Comedy of Manners/Wilde's Philosophy

Question 1

What are features of Comedy of Manners that relate to Ernest?

Answer 1

• Marriage is boring (‘Divorces are made in heaven’)
• Characters clash with one another in situation of conflicting love entanglements (‘[Cecily and Gwendolen glare at each other])
• Country life was considerably boring (‘[the country always bores me to death[’)
• Class differences (‘It is obvious our social spheres have been widely different’)
• Sarcasm and Irony (‘It seems to me Miss Fairfax, that I am trespassing on your valuable time’)

Question 2

What were key idea of Wilde’s Aestheticism?

Answer 2

• One’s actions should be to create the maximal amount of beauty and pleasure in one’s life, and nothing more
• ‘Art for art’s sake’
• Life imitates art not the other way around
• Wilde’s characters use wit to avoid understanding each other by reversing or undercutting the meaning of anyone’s statements
• Critics cannot criticise art by trying to understand it’s meaning, then can merely report what it meant to them

Question 3

How is Jack an exemplification of Wilde’s Philosophy?

Answer 3

Jack applies Wilde’s aesthetic theories by using several fictional identities for himself, thus transforming his life into a work of art
- Mr Cardew found Jack and created an existence for him based on nothing - the role as ‘serious’ Jack and Cecily’s guardian

Question 4

How are Gwendolen and Cecily aesthetic critics?

Answer 4

• Gwendolen interprets Jack according to her own impressions and desires rather than some standard of reality.
• interprets fictional Ernest based on her own whimsical impressions rather than
  on any sort of reality