Analysis of Oscar Wilde's Protagonists - Essay Example

? Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde has been considered to be the most renegade playwright of his time,for he has incorporated incredibly novel and defiant ideas in his works. Wilde’s literature was vastly set against the backdrop of the puritanical upper class English society, emboldening the hypocritical nature of the people in it. Wilde’s plays were largely a critique of the societal norms, which he represented through the actions of his protagonists. Closer analysis of the characters depict that Oscar Wilde has also injected some of his characteristics in the main protagonist. To further elaborate upon this aspect of his characters, the substance of this prose will focus on the protagonists from three of his most major, namely ‘Importance of being Earnest’, ‘An Ideal Husband’ and ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’. I. Importance of being Earnest The importance of being Earnest revolved around a man named Jack Worthing, who was leading a double life in order to get away from the societal pressures of acting a certain way. His alter ego was named Earnest and he hid his personality from others by telling that Earnest was his unruly younger brother. Although, a dramatic turn of events reveal that he had been unconsciously playing out the truth all his life, but Jack’s charade depicts the hypocrisy that pervaded the upper class English society and depicted the double standards within the society. His friend dubs Jack’s habit as ‘Bunburying’ and when he soon follows suit, Jack comments, “This ghastly state of things is what you call Bunburying, I suppose?” (Wilde 367) Jack was discovered in a handbag stowed away in the cloakroom of the London Railway station, only to be discovered by a wealthy man named Thomas Cardew. Cardew adopts Jack and gives him the name ‘Worthing’. Jack under Cardew’s guidance grows up to become a wealthy investor and quickly establishes a respectable image in his town. His otherwise squeaky clean image in the English upper class society is believed to have bored him, which is why he invents Earnest and often uses him as an excuse to rush off to England in order to enjoy things that he usually disapproves of as Jack. Therefore, Earnest is a form of a retreat from the drudgery of his daily life; a form of a cover that enables him to get away from the confines of his life. According to Walter E. Houghton, Earnest’s character was indeed Jack’s bridge to understanding other facets of life, which is nearly impossible within the confines of the moral code set by the Victorian society. Hence, it can be postulated that Jack’s alter ego was a way for him to venture and discover the intellectual and moral side of humanity. Houghton further notes that the name Earnest slowly evolved not only as a name of the character, but he also took the form of an ideal characteristic that was sought in every individual that centered on the integrity of one’s character. It can be concluded from Houghton’s hypothesis that Jack was playing the part of Earnest in order to unlock the secret to a successful life. Houghton further elaborates that human life is not simply a journey from the realm of the living to the realm of the dead, but indeed it involves the individual actually exposing themselves to all aspects of the society to help strengthen their resolve against the forces of evil (Houghton 221). Although, the men are not completely noble when it comes to their alter-ego and they spin an intricate web of lies in order to get the attention of the women they love, but the men are not intrinsically evil. As a matter of fact, both Jack and Algernon were simply escapists, who wished to use Earnest’s name in order to get away from the society’s pressure. It was a mask for the protagonist and donning it allowed him to get the sense of freedom that he had always craved for (Adams 183). When Jack is not roaming the streets of London under the name of Earnest, he is seen as a dignified gentleman. He is depicted by Wilde as being a straight-faced, no-nonsense individual. It is obvious with the way Jack treats his neighbors; greeting them fervently as, “Oh pleasure, pleasure! What else should bring one anywhere?” (Wilde 322). However, for Jack Worthing, his congenial demeanor is simply a front and as it was not done for gentlemen in that era to be callous towards their work and constantly head off to London in order to indulge in frivolous activities, Jack used the pretext of Earnest in order to justify his visits to London. Jack’s character and his charade shed an intriguing life into the uptight Victorian society, which consisted of people putting forth fake demeanor to please others. Moreover, Jack’s charade as Earnest also enlightened the audiences about the strict ideals that dictated the women and further restricted their thought processes (Ackerman, 2008). Jack’s lover, Gwendolyn’s obsession with an ideal husband had reached such high limits that she had begun to associate the name ‘Earnest’ with the actual trait, as she states, “My ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Earnest” (Wilde 338). This clearly shows that Gwendolyn was not in love with Jack, but ‘earnestness’ as a trait; she had begun to expect that much like his name, her would-be husband was also endowed with all the perfect traits. However, all these ideals and expectations were razed to the ground, when both Gwendolyn and Cecily discover that the men they are engaged to are embroiled in such an elaborate charade and have been lying to everyone around them for such a long time. Despite Jack’s obscure background, he never took advantage of the people around him and only masqueraded around as Earnest for his own benefits and his lies were basically harmless fibs. On the other hand, it is through his character that one discovers the materialistic nature of the people during the Victorian era. Jack desires Gwendolyn because she seems like a ‘sensible, intellectual girl’, who he believes, will also help him climb the social ladder of the upper class London society (Wilde 339). This aspect is particularly underlined when Jack posing as Earnest, asks for Gwendolyn’s hand in marriage but is turned down by her mother because of his obscure background. Even though, Jack seemingly gave an air of a well-bred gentleman and despite his charade, he was chivalrous and responsible, but a lack of family background serves as the only reason for his rejection, which clearly shows the schism between the rich and poor in the Victorian society. Therefore, in conclusion Jack’s character not only shows the real face of the self-righteous upper class society, who may appear perfect but contain more imperfections beneath their otherwise flawless facade. Wilde tries to depict this aspect of his society using two flawed individuals, who lie for their own benefits but it is their shortcomings that eventually shed light on the bigger picture and depicts the flaws of the elders on a wider scale. Russell Jackson also comments that the satirical statement that Wilde was trying to make through the characters becomes even more pronounced when both men are easily forgiven despite their deceit as soon as they arrange for a formal christening ceremony to have their names changed to Earnest. Therefore, the women were not perturbed by the solemnity of their transgressions, but simply wanted their men to have a semblance of uprightness that was given off from their respective names (Jackson). Hence, it was obvious that the English society was more fascinated by the outwardly appearance and demeanor of an individual, and did not care about who or what the person was like in actuality. Therefore, the play ‘Importance of being Earnest’ highlighted some of the gaping flaws in the English society that focused on simply sugarcoating everything and not trying to make a genuine effort to better oneself. Almost all his protagonist shed light on various aspects of the society and he usually satirized idealism, which is ostensible in all his other plays that will be discussed in following parts of the prose. II. An Ideal Husband The play ‘An Ideal Husband’ revolves around Sir Chiltern and his wife, Lady Chiltern, who have blissful marriage that is based on Lady Chiltern’s undying faith in her husband’s virtuosity. However, the twist of the play occurs when the main antagonist Mrs. Cheveley, begins to blackmail Sir Chiltern using a past indiscretion against him. She nearly destroys their marriage. The play forms a clear demarcation between the people in the upper class society and the rampant corruption in their social class. Lord Chiltern becomes distraught and fears the kind of effect this piece of information would have on his marriage because his wife had always idolized her husband and raised him on to a pedestal. Even in this play, Wilde has also discussed the hazards associated with pre-conceived notions and ideals. In line with Ackerman’s views, when an individual has high expectations of an individual they are likely to crash. Wilde through his play has tried to demonstrate one of the most critical aspects of one’s personality that there is no human being in this world devoid of flaws. Although, Lord Chiltern was considered to be a model husband and a politician, but not every individual possesses a completely squeaky record. Victorian society was obsessed with perfection of character so much that they become intolerant to even the slightest of indiscretion. This aspect became more pronounced with Lady Chiltern’s reaction, when Mrs. Cheverly exposes her husband and she expresses great disapproval of his husband’s reaction and even begins to seek advice of Lord Goring, which later on serves as yet another weapon for Mrs. Cheverly to bring ruin to her family. In other words, while ‘Importance of being Earnest’ was simply a satirical depiction of the English society, ‘An ideal husband’ was indeed a silent rebuke for all the women. This is evident with Lord Chiltern’s outburst, as he begins to hold his wife responsible for their doom. Lord Chiltern states, “It is not the perfect, but the imperfect, who have need of love. It is when we are wounded by our own hands, or by the hands of others, that love should come to cure us – else what use is love at all?” (Wilde 521) It is clear from Lord Chiltern’s words that he despises his wife’s adoration for his positive traits only that renders her intolerant of her husband’s negative aspects. He believes that love should be unconditional and encompass all facets of an individual – be it good or bad. A love that is solely based upon an individual’s goodness is completely useless, because it will not last when unsavory characteristics of the individual begin to surface. On the other hand, Lord Goring is the only protagonist that seems to act as the voice of reason for all the other characters. He is extremely proper and has an immaculate fashion sense and in one way, it has been further noted that Lord Goring was indeed a fictional embodiment of Wilde’s beliefs, for he expressed his flagrant disregard for society through his discussion on fashion. Lord Goring states, “Fashion is what one wears oneself. What is unfashionable is what other people wear. Other people are quite dreadful. The only possible society is oneself” (Wilde 522). He disregarded societal values and is somewhat of a pariah in the society that he moves in. He is depicted as a very cynical individual, which is vastly due to his failed engagement with Mrs. Cheverly. However, he can be regarded as a heroic figure for he was the one, who saved the Chiltern’s marriage from the diabolical machinations of Mrs. Cheverly. He is the only person who advices, Lord Chiltern to resist Mrs. Cheverly and asks him to come clean in front of his wife, instead of giving his blackmailer an advantage over him. However, before he could heed his advice, Lord Chiltern is shamed in front of his wife and is rendered completely helpless. As a matter of fact, the same theme of materialism is recurrent in the play. Lord Goring continues to reiterate that wealth is not conducive to a successful career, while Chiltern countered it as saying that the society worships only wealth. He states, “Every man of ambition has to fight his century with its own weapons. What this century worships is wealth. The God of this century is wealth. To succeed one must have wealth. At all costs one must have wealth.”(Wilde 504) London society was heavily defined by the socioeconomic statuses of the people. Wealth was an important factor to determine the individual standing in the society and as Chiltern, many upright en were tempted to indulge to dubious means in order to get their hands on power and authority in the society. Naturally, this did not bode well with the idealized and romanticized view of men in the Victorian era, where women were fascinated by the archetypical heroic role of men and they were supposed to be upright in all their dealings. Moreover, as per Charles Petrie’s hypothesis, Victorian women were generally quite delusional when it came to matters of marriage, which is one of the fundamental factors that agitate Lord Chiltern eventually. Petrie notes that role of women in the Victorian era was so restricted that marriage was the only way through which they could get a sense of validation. Therefore, marriage was only an escape to rise in society and be recognized as a part of the society. As the woman was defined by the man’s standing and reputation, it became vastly apparent as to why Lady Chiltern had such unrealistic expectation of her husband. On the other hand, the main antagonist of the story Mrs. Cheverly was depicted as a highly diabolical figure, who was manipulative and this aspect could shed light on the misogynistic nature of Wilde, as the women in his plays had extremely gaping flaws that made matters worse for the protagonists. Besides Lady Chiltern’s blind adoration for her so-called ideal husband, Mrs. Cheverly was a highly manipulative woman and after betraying Lord Goring she goes back to him only for the sake of her personal gains. It can be concluded that Mrs. Cheverly was somewhat jealous of her old enemy, Lady Chiltern’s successful marriage, as she herself was without a spouse. She begins to blackmail Lord Goring as well and threatens that she will use an innocent letter written to him by Lady Chiltern when she sought his advice. Wilde has depicted her as a typical villain with not a single charitable or virtuous bone in her body. The play coincides with the societal view of divine retribution and soon Lady Chiltern comes to terms with her husband’s corruption charge and makes peace with him, while Lord Goring marries Lord Chiltern’s sister. However, Mrs. Cheverly is left alone and miserable in the end, which fulfills the notion of retribution. The play also emboldens the notions of morality held by the women, particularly Mrs. Cheverly. According to Mrs. Cheverly, “Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike” (Wilde 519). This aspect of her personality clearly depicts the hypocritical nature of the society, whereby they believed in masking their true feelings others and did not focus on being sincere with one another. She was not afraid to unveil Lord Chiltern’s past indiscretion and the callous nature that Wilde has endowed with, it is clear that he was trying to underline the cases of blackmail that were rampant in the English society. III. Lady Windermere’s fan The play titled Lady Windermere’s fan also propagates an irrational image of women as they are vastly perceived to have the tendency to jump to random ideas and hold their husbands liable for it. For instance, Lady Windermere is quick to jump to the conclusion that her husband is cheating on her quickly confronts him about it. The audience realizes that Lord Windermere’s affair with the said Mrs. Erlynne is not of sexual nature and as a matter of fact he is only helping her for her wife’s sake. This aspect becomes apparent through his monologue as after Lady Windermere walks out on him, he states, “What shall I do? I dare not tell her who this woman really is. The shame would kill her” (Wilde 397). The woman is revealed to be Lady Windermere’s estranged mother, who had left Lady Windermere in her husband’s after she ran off to unite for her paramour. Lord Windermere is trying his best to make his wife understand that the woman does not signify anything, but she is as stubborn as ever. Heartbroken at the prospect of her husband’s illegitimate relations, she is nearly driven in the arms of another man, but is quickly able to analyze her mistake. Moreover, her husband’s supposed lover also rushes to her aid, who reveals to the audience that she is her mother in the following words: “How can I save her? How can I save my child? A moment may ruin a life. Who knows that better than I?” (Wilde 409). It is revealed that Mrs. Erlynne was indeed blackmailing Lord Windermere into giving her money to help her gain a proper standing in the society by threatening him that she would reveal her true identity to the society that tarnish his wife’s reputation in the society. Lord Windermere wants to save face and as a result, ends up acquiescing to her demands. Even though, Lady Windermere is completely blindsided by the fact that Mrs. Erlynne was indeed her mother and she was constantly trying to make sure that her daughter does not make the same mistake as her. Although, her character was quite questionable for she had been blackmailing her own son-in-law for her benefits. However, by the end of it, she genuinely tries to make an effort to save her daughter’s marriage by lying for her, when she leaves her fan with Lord Darlington. She takes the blame on herself and claims that it was her, who had brought the fan. She makes up an excuse so her daughter can slip away. The play sheds light on the polygamous nature of the English society. Therefore, Windermere was quick to believe that her husband was involved in a liaison with another woman. The English upper class consisted of a closely-knit social circle, where the rumors travelled fast and everybody often gossiped about others behind their backs. Therefore, the depiction and theme of hypocrisy was consistent throughout the play. Yet again, Wilde showed the negative side of women; where they often blackmailed men in order to get their way around them. He has shown women as naive and gullible, however in this play the antagonist was not intrinsically evil and she was basically forced to resort to such a measure. Her reputation was truly beyond repair and in order to climb the social ladder of the London upper class society she needed, which also shows the materialistic aspect of their social circle (Ellman). In conclusion, the portrayal of society was consistent throughout the play that showed the negative of aspect of the society and critiqued it. His humor was laced with sarcasm and even his serious plays were a form of reproach for the existing behaviors of the society. Therefore, Wilde’s plays have been known to be a form of social commentary and his protagonist depicted some of the major weaknesses of the upper class society. The importance of being earnest showed this aspect through humorous depiction of the hypocrisy, while An Ideal Husband and Lady Windermere’s was a drama that showed the weaknesses in women primarily than men. The feminine ideals and their unrealistic expectation were the driving force behind a man’s doom and the main climax of the story. Although, all his stories ended on a happier note, but he wanted to show that in the end none of his characters made an effort to reform them, which was a silent message for the audiences. Works Cited Ackerman, Alan.  “Form and Freedom in The Importance of Being Earnest.”  Approaches to Teaching the Works of Oscar Wilde.  Ed.  Philip E. Smith II. New York:  The Modern Language Association of America, 2008.  Print. Adams, James E. Dandies and Desert Saints: Styles of Victorian Masculinity. New York: Cornell University Press. 1995. Ellman, Richard. The artist as critic: critical writings of Oscar Wilde. Chicago, Il: University of Chicago Press. 1969. Print. Houghton, Walter E.  “Earnestness.”  The Victorian Frame of Mind.  New Haven:  Yale University Press, 1957. Print. Jackson, Russell.  “The Importance of Being Earnest.”  The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde.  Ed. Peter Raby.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Print. Petrie, Charles.  “Victorian Women Expected to Be Idle and Ignorant.”  Victorian England.  Ed.  Clarice Swisher.  San Diego:  Greenhaven Press, Inc., 2000. Print. Wilde, Oscar. Complete works of Oscar Wilde: Stories, Plays, Poems & Essays. New York: Harper Collins Publishing. 2008. Read More