Pieces of the Wilde Writer

I’m going to be reading two works by Oscar Wilde- An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, both being satires and social commentaries. Carl Woodring’s overview of the latter play notes the immediate allusion to its theme in the title. His analysis can be found here. The pun “The Importance of Being Earnest” both pertains to the play’s plot and its theme- the importance of sincerity. British society at the turn of the twentieth century was brimming in people acting fake for the express purpose of receiving the approval of others. 

That’s certainly something that I’ve seen in the world around me. Everyone seems to sport two faces, one in which they conform as closely as they can to cultural expectation and another of a more legitimate personality. There is nothing that tires me more than insincere people receiving credit for the remarkable level of insincerity they maintain.

An Ideal Husband is lesser known and critic William Archer is less generous with this work of Wilde. He finds it far too full of epigrams, witty to the level of a suspension of disbelief. He also dislikes Wilde’s painting of Robert Chiltern, who seems sincere in his quest for virtue, but for the sake of plot becomes a villain. That being said, it would seem Wilde wants it to be clear that he condemns politicians as corrupt in their motivations. 

In both plays, Wilde is a useful example of Enlightenment ideals. They exemplify the shifting values in authority and liberty, as well as the new search for order. Who deserves to be in charge? Is there any more use for trivial tradition? What should take its place should we choose to get rid of our traditions? I think these are all pertinent themes to the modern world as well. I believe we took it to the extreme, and now the word ‘tradition’ holds an unsavory connotation. I believe we ought to assess our traditions, but not discourage them.

Picture credit: https://www.thoughtco.com/oscar-wilde-2713617