"Excuse me Geoffrey, could you get me
some more water. I'm terribly thirsty,
and the weather out here isn't doing any good for my complexion." declares
the man as he sighs in exhaustion.
"Right away sir, anything else?"
proclaims the servant.
"No that will be all." says the
man as he waves off the servant.
So is this the scene of yesteryear's
society or one of today's, well in actuality it can be either. In today's world the rich still rely on
butlers and maids. It seems to be a
practice that will always exist in this world, but the question largely is not
on their jobs, but if they are deemed of a different class, and sadly to say
yes. In today's world it seems that
class is still a huge part of the world order, and moreover
it seems that there
will always be the rich and poor, the owner and the worker. This is even demonstrated by the literature
of our time and that of other era's, such as the play "The Importance of
Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde. In
this play Wilde display's the class structure with a different and interesting
twist. He makes a reflection on the
society with his own sense of humor, but however it still leaves a very good
opportunity to make a Marxist critique about the way the class structure
influences the play. He leaves room for
these critiques when he writes about the servants, the nobles, and the middle
class. His view on society and class is
very evident on the way the servants are portrayed.
"'I don't know that I am much
interested in your family life, Lane'"
"'No sir; it's not a very interesting
subject. I never think of it
myself.'"
In this passage from the play it is very
clear that Wilde likes to give his characters some life, but however it seemed
that he was giving the servants a bit too much, but nevertheless it does
establish very well the position of those servants. In the society Wilde is presenting it seems that
the place of the servant was not only for manual labor, but also to provide
conversation, and to compliment the employer's personalities. In the story the idea of class was
demonstrated by the interaction between Lane and Algernon even though Lane was
witty he did know his place as a servant and throughout the play the servants
were an excellent reminder that class structure did exist. Wilde's idea of a witty servant has even
spawned off into today's society with television sitcoms such as "The Fresh
Prince of Bel- Air" and "The Nanny". In these shows the class structure is
inherent, but the gap between master and servant is smaller. That is one of the things that Wilde seemed
to make apparent, one can have servants, but the gap between doesn't have to be
that large. There can be class structure
in the world, but the need for class discrimination doesn't need to be there,
and another interesting critique can be made of the nobles of that time.
In the Victorian period, and today's
nobles exist. These are people who are
of noble birth right and is only passed on from generation to generation. It is a well respected position, but the
difference between the nobles of today's day and the older ones is the power
that they have. In today's time the
nobles have little power only respect, but in the Victorian period the power
was starting to diminish but it still existed.
The characters in the play who were of noble birth did indeed know how
to use that power.
Well when one makes a Marxist criticism it
can't be solely based on the story's view of the servants, but however one
needs to also look at the way the nobility are viewed. In Oscar Wilde's play he seems to make almost
a mockery of the nobility. When one sees
the way the nobles are portrayed one will think this is a sarcasm on the
nobles, but however if one examines it closer he/she may realize this is closer
to the truth than previous accounts of the nobles. In the play Oscar Wilde does not hold back in
fears he would offend anyone he wrote a play to entertain, but he also did an
excellent job on reflecting how the nobles are.
Firstly he displays the character of Algernon, who is, quite frankly, a
languid in debt young man, but nevertheless he is still a noble. With this character Wilde show's the reader
that all nobles aren't perfect and can be more flawed than the average person,
and portrayed was the fact that the rich and noble sometimes seem to abuse that
position and end up in a deeper hole than most others. Then there is his Aunt Augusta, who is a very
powerful character. Aunt Augusta in her
own rights is the dominant persona in the play.
She holds the cards and plays them at her own discretion. Her character reveals to the audience that in
nobility there isn't just the man who controls things, but in many cases it is
the female. She takes over the role of
leader and makes for an interesting view on the female aspect of nobility, but
however there is another aspect to female nobility, and that is inherent in
Gwendolyn. She possesses all the
attributes of, plain and simply, a snob.
She has the beauty, the upbringing and the turned up nose of a
noble. She symbolizes a part of nobility
that most people will not talk about, but however Wilde does talk and better
yet he reveals all of the little quirks of the noble class. In Gwendolyn is the part of the class where,
nobility has turned from respect and prestige and into vanity. She has abused the prestige she has and
turned into a vain quest to be looked upon and desired. It seems that the Victorian class had little
class in the nobles, but however there is one last class to look at.
In the Victorian era a new class was being
born that integrated the two distinct upper class and lower class, that class
was the Bourgeoisie, or the middle class.
Wilde put this new class into his play with grand success. They were a class of business men and
investors, and from that spurned the character Jack. Jack was the character who not only
symbolized the middle class, but he also carried the turmoil of, "What
class do I belong to?" He was from
a lower class community, but had worked his way up to infringing on noble
status. He wanted to marry a noble but
at the same time he wanted to keep his roots, this is excellent symbolism for
actual class struggle, and when one views this from a Marxist viewpoint, then
this is a grand criticism to be made, because throughout the whole play Jack
ponders this question, and its symbolism is too great to be missed. The entire play is a reflection upon class
struggle. However his struggle was not
as difficult as he had assumed because in the end he discovers, he is of noble
birth, s thus leaving him with an easier decision, and moreover this is another
support for the nobility taking the easy way out, and not striving to
accomplish they're goals with arduous work.
All in all the classes presented in this book lent itself to a Marxist
criticism.
In the play "The Importance of Being
Earnest" were many facets that could have been criticized by numerous
viewpoint's, but however the most thorough would be that of the Marxist view
because it allows the reader to take a step back and see the play for all it
is, and it is true that the play's main
plot line is that of s relationship between a man and woman, but however the
underlying real issue is that of their class and society. The play makes a great example for a Marxist
criticism on the effect of classes on literature. Wilde's own wit and intellect make for an excellent view of the classes of the
previous era. It is a work that will be
a not only viewed as a comedic triumph, but also as a social one as well.
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