Marriage in ‘The Importance of Being Ernest’ Marissa, Jessica, Natalie, Eugene, Alya

Good heavens! Is marriage so demoralising as that? ALGERNON: Why is it that at a bachelor’s establishment the servant invariably drinks the wine? … LANE: I attribute it to the superior quality of the wine, sir. I have often observed that in married households the champagne is rarely of a first-rate brand. Good heavens! Is marriage so demoralising as that? I believe it a very pleasant state, sir. …I have only been married once. That was in consequence of a misunderstanding between myself and a young person. The ‘bachelor’s wine’ is superior whereas the ‘champagne’ in married households is not of a ‘first-rate’ brand. This is supposed to show bachelorhood as a better quality lifestyle than marriage. And it is important to have ‘superior wine’ and not to do so is ‘demoralising’. Although Lane defends marriage, he speaks of how his marriage was merely a misunderstanding involving a young person. His wife was a ‘young person’ because she was not mature enough and was not ideal for him whereas he was not the young person because he was still dominant.

I though you had come over for pleasure? …I call that business. JACK: I am in love with Gwendolen. I have come up to town expressly to propose to her. ALGERNON: I though you had come over for pleasure? …I call that business. Jack first states he is in love with Gwendolen, and Algernon refers to being in love as pleasure, but the fact that Jack wishes to propose to Gwendolen makes Algernon state that he is turning pleasure into business. He sees it as a conventional custom incited by society, as something purely professional that is brought about as a game of profit.

ALGERNON: I don’t really 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 try to forget the fact. Algernon makes his point clear that he does believe in romance, but not in marriage. He believes that marriage ruins romance. Marriages are very defined and structured whereas ‘the very essence of romance is uncertainty’ and spontaneity and cannot happen in proper marriage. He states that marriage and being in love are two very different things, and if he ever gets married he wishes that he will not even remember his marriage as it is insignificant.

JACK: I have no doubt about that, dear Algy. The Divorce Court was specially invented for people whose memories are so curiously constituted. ALGERNON: Oh! there is no use speculating on that subject. Divorces are made in Heaven – Jack attacks back at Algernon by saying that for those who are like Algernon, with a ‘curiously constituted’ mind that implies that they decide to remember their marriage negatively, divorces were ‘specially invented’. They are unnatural, man-made and against God’s will of sacred marriage. Algernon inverts the saying ‘Matches are made in Heaven’ to ‘Divorces are made in Heaven’ to show that he believes that everyone is destined to be divorced – this can be viewed as sacrilegious as it mocks God’s will.

ALGERNON: My dear fellow, the way you flirt with Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful. It is almost as bad as the way Gwendolen flirts with you. Well, in the first place, girls never marry the men they flirt with. Girls don’t think it right. Jack flirting with Gwendolen is ‘perfectly disgraceful’ because there is a proper way for men and women to act with each other and they are not supposed to freely and publically display affection. Girls are meant to be private and reserved, so acting this way is especially bad for them. The word choice of ‘girls’ shows that Algernon believes that they are not mature enough for ‘men’ as ‘men’ are dominant (this was also seen in Lane’s speech). ‘Girls don’t think it right’ because first and foremost, there are not meant to think for themselves, and they are not allowed to make the decision on who they marry. Algernon displays how marriage is arranged thus again, not romantic.