Gender Disparities In Hamlet and The Importance of Being Earnest Essay

Gender Disparities In Hamlet and The Importance of Being Earnest - Essay Example Women such as Cecily, Gwendolen and Ophelia are a good example of that. It is clearly seen that those Women are being taken advantage of or are being forced to do something, in order to benefit other personage. This paper will review this statement. A common undertone of Victorian society was how women were seen as fragile and cowardly things and should be treated differently (more gently) than men. â€Å"My dear fellow, the truth isnt quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet, refined girl. What extraordinary ideas you have about the way to behave to a woman!† (Wilde, 236). In this quote, Jack explains how women are incapable of handling the truth and thus justifies why he should not feel bad about lying to them. Jack constantly lies to Gwendolen, referring to her as a nice, sweet girl, putting her to a lower class than he is. He justifies this by thinking he is protecting her from the outside world. Gender disparity plays out with major undertones in marriage as demonstrated by Wilde. The ability to choose who and when to marry is a good example of the inequalities between the men and women in Victorian society. â€Å"I am in love with Gwendolen. I have come up to town expressly to propose to her.† (Wilde, 1) Jack sees the marriage as necessary for his social standings, impressing other members of the class. Marx sees society as only in classes, and he defines these classes by the amount of capital. The decision to marry is a normal aspect of a man’s life. â€Å"Lady Bracknell; Pardon me, you are not engaged to anyone. When you do become engaged to someone, I, or your father, should his health permit him, will inform you of the fact.† (Wilde, 172). When Cecily tells Lady Bracknell that she is engaged to Earnest, Lady Bracknell tells Cecily her vision. Lady Bracknell, like many in that society, puts woman lower in social class. From this statement, we see th at Lady Bracknell gives the man the main