Humor and Cynical Wit as Significant Elements in Comedy

 A Review of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest

Purwanto, S.S., M.Hum. 

 

Abstract

  

Oscar Wilde is renowned for his works rich in social criticism and sparkling with irony. His wit, often cynical and epigrammatic, serves as both entertainment and critique of the moral pretensions of Victorian society. This article examines the function of cynical wit in The Importance of Being Earnest, one of Wilde’s most celebrated plays, and considers how humor becomes a medium for social reflection.

Keywords: cynical wit, social criticism, drama, comedy

 

Introduction

Comedy, as both entertainment and social commentary, allows audiences to confront human folly through laughter. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, comedy may refer to: 1. “Entertainment consisting of jokes and sketches intended to make an audience laugh; a film, play, or programme intended to arouse laughter.” 2. “A play with a humorous or satirical tone, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.”

It is this latter definition that best captures the spirit of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). Beyond merely amusing its audience, the play offers a humorous but incisive commentary on the conventions and hypocrisies of the Victorian upper class. Wilde employs wit, irony, and satire not only to provoke laughter but also to expose the absurdities underlying social institutions, particularly marriage.

Laughter, as the old adage claims, is the best medicine. A well-crafted comedy not only entertains but also enlightens, allowing readers to laugh not only at fictional characters but at their own follies as well. As Morton Gurewitch observes in Comedy: The Irrational Vision, “Humorous comedy not only tolerates man’s proneness to make mistakes, but even cherishes his fallible biases and pities” (p. 85). In this sense, comedy offers a form of moral therapy. Instead of lamenting human weakness, it transforms error into insight. Wilde’s comedy, built upon a foundation of epigrams and cynical witticisms, exemplifies this function perfectly.

Wilde’s use of the epigram, a concise, ironic statement exposing human weakness, is central to his comedic art. As Guy E. Smith defines it in English Literature to Romanticism, the epigram “tends to be humorous and ironical, usually defining some human foible or social weakness in a terse, satirical manner” (p. 309). Through this stylistic device, Wilde delivers his criticism in forms that are simultaneously elegant and subversive. His epigrams conceal sharp social critique beneath laughter, enabling him to mock conventions without moral preaching.

Comedy, Language, and Social Criticism

The use of comedy as a vehicle for social criticism is evident throughout The Importance of Being Earnest. While other literary genres can articulate critique more directly, comedy achieves this through laughter, making criticism both palatable and penetrating. As Gurewitch notes, “Humor seeks, not to expunge folly, but to condone and even to bless it, for humor views folly as endearing, humanizing, indispensable” (p. 9). Wilde’s humor functions precisely in this spirit, it exposes societal absurdities while inviting audiences to laugh at their inevitability.

Through the character of Algernon Moncrieff, Wilde gives voice to his sharpest epigrams and most cynical observations. Algernon’s wit embodies Wilde’s critique of marriage, romance, and social pretension. In one of the play’s most memorable lines, Algernon declares: 

 “I really don’t see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be

in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal... The very

essence of romance is uncertainty.”

This remark distills Wilde’s skepticism toward the institution of marriage. For Algernon, and by extension, for Wilde, marriage marks not the fulfillment of romance but its death. The humor of the statement arises from its inversion of moral expectations: the proposal, an act traditionally celebrated as romantic, becomes instead an emblem of boredom and conformity. Beneath the laughter lies a subversive observation about how Victorian society reduces love to a matter of certainty and social arrangement.

The dialogue between Algernon and Jack Worthing reinforces this critique through wordplay and idiom. When Algernon refers to “bread and butter,” he implies the material obligations, income and social standing, that underlie proposals of marriage. This economic dimension is further explored through the character of Lady Bracknell, whose interrogations of Jack reveal the mercenary logic of the upper class:

Lady Bracknell: “What is your income?”

Jack: “Between seven and eight thousand a year.”

Lady Bracknell: “In land, or in investments?”

Here, Wilde exposes the transactional nature of Victorian courtship. Later, when she inquires about Cecily Cardew’s fortune upon learning that her nephew Algernon wishes

to marry her, Lady Bracknell’s materialism reaches comic absurdity:

Lady Bracknell: “A hundred and thirty thousand pounds! And in the Funds! Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her.”

 

Her change of opinion upon discovering Cecily’s wealth exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of upper-class morality. In another instance, Lady Bracknell remarks: “I am not in favour of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable.”

The inversion, where ignorance is preferable to understanding, ridicules the superficiality of Victorian morality. Through such characters, Wilde dismantles the moral pretensions of his age. His humor, though light in tone, carries the weight of social observation.

Cynical Wit and Freud’s Theory of Humor

Wilde’s deployment of wit corresponds with what Sigmund Freud terms “tendentious wit.” In Comedy: The Irrational Vision, Gurewitch cites Freud’s classification: “Freud discerns four kinds of tendentious wit: obscene, hostile, cynical, and skeptical... but hostile wit attacks individuals only, while cynical wit assaults institutional values (or persons symbolizing them)” (p. 55). Cynical wit, then, functions as an attack not on individuals but on the social systems they represent. Wilde’s satire targets the institutions of marriage, class hierarchy, and gender relations, pillars of Victorian respectability.

As Freud observes, cynical wit also carries a therapeutic dimension: “Cynical wit remains an essential mode of therapy in an epoch not yet equipped to treat all the sores created by the pathology of the social structure” (p. 58). In this light, The Importance of Being Earnest may be read as both comic entertainment and cultural therapy. By transforming social criticism into laughter, Wilde allows audiences to recognize the absurdity of their conventions without succumbing to bitterness.

Cynical Wit and the Modern Situation Comedy

Wilde’s legacy extends beyond the theater into modern popular culture. The spirit of his cynical wit persists in the structure and dialogue of contemporary situation comedies (sitcoms). Like Wilde’s plays, sitcoms rely on irony, verbal repartee, and humorous contradiction to expose the follies of everyday life. However, the tone of modern sitcoms often differs from Wilde’s refined irony. While Wilde used humor as a vehicle for moral and aesthetic reflection, many television comedies prioritize entertainment over enlightenment. Yet the best examples of the genre, those that balance humor with insight, owe much to Wilde’s pioneering blend of cynicism and compassion. His influence reminds us that laughter can illuminate as well as amuse.

Conclusion

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde fuses humor, irony, and satire into a distinctive form of cynical wit that exposes the contradictions of Victorian society. His comedy targets not individuals but institutions, the conventions of marriage, class, and decorum that define social life. Through laughter, Wilde invites audiences to recognize the absurdities they uphold, transforming ridicule into reflection.

As Freud and Gurewitch suggest, cynical wit performs a therapeutic function. It enables society to confront its hypocrisies indirectly, with humor softening the blow of truth. Wilde’s brilliance lies in his ability to make criticism delightful, to conceal rebellion beneath elegance, and wisdom beneath laughter. In doing so, he establishes comedy not as mere diversion but as a mode of moral insight.

Wilde’s art demonstrates that to laugh at folly is not to dismiss it, but to understand it. In his world, laughter becomes a form of freedom, an affirmation that, even within the constraints of convention, the human spirit remains joyously subversive.

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 References

Gurewitch, Morton. Comedy: The Irrational Vision. Cornell University Press, 1975.

Henry, Lewis C. (ed.). Best Quotations for All Occasions. A Premier Book, 1961.

“Quotations and Sayings: Oscar Wilde.” quotesandsayings.com.

Smith, Guy E. English Literature to Romanticism, Volume I. Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1959.

The Importance of Being Earnest Online Text, intuitive.com/library/BeingEarnest.shtml.

Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. Online Edition, Project Gutenberg.

Wilde, Oscar. The Complete Plays, Poems, Novels and Stories. The Book Company, 1995.

 

 

A Critique and Resistance to the Priyayi Lifestyle

  A Review of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Novel Gadis Pantai 

Purwanto, S.S., M.Hum.

Introduction

Gadis Pantai is one of Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s most celebrated and thematically complex works. This novel, a tragic romance, tells the story of a young village girl from a humble fishing community in Rembang, Central Java. Set against the backdrop of traditional Javanese culture, it reflects the rigid hierarchies that governed social relations at the time. As in many of Pramoedya’s writings, the novel interrogates the social construction of gender and class, exposing the injustices faced by women under patriarchal and feudal systems. Narrated in the third person, Gadis Pantai occasionally shifts into the protagonist’s inner consciousness, allowing readers to experience her emotions, alienation, and eventual awakening.

Power and Symbolism

The story begins with an act of hope, and illusion. Driven by dreams of social and economic advancement, the parents of the unnamed girl, referred to only as Gadis (the girl), accept a marriage proposal from Bendoro, a respected priyayi or nobleman. They believe that their daughter’s union with a man of high status will elevate the family’s social standing. However, from the moment Gadis enters Bendoro’s grand residence, the seeds of internal conflict begin to sprout. The imposing architecture of the house, with its tall fences and air of exclusivity, creates an immediate sense of alienation. Pramoedya masterfully uses this physical space as a symbol of feudal power. Even in Bendoro’s absence, his authority and social superiority are embodied in the structure itself. The walls of the house not only separate classes but also signify the invisible barriers that confine women within patriarchal order.

Gadis seemingly thinks, the transition from her modest fishing village to Bendoro’s luxurious mansion is like crossing into an entirely different world. The stark contrast between these two spaces underscores Pramoedya’s social critique. Through physical and material objects, such as the furniture, architecture, and ornaments, he reveals how power operates not only through human relations but also through cultural symbols and the built environment. The young woman’s initial awe at Bendoro’s wealth represents a psychological submission to the illusion of status. Pramoedya thus exposes the subtle, yet pervasive mechanism of patriarchal control: the seduction of material comfort that blinds women to their subjugation. Gadis, unaware of her true position, does not realize that she has not been taken as a legitimate wife but merely as one of Bendoro’s temporary companions, a mistress who can be dismissed at will.

As the narrative unfolds, Gadis attempts to reconcile her internal conflict by clinging to hope and idealizing her new life. She comforts herself with the thought that her husband’s affection and the luxury surrounding her might compensate for her loss of freedom. Yet Pramoedya portrays this hope as tragically deceptive. The “comfort” of her situation becomes a form of entrapment, a gilded cage disguising her lack of agency. The romance in Gadis Pantai is therefore tinged with irony. Beneath the surface of love and devotion lies a deep critique of social hierarchy and gender oppression. Gadis’s efforts to win Bendoro’s heart are futile; her love is unreciprocated, and her position in the household remains precarious. When Bendoro eventually decides to take another woman of his own class as his lawful wife, Gadis is discarded without remorse.

Social Alienation and the Irony of Status

The novel also dramatizes the social alienation that arises when Gadis returns to her village. The same community that once embraced her with warmth now greets her with reverence and distance. The villagers’ attitudes change not because of affection, but because of her perceived elevation in social rank. Her relationship with a priyayi transforms her identity in their eyes, from a common girl into a figure of awe. Yet this respect is hollow, built on misunderstanding and social illusion. None of the villagers truly understand her pain or her subjugated status as a dismissed mistress. Pramoedya exposes the irony of feudal culture: proximity to power is revered even when it conceals exploitation. This social commentary remains strikingly relevant today, where outward symbols of wealth and connections to authority continue to distort moral judgment.

Parental Complicity and the Decay of Nobility

Another dimension of conflict arises between Gadis’s parents and their own conscience. They find themselves torn between pride and guilt. Pride for being related to a nobleman and guilt for sacrificing their daughter’s happiness. This emotional complexity deepens Pramoedya’s portrayal of ordinary people trapped in systems beyond their control. The parents, like Gadis, are victims of a culture that measures worth through social hierarchy rather than humanity. Their complicity is not born of malice but of desperation and ignorance, reflecting how deeply feudal values have permeated rural consciousness.

Throughout the narrative, Bendoro himself remains largely untouched by the suffering around him. Detached and self-absorbed, he represents the moral decay of the priyayi class. His calm, indifferent demeanor underscores the dehumanizing nature of power. For him, Gadis and her family are merely extensions of his status, objects to be possessed, used, and discarded. The psychological and social distance between Bendoro and the common people becomes a metaphor for the broader divide in colonial and feudal societies. Pramoedya subtly implies that this class arrogance persists in modern forms, where privilege still silences the powerless.

Resistance and the Voice of Defiance

At its core, Gadis Pantai is both a feminist and a social critique. Through Gadis’s suffering, Pramoedya exposes the intersection of gender and class oppression. Feudalism and patriarchy operate in tandem: the priyayi’s authority over the commoners mirrors the man’s dominance over the woman. Gadis, though initially powerless, becomes the vehicle through which Pramoedya articulates resistance. Her eventual outburst, when she is dismissed and dares to speak defiantly to Bendoro, is not merely a moment of anger but a symbolic act of liberation. By confronting her oppressor verbally, she reclaims her dignity. Her words, though powerless in changing her fate, carry moral weight. They embody Pramoedya’s belief in the transformative power of language: even when physically subjugated, a person retains the ability to resist through words.

This theme of verbal resistance recurs throughout Pramoedya’s literary oeuvre. He consistently upholds speech, storytelling, and writing as tools for moral awakening. To him, language is both a medium of oppression and a weapon of freedom. The colonized, the poor, and the silenced can all assert their humanity through articulation. In Gadis Pantai, Gadis’s voice, her refusal to remain silent, becomes the most profound expression of resistance available to a marginalized woman. Pramoedya suggests that while institutions of power may suppress bodies, they cannot fully extinguish conscience or the desire to speak truth.

In addition to its feminist dimension, the novel also functions as a critique of the hidden flaws of the priyayi class. Through Gadis’s inner reflections, Pramoedya reveals the moral emptiness behind the nobleman’s façade. In one of her monologues, Gadis compares the priyayi lifestyle to “living in a senseless hell.” A life governed by ritual and pretense rather than empathy or integrity. This line encapsulates Pramoedya’s central irony: Bendoro appears pious and disciplined in religious observance, yet his treatment of Gadis exposes a profound ethical failure. Through this paradox, the author condemns the disjunction between ritual religiosity and moral consciousness. A hypocrisy that, he implies, continues to haunt the upper classes of Indonesian society.

Awakening of the Oppressed

Ultimately, Gadis Pantai stands as one of Pramoedya’s most poignant indictments of feudalism and patriarchy. The novel’s power lies not only in its depiction of suffering but in its portrayal of awakening, the moment when Gadis transforms from a submissive victim into a self-aware subject. Her story reflects the larger struggle of marginalized people seeking dignity amid systems of domination. By using a female protagonist, Pramoedya gives voice to those who have historically been silenced, asserting that true nobility lies not in title or class but in moral courage.

In conclusion, Gadis Pantai transcends its historical setting to deliver a timeless social message. It exposes the illusions of hierarchy, the complicity of tradition, and the strength found in resistance. Through his nuanced portrayal of Gadis, Pramoedya dismantles the myth of the priyayi’s superiority and unveils the quiet heroism of the oppressed. The novel reminds readers that while material power may dominate society, the human spirit, expressed through words, memory, and defiance, remains the ultimate force of resistance.

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