Gender is a socially constructed term which could be defined as attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex. Based on The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde that is set in late 19th century, the Victorian era. In the 19th century, men are supposed to be more dominant than women. Wilde’s purpose of this play is to criticise the hypocritical society and hence, gender reversals is observed in this play.
Gender reversal can be seen in Lady Bracknell’s marriage. Lady Bracknell is Algernon’s aunt and Gwendolen’s mother. She can be characterized as domineering and she has a well marriage and she hopes the same for her daughter. Though her marriage seems to be happy and all well, gender …show more content…
Lord Bracknell is greatly feminized as home is supposed to be the proper sphere for a woman, according to the Victorian ethics and societal norms. Her comments match the time setting of the play which revolves around male domination and she is a typical Victorian girl. The feminized role of Lord Bracknell is completely unacceptable in the world of the Victorian era and it is a shock to the people and it serves the Wilde’s purpose of the play – to criticize and make fun of the Victorian …show more content…
Foreshadowing is a style that is often used in plays and it takes the form of objects, ideas, or plot points. Foreshadowing signals the audience that those elements will come up again as the story unfolds. Hence with Lord Bracknell playing a feminized role, Jack and Algernon are also seen to be taking on more female roles in this story, although they are continuously commenting on their own masculinity and being praised for it. That gives off the feeling that they are both vain and the play opens with the two of them sitting and waiting for the Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen to show up. They are not only waiting to chat but Jack is waiting for Gwendolen to propose to her. Instead of actively seeking her out, he takes a less aggressive approach, waits and later he even asks her if he can propose to her. Algernon too, passively allows Cecily to dictate their love. Their endearments mirror each other, they call each other “Darling” and that makes readers question if the line between the two genders is
Gender reversal can be seen in Lady Bracknell’s marriage. Lady Bracknell is Algernon’s aunt and Gwendolen’s mother. She can be characterized as domineering and she has a well marriage and she hopes the same for her daughter. Though her marriage seems to be happy and all well, gender …show more content…
Lord Bracknell is greatly feminized as home is supposed to be the proper sphere for a woman, according to the Victorian ethics and societal norms. Her comments match the time setting of the play which revolves around male domination and she is a typical Victorian girl. The feminized role of Lord Bracknell is completely unacceptable in the world of the Victorian era and it is a shock to the people and it serves the Wilde’s purpose of the play – to criticize and make fun of the Victorian …show more content…
Foreshadowing is a style that is often used in plays and it takes the form of objects, ideas, or plot points. Foreshadowing signals the audience that those elements will come up again as the story unfolds. Hence with Lord Bracknell playing a feminized role, Jack and Algernon are also seen to be taking on more female roles in this story, although they are continuously commenting on their own masculinity and being praised for it. That gives off the feeling that they are both vain and the play opens with the two of them sitting and waiting for the Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen to show up. They are not only waiting to chat but Jack is waiting for Gwendolen to propose to her. Instead of actively seeking her out, he takes a less aggressive approach, waits and later he even asks her if he can propose to her. Algernon too, passively allows Cecily to dictate their love. Their endearments mirror each other, they call each other “Darling” and that makes readers question if the line between the two genders is