The Importance of Being Earnest and Gender

“Dramatic comedy plots do not tend to endorse the idea of women’s autonomy, nor encourage them to rebel, except temporarily, about gender roles” To what extent does Gwendolen (or Cecily) disprove this theory in The Importance of Being Ernest?

Autonomy is defined as “The capacity to decide for oneself and pursue a course of action in one’s life, often regardless of any particular moral content. There are many moments within the play that the main females –Cecily, Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell- do show a microcosm of personal power or autonomy; however I believe that this is slightly overshadowed by their eventual conformity to societal standards of Victorian Britain and the gender expectations of society at the time.

As You Like It had Rosalind, Much Ado About Nothing had Beatrice In The Importance of Being Earnest  we have Cecily and Gwendolen all these literary women have something in common, they all challenge the conventional gender norms of society at the time of their conception. In Victorian Britain, women’s autonomy wasn’t something that was greatly pushed upon-the opposite in fact- and Wilde’s utilisation of Cecily and Gwendolen as a means to subvert these typical beliefs is a revolutionary concept in the high class society he belonged to at this time.

 “CECILY
Worn out by your entire ignorance of my existence, I determined to end the matter one way or the other, and after a long struggle with myself I accepted you under this dear old tree here. The next day I bought this little ring in your name, and this is the little bangle with the true lover's knot I promised you always to wear.
ALGERNON
Did I give you this? It's very pretty, isn't it?” (II.215-216)

the comedy of her statement is hidden in the intricate detail she creates with “true lovers knot” used to symbolise her ‘love’ for Ernest and “under this here tree” is possibly mocking the cliché of confessing your love under an oak tree-often used in novels at this time- as the oak is a symbol of courage and power (“as strong as an oak” “stand tall like an oak” etc). Despite her eccentricities Algernon is quickly enamoured about her, as shown by his declaration of “my Love!” at the conclusion of the play, which follows the typical structure of a romantic comedy (that it has a happy ending)

Whereas Gwendolen is displayed as a bastion of female independence and free thinking, on the other end of the spectrum we have Lady Bracknell, the epitome of a Victorian Upper class woman. Lady Bracknell makes her distaste at both Gwendolen and Algernon’s nuptials very clear. “Lady Bracknell: Pardon me, you are not engaged to any one “(I.172) this implies that Lady Bracknell does not think that girls are not capable of choosing their own husband, whether this is a case of her disapproving of his standing in society (and therefore his monetary worth) or whether it is a general observation of women in general isn’t entirely clear, however, judging by her actions later on it is more likely that she disapproves of Jack’s (possible) lack of social status. But even so, this piece of dialogue is an accurate representation of high society in this era, “When you do become engaged to some one, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the fact.” Refers to an arranged marriage of sorts and implies that Gwendolen needs parental approval before she can even think about marrying someone, this shows that even though she displays characteristic the differ from the norm at this time she is still tied down by the constraints of her class and society in general. Another curious point that should be noted about Gwendolen’s family is the suspicious lack of Lord Bracknell within the play, not once does he appear and when he is  mentioned he is displayed as rather meek and is hinted that he often give into Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell’s demands.