Analysis Of Title, Cast List and Act 1 Scene 1

The Importance Of Being Earnest

The novel is set in the Victorian period, where men had a higher status than woman. The title of the novel ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ can suggest many things. As a reader this leaves us intrigued to find out what the play is about, the title of the novel makes us question whether the novel could be about a person. However, Earnest means a name and the importance of being a man, which could be the centre attraction of the play. The author doesn’t give much detail which allows us as reader to explore all possibilities and allow our imaginations to expand.

The cast list of the play has nine main characters with all different statues. Status is very important in the novel because it symbolises what each character is like and how he/she is perceived, throughout the novel from a reader’s perspective you get to acknowledge that all of the characters are linked to one another in some way. The first character introduced to the novel is John Worthing J.P (Jack), his status is reverently high because of his name, John Worthing J.P (Jack), loves Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax and he’s like an uncle to Cecily Cardew in which he has been accused of loving her. The second character mentioned is Algernon Moncrieff his name sounds foreign but his status has yet been perceived, the third character is Lady Bracknell, her status is Aristocracy because she has ‘Lady’ in her name, she’s an auntie to Algernon and is a mother to Gwendolen. The fourth character is Gwendolen Fairfax; at the beginning of the novel it isn’t revealed to the reader that she is Lady Bracknell’s daughter. Her status isn’t portrayed she just seems normal like a plain character with no excitement. The fifth character is Cecily Cardew her status seems quite high because she has been foster by John Worthing J.P (Jack). The sixth character is Miss Prism she is Cecily’s governess, Miss Prism is in love with the priest which is forbidden because of his status. The eighth character is Rev Canon Reverend (D.D), D.D is an abbreviation doctor of divinity which places his role in society. His status is quite high because of him being a priest a lot of people would look up to him and go to him for help.

At the beginning of act 1, Oscar Wild uses language to portray all the different statuses and how they all vary. You see the variation between Algernon and Lane, Algernon gets what he wants because he is more superior to Lane. Lane has a lower status than Algernon and he’s looked down upon because of it.