In The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde utilizes plenty of word play and farce in order to create a comic effect with which he intends to mock the manners of high society. One of the most outstanding examples of the wordplay is in the title itself. Although "The Importance of Being Earnest" implies that honesty and seriousness would be prevalent, it is actually the opposite, which is encountered in the play. The white lies and double lives of the characters in the play serve not only as a demonstration of the paradoxical title, but also as a metaphor for Wilde's own views: He believed that the absolute truths of social conventions were gone and only subjective personal truths could be created through experience.
             Wilde's obvious intentions with this play were to ridicule the dry, conservative, and empty Victorian conventions of pious behavior and proper social interaction. They were empty in that their only purpose was to maintain social status quos. Lady Bracknell typifies this with her authoritarian, snobbish, and narrow-minded nature. She talks in a way that shows no emotion, but only a regard for the social implications of what she speaks of (think "nose in the sky society"). This is evident when she and Jack are discussing Cecily's background and Jack names her family solicitors Markby, Markby, and Markby, for evidence. She says, "...A firm of the very highest position...I am told that one of the Markbys is occasionally to be seen at dinner parties. So far I am satisfied" (Wilde 348). Lady Bracknell disregards the fact that they are a respected law firm and only cares for whether the attorneys were present at a social event or not. In her perspective, a person is only credible if he/she socializes with the upper crust. Also, when Lady Bracknell interrogates Jack, she asks him a number of questions, and most, if not all have to do with all but who Jack really is. She inquires about ...