How Are the Female Characters in the Importance of Being...

How are the female characters in The Importance of Being Earnest presented and in what ways do they conform to the Victorian ideal of passive women. Victorian England made a clear division between gender roles of men and women. The life of a conventional Victorian woman was focused on marriage and family in which her upbringing was based on this. Young girls were brought up to perfectly innocent and sexually ignorant. The typical Victorian woman was seen to be weak and passive, she was taught to be obedient to authority and to keep her opinion to herself or not to have an opinion at all. Within the home, a Victorian woman took charge of the household and the education of the children however at the same time she was to provide a place of†¦show more content†¦However during the beginning of Act Three, all is forgiven. Both women are hopelessly in love with their male counterparts. Cecily is describes as â€Å"a sweet simple, innocent girl.† Gwendolen is seen as â€Å"a brilliant, clever, thoroughly experienced lady.† Despite these contrasts both women are intent on marrying a man named Ernest, Eager to embra ce one another as sisters and quick to become rivals pitted against each other. Gwendolen seems to be a typical Victorian woman at first glance. She was raised in the city by her mother. Lady Bracknell, and has become â€Å"the sophisticated, fashionable woman of the town†. Her mother has sheltered her from the dangers of the world and still tries to control her life. Due to her conformist, sheltered upbringing, Gwendolen believes she lives in â€Å"an age of ideals† and believes in self-improvement for this reason. Her mother has made sure she recovered a good education, this was emphasised on a multiple occasions in the play that she is a â€Å"sensible, intellectual girl†. It was not uncommon for upper class girls such as Gwendolen to receive a good education during their upbringing. She is obedient to her mother; Lady Bracknell wants a good advantageous marriage for her daughter and is perfectly happy to interfere if things do not go to plan. Lady Bracknell forbids Gwendolen to marry jack, which she seems to accept, at first. However