How does Wilde use comedy-drama to explore the gender roles of the Victorian upper classes? Wilde effectively and consistently uses the typical conventions of dramatic comedy to present a plot in which the characters deviate from a strict Victorian style. society: particularly with regard to gender roles. Adhering to the conventions of a typical Comedy of Manners play, Wilde aims to comment on, and quite possibly mock, a civilization very concerned with appearances and upholding traditional values. It also resolutely follows the codes of a dramatic comedy by using comic inversions to create a feeling of disorder, then discomfort, among the audience, particularly Victorian. Wilde repeatedly challenges the idea of ​​the roles of women and men in the rigid Victorian era and proves to both conform to and subvert the different expectations of the two sexes. Primarily, Wilde portrays our two male protagonists as high-class men on the surface. leading a stereotypical "single" lifestyle, initially adhering to the masculine gender role. The first discussion we see between Algernon and Jack focuses on the art of "bunburying", referring to a single man capable of traveling across the country forming an elaborate deception, while remaining respectable and conservative on the surface, a hobby in which our two male protagonists participate. After Jack's admission of pretending to have "a younger brother named Earnest", we learn that this excuse allows Jack to go into town to socialize, living a generally luxurious lifestyle, unknown to those who stay in his country house, this plot point relates to a typical feature of a Comedy of Manners play, namely that the countryside was generally dull, while the towns were prosperous. The Life of Jack...... middle of paper ......d: February 4, 2014) http://predoc.org/docs/index-10009.html (Accessed: February 4, 2014) http :/ /www.shmoop.com/importance-of-being-earnest/ernest-bunbury-symbol.html (Accessed February 15, 2014) http://www.novelguide.com/the-importance-of-being -earnest/ questions-dissertations (Accessed February 15, 2014) http://www.shmoop.com/importance-of-being-earnest/title.html (Accessed February 19, 2014) http://www .sparknotes.com /lit/earnest/themes.html (Accessed February 23, 2014) http://vanderlei.edublogs.org/the-importance-of-being-earnest/ (March 7, 2014) http:// www.humanities360.com/index.php/grave-trivialities-the-use-of-comedy-in-the-importance-of-being-earnest-417/ (Accessed March 22, 2014) http://pbsandwichofdoom .hubpages.com /hub/The-importance-of-being-serious-close-read-a-trivial-comedy-for-serious-people (Accessed April 2, 2014)