'The Importance of Being Earnest' is often portrayed as a comedy of manners - Wilde defines the text as 'a banal comedy for serious people', which immediately raises questions on the very purpose of the show. Dr. Tracy Sanders states that "comedy of manners is a style of comedy that reflects the life, ideals, and mores of upper-middle-class society," which no doubt links to the play. Apparently 'The Importance of Being Earnest' could be classified as a sophisticated comedy of manners that ignores any sincerity, is characterized by sarcasm, banal characters and the typical comic resolution that is marriage. However, in opposition to this, hidden within the humor are the underlying principles of the work which arguably portray core elements of darker humour, regarding gender, society and marriage, which have raised questions about the true intention of the work. Many critics have stated that the work represents Wilde's criticism of Victorian era society and is primarily a strong attack on conveying serious social messages. Wilde probably uses Lady Bracknell as a representation of upper class society. He is a stock character who is used as an obstacle in the four lovers' quest to get married. When she is informed of her daughter's engagement she immediately abolishes the idea, "when you get engaged, I or your father... will inform you of the fact", so the daughter's future is ultimately chosen by her parents and based on wealth and to the status of Gwendolyn's potential husband. This emphasizes the younger generations' lack of control over their own lives, which raises the idea of ​​serious, underlying factors within the show. Lady Bracknell is employed to embody the older generation of the Victorian era, Wilde... middle of paper... then they agree to marry. The concept of negligible serious situations is also distinctive in Miss Prism's character. She is the cause of Jack's abandonment and when this is discovered, instead of facing the consequences of his action, he embraces her. “Mom, I forgive you,” without even understanding the circumstances and reason for Miss Prism's behavior, considers abandonment as insignificant. Due to their behavior classified as completely irrelevant, the lack of change in the morals of the characters is therefore restored. This is therefore key evidence that the play is a comedy of manners, although the characters ultimately commit an amoral act, which is actually seen as unimportant and meaningless. Ultimately the play then furthers the idea that the conventions of comedy used are employed to convey serious social messages in the play.