Themes In The Importance Of Being Earnest

     In The Importance Of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde develops on several themes, one of the most prominent being dishonesty. All of the central characters lie whenever it is convenient to them, whether it is to save them the trouble of having to explain themselves, or to allow themselves to escape social responsibilities. Most notably, Jack and Algernon are regular "Bunburyists" who have gone to the exquisite trouble of creating fictional characters that allow them to escape their responsibilities in order to pursue pleasure. Interestingly, Wilde doesn't necessarily seem to be speaking out against lying in order to pursue personal pleasure. Instead, he centers the play around what happens when his characters dishonesty is discovered. He seems to be pointing out the consequences of dishonesty, if in a rather comedic manner, all the while maintaining a neutral tone towards the subject.
    
     Several motifs that show up throughout the play are epigrams, satire of society, references to the title of the play, the name Ernest vs. the word earnest, and the pursuit of pleasure. Much of the humor in the play is centered around epigrams, short, and in this case, often satirical statements about life. Towards the end of the book, Lady Bracknell mentions that long engagements are bad thing, because in her opinion it is a bad thing for couples to get to know each other before marriage. She is saying that people should deceive their fiancé about their true natures so that neither person ends up calling off the engagement. This is ironic because marriage is supposed to be about two people who love each other. The whole concept is defeated if both people purposely don't get to know each other until after they say their vows. This whole passage is a satire on society, particularly  the attitudes towards marriage during the time the play was written. The aristocracy viewed marriage as a business deal, and an opportunity to acquire more money or land, rather than a union between two willing individuals. Part of the plays humor is also based around the name Ernest, and the word earnest. Jack and Algernon both pretend to be Ernest, Jacks fictional brother. When they are playing Ernest, they are both very earnest. The irony is that while pretending to be Ernest, a very earnest person, they are deceiving everyone around them, the exact opposite of what someone who was truly earnest would do.