The Importance of Being Earnest: A Modern Parallel
After finishing the play, I have been able to see some parallels between the play and modern culture. I believe that really good books and plays are universal, and that the themes and ideas in them extend through different generations and places. The plot of the play itself and even some of the memorable characters seem to have modern counterparts.
One movie that I could compare the play to is Mulan. Both Mulan and The Importance of Being Earnest have characters that have dual identities, conflict surrounding those identities, and end in the promise of marriage. In Mulan, the main character tries to go into the army in place of her father. In joining the army, she is also able to escape societal pressures. In The Importance of Being Earnest Algernon goes “Bunburying” in order to escape events in society. Jack also takes on the double identity of “Earnest,” a fictitious brother, to escape the country life. In both works, these assumed personas caused problems when the love interests discovered the falsehood of these characters. And in both cases the deceit potentially could have caused the permanent break up of the relationship. The end of Mulan resulted in the promise of marriage between Shang and Mulan. The Importance of Being Earnest ends with both Algernon and Cecily and Jack and Gwendolen betrothed. Even though the two works are set in different times and places, many of the themes from The Importance of Being Earnest extend to Mulan.
One character that really stuck in my mind was Algernon Moncrieff. Because of his outrageous behavior and mannerisms, he is an interesting character to compare to modern figures, but I believe that the figure most interesting to compare him to is Miss Jay Alexander. Jay Alexander, or Miss Jay, is famous for his role as a judge on Americas Next Top Model, and he is also a model who is famous for his runway walk. When he is on the show, he is notorious for his outrageous and flamboyant character. In an article profiling him, the author claims “Since 1991, J. Alexander has coached models and established himself as the preferred contact for popular designers such as Valentino, Galliano, Bill Blass, Alexander McQueen, Chanel, and Nina Ricci” (Americas Next Top Model). In other words, Miss Jay is an “arbiter of taste” (Gillespie 168). I think that Algernon is an interesting parallel to Miss Jay because like Miss Jay, Algernon seems to me to be an arbiter of taste. I got this impression mostly from the beginning of the first act in which Algernon gives blanket opinions of the world. For example, Algernon claims, “Lane’s views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility” (Wilde 6). Another example that supports this idea is Algernon’s comment to Jack “It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal” (Wilde 7). While these two examples are not necessarily about fashion, they are about “fashionable ideas.” Even though it is not a strict comparison it is interesting to note the similarities between a modern and literary figure. In general, I believe that The Importance of Being Earnest is a play that can be looked at from many different angles and is multifaceted. Even though the language in the play is not exactly modern, many of the themes and ideas are still relevant today. Because the work is a play, it is much easier to imagine the interaction of the characters. I really enjoyed reading this play.
Works Cited
Gillespie, Michael Patrick. "From Beau Brummell to Lady Bracknell: Re-viewing the Dandy in The Importance of Being Earnest." Oscar Wilde and the Poetics of Ambiguity (1996). Print.
Mulan. 1998.
"Americas Next Top Model Cast: J. Alexander." Wetpaint.com. Wetpaint. Web. 11 May 2011.
