The Importance of Being Earnest by famed literary provocateur Oscar Wilde was written during the Victorian era. The statement that “A text reflects the dominant ideologies of the time in which it was written” in reference to The Importance of Being Earnest is completely false. The show explores the inner workings of the Victorian upper class and challenges the attitudes and ideologies on which society of the time was based. In particular, Wilde criticized certain social and financial expectations associated with marriage in an upper-class or aristocratic society. Wilde also describes women as having greater social and moral responsibility and power than men, contrary to the ideology that "a woman was inferior to a man" and therefore should be powerless. The immorality of the upper class society through their behavior is also criticized. Contrary to this, the only moral characters are those of the working class represented by Merriman. Wilde therefore comprehensively challenges the dominant ideologies of Victorian England through the use of characters and themes. The importance of being Earnest was first interpreted in 1894 during the Victorian era. era. Oscar Wilde studied at Oxford, thrived at college, and settled in London in 1878, where he was accepted into the aristocratic and upper-class circles of the day. In this society he developed a set of values ​​and attitudes that influenced his works. The Victorian era was the historical period in which there was a rigid social class structure consisting of a large working class, upper class, aristocracy, and the royal family. This rigid structure was supported by a strong patriarchal society that was believed to make moral decisions. The Victorian era was a time when…paper…is more important than love. This vision represented through the figure of Lady Bracknell. Lady Bracknell married well and her main goal in life was to see her daughter Gwendolen do the same. Lady Branknell says: “I am not in favor of long engagements. They give people the chance to know each other's character before marriage, which in my opinion is never advisable." This shows how society has made the institution of marriage more about politics and social status and less about love. A socially respectable marriage has nothing to do with the chemistry between the couple, but everything to do with each individual's wealth and wealth. Marriage is supposed to be based on love, Wilde in the work does not represent the ideologies of the time period in which it was written, it is a criticism of the structure and attitudes held in the society of the time.