The Importance of Being Earnest/Victorian Research - Week 11

I feel that my research on the Victorian Era greatly influenced my understanding of the play "The Importance of Being Earnest". I learned that men and women had completely different roles in the social infrastructure of the time. Women were expected to stay quietly at home, while the men were away. Jack and his ward Cecicly are a great example of this. Cecicly stays at home in the country all the time, while Jack goes to and from the country and the city as he wishes.

Also, during the Victorian Era, women were often seen as being very foolish people. This is portrayed multiple times throughout the book, mainly through Gwendolen and Cecily's obsession with the name Earnest. On page 86, Gwendolen says, "We are both engaged to be married to your brother Earnest, so it is a matter of some importance to us to know where your brother Earnest is at present". Gwendolen and Cecily aren't truly in love with Jack and Algernon, they just liked the name Earnest.