The Importance of Being Earnest
Posted: March 8, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: #digitalenglish, #EDHlit, #Oscarwilde 13 Comments »
It’s late, and here I am, watching another rainbow-filled episode of Rupaul’s Drag Race. The Season 5 drag queens are slathering on foundation, puckering their lips for fuchsia-colored lipstick, and highlighting their eyes with glittering aqua eye shadow, preparing to show off their transformation, their other side, their duality.
This past week’s reading was Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (The Seagull Reader) and some might wonder what does Drag Race have to do Wilde’s play. And the answer is: a lot, actually. The main parallel is that the play is considered a farce, a parody, a satire of the Victorian era – basically, everything and anything fun and funny – just like drag queens.
Jack Worthing, a respected man in Hertfordshire (a country estate), pretends to be Earnest, his irresponsible younger brother, so he can go to London (the city) and basically misbehave. Algernon Moncrieff, Jack’s friend/brother, invents Bunbury, a fictional invalid so that he too, can escape from mundane and serious situations. This play touches on themes of hypocrisy to morality to concepts of love; but the power of freedom is the theme that really speaks to me.
In Act I, Jack says: “When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects (262),” clearly referring to the strict and elitist attitude adopted during the Victorian era. Jack and Algernon’s response to this rigid life style is to create fictitious characters in order to satisfy their ego, live a little, and still be respected. Apparently, the elegant but stuffy Victorian conventions didn’t leave much room for fun.
When guys dress up as drag queens on Rupaul’s Drag Race, it’s the same concept that Wilde encourages: freedom of expression, the will to enjoy life, and being true to ourselves. Though it’s ironic that drag queens promote honesty under heavy makeup, a sky-high wig, and eight inch platforms, the message of freedom doesn’t change. And a huge part of it is saying “screw you” to the gender conventions and masculine/feminine stereotypes that plague us from the moment we’re born. When Jack and Algernon created their characters, they’re doing the same thing: giving the middle finger to their society – minus the Cleopatra wig and sequin gown (I think).
When I think of the word “earnest,” it means serious, and when juxtaposed against the ridiculous humor of the play – like Gwendolen’s fixation on Earnest’s name (“It is a divine name. It has music of its own. It produces vibrations (268).”), I see irony. The idea of a name creating such strong feelings could not be more absurd and less serious! Another example is when Jack says: “It is very vulgar to talk like a dentist when one isn’t a dentist. It produces a false impression (261).” The idea that Jack, who has an “immoral” false identity, is giving Algernon a speech about “false impression” is blatantly hypocritical and completely comical. Everything in the play is so dramatic and exaggerated that it’s just another parallel to drag queens.
Aesthetically, drag queens are comical exaggerations of people. The huge hair, Amanda Lepore-esque lips, and spooky contacts are all meant to honor, poke fun, and challenge the conventional perception of beauty. It speaks on the ludicrous obsession society puts on external beauty, wealth, and status, mirrored in similar values of the Victorian era. Inversely, the play and drag queens are encouraging introspection, and to question the legitimacy of personal values.
The Importance of Being Earnest, like drag queens, promotes self-acceptance and love through honesty and freedom. Essentially, this play is about everyone’s search for freedom to experience genuine happiness. And the avenue to achieving this is to not be so “earnest”; to challenge manufactured morality (the dual identities and Bunbury); to love who we want to love without pretense (Jack and Gwen, Algernon and Cecily); and to be honest with ourselves (Jack and Algernon’s shedding of the name Earnest, and the big reveal at the end). Though it’s sometimes all right to be earnest, it’s always fabulous to be free.
“When I think of the word “earnest,” it means serious, and when juxtaposed against the ridiculous humor of the play – like Gwendolen’s fixation on Earnest’s name (“It is a divine name. It has music of its own. It produces vibrations (268).”), I see irony” This is such a great point and it also reminds me of the part where the women have just left in a huff and they begin arguing over the muffins! What should be a very serious part with serious men turns into a ridiculous argument over some muffins. I loved it! There are so many moments like this where he pokes fun at all the silly things the aristocrats cared about.
I think Wilde has a great knack for comedic timing and situations; and I laughed hardest during the muffin scene and when Algernon was explaining Bunbury’s death to Lady Bracknell – “Oh, he was quite exploded.” That is too funny!
I know that muffin part killed me!
Isn’t it so SO great!?
I love that you add so much fun and humor to your interpretation of a play that is dripping with the same:
- The over the top mourning outfit that Jack puts on in order to kill off his “brother” only to find that Algernon has beat him to the punch.
-The all out cat fight with words (using food no less) that Gwendolyn and Cecily have over who is marrying Ernest.
Wilde really had an incredible flair for the dramatic and ironic.
I’m so glad you picked up on my humor, because it’s an homage to Wilde. I didn’t know if anyone would get it; but I wanted to emulate the play’s carefree and funny nature by interpreting my blog with similar qualities. This play really brought out my humorous side.
I really appreciate the extent to which you’ve understood the play’s tone and style.
This statement is a very good comparison between our society and the Victorians. “It speaks on the ludicrous obsession society puts on external beauty, wealth, and status, mirrored in similar values of the Victorian era.” I couldn’t agree more. The sad thing is that the importance put on these shallow ideals begins at an early age. As my daughter has just started middle school, it is a reminder of how much emphasis and pressure is put on the young to “fit in”. Lady Bracknell’s comment reminds me of this, “never speak disrespectfully of society…only people who can’t get into it do that.” (308)
What’s interesting is that the values that Wilde was making fun of in his play has grown exponentially in our society because of mass information, experienced through people like your daughter. I talked a little about this in Rachel’s post, but celebrities are the new Victorian elite, and it’s sad that the values they carried (hypocrisy, emphasis on status, etc) are perpetuated even more today.
I agree that celebrities are the new elite….but, our society put them on that pedestal. Someone is out there watching their movies and buying their perfume. It seems that they are the personification of all that is wrong with our society, but somehow, all that drivel is far more interesting than our own lives.
Beautiful analysis, and I love the correlation to drag queens! I completely see the parallel between the two. However, I still think that the ruse Jack and Algernon get up to is one based on selfish excess and avoidance of responsibility–especially in Algernon’s case–rather than dispelling convention and embracing one’s true self. I suppose my distaste probably stems from the vast amounts of hypocrisy on display, but then again, it *is* a comedy.
There are even more parallels (like both perform on stage, extolment of lavish things, etc.) but I had to edit, reminding myself that this isn’t an essay. And I agree with you that Jack and Algernon’s ruse is based on selfish motives, but it’s not mutually exclusive to dispelling conventions. I think they were both having fun, misbehaving, and giving the middle finger to Victorian rules all at once. This sort of amalgamation is what makes the play so robust.
Vone, this post is an excellent example of what literary criticism for a public audience might look like! The way you tie in popular culture, write in a way that mirrors the style of the play, and analyze in perfectly bite-sized pieces is fantastic. It would even be accessible to someone who hadn’t read the play (a bonus!), and might even encourage them to do so. Very well done!