Social Contract Marriage is shown as a business deal not romance Lady Bracknell s views are the clearest In Act I she tells Jack A man who desires to get married should know either everything or nothing Which do you know She checks Jack s wealth and family before giving approval Later when she hears Cecily has money she suddenly supports her marriage to Algernon In Act III she exclaims A hundred and thirty thousand pounds And in the Funds Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady now that I look at her This shows how money not love decides marriage Hypocrisy and Double Life The play mocks hypocrisy through Jack and Algernon Both lead double lives to escape duty Jack pretends to have a wicked brother Ernest In Act I he says I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest Algernon invents a sick friend called Bunbury These tricks show dishonesty under social rules Wilde exposes how the upper class hides behind false identities while appearing moral in public Satire of Social Rules and Manners Wilde also ridicules pointless social rules Lady Bracknell s comments are examples In Act I she famously says To lose one parent Mr Worthing may be regarded as a misfortune to lose both looks like carelessness This absurd remark shows how society cared for appearances more than emotions Wilde also uses comic scenes like Jack and Algernon fighting over muffins It shows how silly rules and manners controlled people s lives Exposure of Ignorance and Pretension Lady Bracknell also values ignorance as refinement In Act I she remarks Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit touch it and the bloom is gone This line satirizes the false belief that ignorance is fashionable Wilde uses such remarks to attack the empty pretensions of the aristocracy Comic Resolution and Satire The climax ties together Wilde s satire Jack learns he is Lady Bracknell s nephew and his real name is Ernest In Act III he says I ve now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest This pun links the title with both honesty and the name Ernest Wilde uses this comic twist to mock how names and appearances dominate life In short The Importance of Being Earnest is a perfect social satire It exposes the vanity hypocrisy and greed of the Victorian upper class Through Lady Bracknell Jack Algernon and the others Wilde ridicules marriage class and manners His wit makes society s flaws both laughable and unforgettable