In what sense is The Importance of Being Earnest anti-feminist and anti-romantic NU The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is a brilliant satire It is an anti-feminist and anti-romantic play It is comic but also critical The play exposes the Victorian attitudes towards women love and marriage Wilde shows that romance is shallow and women are often controlled Anti-Feminist Aspects The play is often called anti-feminist because female characters are limited They seem witty but their choices are controlled by men and parents Lady Bracknell dominates Gwendolen s life In Act I she says When you do become engaged to someone I or your father will inform you of the fact This shows how mothers decided their daughters marriages Gwendolen and Cecily also appear obsessed with names rather than real qualities Their dreams reflect society s shallow view of women Anti-Romantic Aspects Wilde also mocks romance itself Gwendolen