TIOBE (quotes) marriage Flashcards
ACT 1, PART 1
algernon and lane discussing marriage
ALGERNON: “Lane’s views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don’t set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.”
meaning
Though a hedonistic bachelor himself, Algernon’s views on marriage reflect those of the aristocratic class in Victorian society. Marriages were often arranged between families, as it was considered important to preserve upper class pedigrees within these unions. To Algernon, Lane’s lackadaisical approach to marriage represents the “immoral” ways in which he believes members of the lower class engage in unions. Coming from Algernon, this statement is hypocritical, since he himself often acts fairly immoral—he lives luxuriously, and often beyond his means, despite being a member of a wealthy aristocratic family. His tone in this quote is also condescending and classist. Though he is young and careless with his actions and money, he believes that his pedigree is enough to know what is best for those with less money and education.
ACT 1, PART 1
jack telling algernon why he has come to town + algernon’s response
JACK: *“I am in love with Gwendolen. I have come up to town expressly to propose to her.”
ALGERNON: *“I thought you had come up for pleasure?…I call that business.”
meaning
In this quote, Algernon quips that he calls a marriage proposal “business” due to the complicated marriage arrangements between members of the aristocratic class during Victorian England. Marriages, frequently arranged between families to preserve what were essentially sociopolitical ties, were often more akin to business contracts than to unions of love. This exchange is exemplary of the relationship between Jack and Algernon. Jack is more sincere and responsible than Algernon, and Algernon is more often careless, condescending, and flippant.Jack is also much more of a romantic, and was adopted into the aristocratic class—he does not have a recorded pedigree (that he yet knows of) and therefore feels less pressure to seek out a marriage for reasons other than love. However, Gwendolen’s aunt does expect her to marry a fellow member of the aristocracy, and definitely views marriage as more of a business arrangement rather than a sign of love. It is due to this expectation that Jack’s lack of a pedigree will come to be a problem.
ACT 1, PART 1
algernon’s views on proposing for marriage
ALGERNON: “I really don’t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If I ever get married, I’ll certainly try to forget the fact.”
meaning
Jack accuses Algernon of being “unromantic” when he refers to a marriage proposal as “business.” In this quote, Algernon asserts that while love can be romantic, proposals and marriage are, by their very nature, not romantic. In Victorian society, marriages were designed to continue and create economic and social ties between elite families. It was well-known that these matches were often made for convenience, not for love. Romance was seen as illicit, fleeting, and frivolous, whereas arranged marriages were more enduring in terms of financial and social capital. Algernon notes that if he ever gets married, he will try to “forget” the banalities of the contract, since he would prefer to enjoy the thrill of romantic relationships in his bachelorhood.
ACT 2, PART 2
miss prism to dr. chausable about getting married
MISS PRISM: “You are too much alone, dear Dr. Chasuble. You should get married. A misanthrope. I can understand—a womanthrope never!”
meaning
Though Dr. Chasuble has committed to remaining celibate according to his interpretation of the Bible, Miss Prism continues to suggest that she is a worthy candidate as a wife. Though she never explicitly states that she wants to marry Dr. Chasuble, she frequently flirts with him and tells him that he should get married. As both Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism are well-educated people, their flirtation is humorous because of the high level of diction they use in their banter. In this quote, Miss Prism notes that she can understand people who hate other people (misanthropes) but she cannot understand why anyone would feel an aversion to women (what she terms a “womanthrope”). In Victorian society, women were considered the “fair sex,” a designation that ultimately meant that women were idolized and idealized, but also objectified and essentially used as pawns in the marriage game. In the context of Oscar Wilde’s life, this joke may also be a reference to the fact that he was secretly gay, an identity that was illegal in England during the period. He was eventually jailed for several years when his sexual orientation came to light, and many of his critiques of marriage and heterosexual romance in the play may be due in part to Victorian society’s abhorrence of anything that was outside of the perceived norm.
ACT 3, PART 1
lady bracknell’s views on marriages, despite her being a social climber
LADY BRACKNELL: “But I do not approve of mercenary marriages. When I married Lord Bracknell, I had no fortune of any kind. But I never dreamed for a moment of allowing that to stand in my way.”
meaning Despite being an aggressive social climber, Lady Bracknell pretends to look down upon marriages that are made to raise social status. This represents her consistently flaky and hypocritical nature, in which she tailors her morals to her own needs. In this case, she has just discovered that Cecily has a large trust fund, and is therefore (in her opinion) a suitable marriage candidate for Algernon. Lady Bracknell, never one to lose the chance to make a snide remark, states that Algernon has “nothing but his debts to depend on.” Despite his aristocratic status and familial wealth, Algernon handles his personal finances badly and is often in debt. Though initially Lady Bracknell thought Cecily was the one who was attempting to “climb” by becoming engaged to Algernon, she here states that it would be Algernon who would gain socioeconomic status by marrying Cecily, the wealthier party. This is an example of Lady Bracknell tailoring her views to whatever leads to the most gain in a certain situation. Though she looks down upon the poorer classes, she notes that she herself had no fortune before marrying into the aristocracy. In a further example of her hypocrisy, she made sure to marry upwards in order to ensure that she could enjoy the leisurely life of the extremely wealthy and connected—those with enough status to look down upon those who must make “mercenary marriages.”
ACT 3, PART 1
lady bracknell on couples getting to know each other before marriage
LADY BRACKNELL: “To speak frankly, I am not in favour of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable.”
meaning
Jack tells the people in the room that Cecily’s trust states that she does not “come of age” until she is 35. This shocks Algernon, who had hoped that she would be free to marry as she pleased much sooner than that. In this quote, Lady Bracknell quips that she would not be in favor of a long engagement because she fears the two partners would realize that they are emotionally incompatible, despite being the “correct” socioeconomic match based on the standards of Victorian society. In traditions of arranged marriages, it was believed that familial compatibility would create a more successful union than would romantic love, which was fleeting and far less enduring than social status and class.
