In the late-nineteenth-century play, The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde satirizes the society in which he lived, which is now called the Victorian period. This period of the reign of Queen Victoria is characterized by British imperialism and growing power of its empire, extravagance in every aspect of life, aestheticism, and decadence. Society's values were saturated with indulgence and exaggeration. It was a time of political upheaval, tension between the classes, and massive poverty. People wore extravagant costumes, over-decorated their houses, spent money frivolously, and flaunted whatever they could. Wilde mocks this society of superficial morals and conventions. The actions and words of the characters in The Importance of Being Earnest represent the shallow values and frivolity that was common then. He achieves satire by undermining Victorian conventions as the play progresses. He makes use of dialogue among characters and stereotyping, and creates a discrepancy between appearance and reality. He also allows the people's imaginary lives to become real at the end of the play instead of destroying them.
             Wilde uses the characters in the play to mimic the superficiality and triviality of the typical extravagant lifestyle. He exaggerates it to the highest degree. It is difficult to find parts of the play that are not mocking some aspect. At one point in the play Jack ridicules Algernon for eating calmly at an inappropriate time: "How can you sit there, calmly eating muffins when we are in this horrible trouble, I can't make out. You seem to me to be perfectly heartless" (623). Algernon also reveals Jack's foolishness in mourning for his imaginary brother. He says he looks, "perfectly ridiculous" (614) and says, "it is perfectly childish" (614). All of the characters point out each other's faults, which are more than often extravagances, indulgences, and...