The Importance of Being Earnest

      In Oscar Wilde's play, "The Importance of Being Ernest", traveling is used to amplify the absurd restrictions of Victorian society. Jack, who in the country is a rich and respectable man, tells his relations about his reckless brother Earnest. Earnest lives in the city and is constantly in need of Jack's assistance. In reality Jack merely uses the name of Earnest to escape the confinements in country living.  Jack can pose as a very concerned and loving brother to Earnest when he really just needs time to relax without the stress of keeping up appearances. His friend Algy has a similar ploy with the name of Bunbury. Bunbury is a friend of his in the country who always seems to become ill whenever he has an appointment that seems uninteresting. These two characters get into several sticky situations involving their alter egos within the storyline.
      This satire uses physical movement to show the hypocrisy of Victorian society.  Jack cannot survive  in this society he upholds without having the face of Earnest to fill his personal needs. Throughout the entire play the characters criticize each other for eating food that has gone out of style and wearing the incorrect clothing. The characters speak of how wonderful their society is in the play yet the physical actions they take against being constricted say otherwise. This play mocks the ridiculously polite and outlandish morals of the Victorian age and shows that not even the high class people could stand the constraints.