Little white lies can be common—especially in the dating world. In The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, the classic 1895 play of almost frivolous humor, it’s the same way, but the lies of main characters John (Jack) Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff snowball into a little more than just white lies.
Written in a script format, the two main characters face situations that parallel each other closely. They both want to make their lives slightly easier, and they’re more than willing to lie for it. Their way of doing so happens to be by inventing a whole new person: it’s what Algernon coins as ‘bunburying,’ named after his own imaginary friend, Bunbury, who always ‘falls ill’ at the most convenient times to get him out of attending certain social events. On the other hand, Jack becomes someone else depending on his setting. In town, he becomes Ernest, while in the country, he remains Jack. He’s Ernest when he falls in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, Algernon’s cousin, and inevitably, their relationship gets built upon that lie.
Algernon visits Jack at his countryside home, assuming the identity of ‘Ernest’. When he quickly falls in love, with Cecily, Jack’s ward, it’s—just like Jack—under the false identity. Under all the lies, almost nothing is clear except for one thing: this ruse can’t be maintained for long.
Several scenes in the play, from Lady Bracknell’s screening of Jack as a potential suitor for her daughter Gwendolen, to Jack and Algernon’s arguments on who had more of a right to claim the name Ernest or both Gwendolen and Cecily’s insistence on a future husband being named Ernest and only Ernest, the play carried an overall overly dramatic feel that emphasized a humorously-intended tone.
It’s a format different from that of a traditional novel, but the play shouldn’t be discounted for it. Instead, The Importance of Being Earnest is regarded as a cleverly named, witty play with somewhat ridiculous situations that highlight one of its messages as a critique of Victorian society. Whether readers are looking for something to pass the time or something to study, The Importance of Being Earnest can fill the role.
