Wilde asserted that men and women in Victorian England were not acting according to this model. He portrayed through his play that man was in reality not holding back his sexual feelings. He displays this through his characters Jack and Algernon. Jack is described as openly flirting with Gwendolen. Algernon asserts that the way Jack flirts with Gwendolen is distasteful: “I am afraid Aunt Augusta won't quite approve of your being here...The way you flirt with Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful” (Wilde 849). Algernon tries to uphold the facade that he follows the idea of repression but almost immediately after admits to having been involved in flirting with girls he had no intention of marrying: “Girls never marry the men they flirt with” (Wilde 850). From this statement we can assume that Algernon has been flirted with but never was serious with any of the girls. This statement also portrays Victorian women as not upholding the proper moral code. They should be subdued and withhold from and sexual advances towards men but in reality they are openly flirting just like Jack. Through these characters, Wilde is showing the Victorian population what they were really like. Through their rose colored glasses Victorians see themselves as prude but Jack and Algernon, who are supposed to be respectable men and representations of their time, openly flirt with Gwendolen and Cecily. These inconsistencies in the way of life, displayed comically through hypocritical statements, fit into the mythos of winter.
The strict rules of social conduct are also satirized with Algernon's and Jack's use of “Bunburying.” Men of the Victorian society were expected to uphold the values of society no matter where they went. Contrary to this belief, Jack admits that while he is around those of high society he acts one way and as soon as he is around others he acts against his class structure: “When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people” (Wilde 849). Wilde is using Jack's behavior as a way of relaying that when Victorians are around those they know they act haughty and according to the rules of society. But, once they are around others whom they do not know, all moral rigors are abandoned. This is furthered by Algernon's explanation of Bunburying to Jack: “You have invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest, in order that you may be able to come up to town as often as you like” (Wilde 852). The act of Bunburying allows the men to forgo their facade and act as they want to. It was a common belief during this time that no matter where one went, behavior remained the same and upheld the rigorous model of society. But Wilde is dispersing this belief and showing the true character of Victorians through Jack's and Algernon's actions.
Another element of satire that can be found in Wilde's work involves marriage. In the Victorian era, marriage was based upon economics. Although today we believe love to be of the utmost importance in marriage, it played little part in Victorian weddings (Ziegenfuss). Marriage was based solely on economics and social class, which seem to be such trivial ideals. The triviality of marriage is portrayed through Jack and Gwendolen's relationship in the play. Gwendolen relays that all of the high fashion magazines say that they live in a time of ideals:
The fact is constantly mentioned in the more expensive monthly magazines...my ideal has always been to love some one of the name Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence...I knew I was destined to love you. (Wilde 855)
She goes on to say, “There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence. I pity any poor married woman whose husband is not called Ernest” (Wilde 871). Gwendolen will only spend the rest of her life with someone named Ernest. She does not care if he treats her good, only that he has a certain name. The name Ernest means seriousness and importance but that does not mean he portrays those characteristics. Gwendolen does not comprehend this and is willing to marry Jack just because she thinks his name is Ernest. He even admits that he does not fit that cast when he states, “My dear fellow, the truth isn't quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice sweet refined girl” (Wilde 859). If he were truly earnest, he would understand the importance and seriousness of telling the truth. Wilde is satirizing the fact that Victorians will base the rest of their lives on such trivial matters as economics. Marrying someone just because of their name is just as foolish as marrying someone based upon their economic status and social class. None of these characteristics exhibit who the person really is and marriage should not be based upon these elements.
The Importance of Being Earnest also fits into the mythos of winter through its satire of the church. The church, no matter what era, is supposed to uphold its values and treats its traditions with respect and its parishioners are expected to do the same. Wilde, though, in his play portrays a contradictory view of the church. Both Algernon and Jack want to be rechristened for the sole purpose of marriage. A person is only supposed to be christened once but Jack avers that he does not remember being christened and therefore should have it done again. He lies to the Chasuble and tells him that he only wants to be christened so he can remember it, he does not mention Gwendolen. He also treats the whole affair with a sense of lightness and that the matter is nothing more than something to do: “I would like to be christened myself...if you have nothing better to do” (Wilde 866). The Chasuble, who is also supposed to respect the church, sees no issue with christening Jack again. He too treats the whole situation very lightly and hints at the fact that he does not perform the ceremonies properly: “Sprinkling is all that is necessary, or indeed I think advisable” (Wilde 867). Jack has an aversion to being immersed in the holy water and so the Chasuble tells him that if he prefers, he need only a sprinkling. The act of christening is supposed to rid one of sin but Jack is entering into the christening in a state of sin (he is lying) so he can jump into another sin (marry Gwendolen, who he has lied to, and then consummate the marriage). The church is therefore only being used so one can commit a sin, be forgiven, and sin again; the church is not preventing sin but rather endorsing it.
The mythos of winter, in which the play is considered a satire, elucidates how the theme is presented. The theme of the play is essentially that a life based on lies does not lead to happiness, one must be honest. Through satire, Wilde shows how people of the time were consistently inconsistent and hypocritical. Disorder and confusion reign supreme throughout the play because of Jack's and Algernon's lies and assertion they were following proper moral code but in reality were doing the exact opposite. The disorder and confusion that they created leave “effective action impossible” (Tyson 222). In other words, marriage and happiness are impossible because of the chaos that is reigning due to Jack's and Algernon's lies. If they had lived the life the Victorians said they all lived, Jack and Algernon would never have gone through all of the difficulties they encountered.
Not only does this play fit into the category of the mythos of winter but it also involves the mythos of spring. The entire play is a satire on the Victorian way of life but it is also a comedy. In the mythos of spring, there is a movement from winter to spring, the real world to the ideal world. The protagonist must overcome obstacles to obtain happiness and is usually obstructed through some “absurd and humorous” scenario (Tyson 222). Algernon and Jack, the play's two protagonists, are in love with Cecily and Gwendolen but are unable to marry them. The obstructions that stand in their way are indeed “absurd and humorous” (Tyson 222). The girls want to marry men named Ernest and so Jack and Algernon lie and say they have that name. When the girls find out that the men are not named Ernest, they refuse to marry them. Also, standing in Algernon's way is Jack. Jack will not permit his niece to marry until she is 35, according to her father's will. Even though she is 18, of age to consent, Jack still tries to prevent the marriage stating that the will does not consider the age of consent 18 but rather 35. Jack is also prevented from marrying Gwendolen, not only because of his name, but because of Lady Bracknell. When learning of Jack's background, she is disappointed that he is from the “unfashionable side” of Belgrave Square. She also thinks he is careless for having lost both parents. And, ultimately, she is disgusted that he was found in a handbag and has no inclination of his birth:
To be born, or at any rate bred, in a handbag, whether it had handles or not, seems to me to display a contempt for the ordinary decencies of family life...[we would not] dream of allowing our only daughter...to marry into a cloakroom. (Wilde 858).
Because he is not from the proper side of town and was found in a handbag, which allows for no knowledge of family history, Lady Bracknell will not allow Jack to marry her daughter. Both reasons are absurd but they stand in the way of his marriage to Gwendolen. Although the obstacles stand in both Jack's and Algernon's, they eventually move into the ideal world with Gwendolen and Cecily. Jack learns that Miss Prism is the one who left him in the coatroom and she tells him his family history. He and Algernon are really brothers and his first name is actually Ernest. After the confusion clears both couples are permitted to marry. The couples embrace and the departing scene is one of an ideal world where all are happy. Triumph, one of the four elements of the traditional quest, finally comes to fruition.
According to Tyson, “triumph is the basis of comedy, in which the protagonist and his or her beloved become the centerpiece of some sort of improved social order” (222). This element is found in the mythos of spring and in this play because ultimately the couples end up together and are happy. They must go through the confusion and disorder found in winter but together they eke out and are able to marry one another. Jack discovers that he is of the proper social class, according to Lady Bracknell, and also that his name is truly Ernest. Algernon is able to be christened and is permitted to marry Cecily. The social order is not necessarily improved; Jack would not have been allowed to marry Gwendolen, unless his class was different. But ultimately, the two couples are finally happy and triumph, rather than chaos, reigns supreme at the finale.