The two texts that best illustrate the rapid evolution of the structure and function of genre in the Victorian era are Barchester Towers and The Importance of Being Earnest. These texts give rise to an interesting digression in that Barchester Towers takes his subject very seriously, while Wilde develops a play that is almost entirely satirical. In Barchester Towers, the main dramatic dichotomy is that between the lower church and the upper church, represented by Slope and the Proudies. , and by Grantley, Harding and Arabin, respectively. One of the main rivalries, however, pits two members of the Low Church: Mrs. Proudie and Mr. Slope. They are apparently fighting over the position of bishop, for although Mr. Proudie holds that position, he is, as Dr. Grantley says, "absolutely a coward" (Part I, 167). Mrs. Proudie's influence is visible before this, however, almost at the beginning of the novel: "A new sofa had been introduced, a horrible affair of chintz...but on the sofa they also found Mrs. Proudie, an innovation for which precedent could in it is vain to search in all the annals of the bishopric of Barchester! (Part I, 34). Here, Dr. Grantley goes to visit Mr. Proudie in his "office" for the first time and is amazed to see that everything has been redecorated, which is considered by them to be a punishable (or at least looked down upon) act. ) an offense in itself, but when they actually see Mrs. Proudie sitting in her husband's bedroom, they can't even believe their eyes. This scene is extremely important because it shows how much power Mrs. Proudie truly has over her husband, that not only does she shape the appearance of his entire life, but that she will also be there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to giving his private advice after others have done their...... middle of paper ...... in general. The main criticism I can make of Barchester Towers is that none of its characters have this same open-mindedness, this desire to tell each other the truth, even if it is a truth veiled in lies. Each work, Barchester Towers and The Importance of Being Earnest, deals with gender relations in very similar ways, but due to the reluctance of Trollope's main characters, the narrative takes around 500 pages to finally reach its conclusion, while Wilde elaborates and equal, if not more revealing, critique of gender norms with a much shorter and much more accessible work. In truth, each of these works is largely a product of its surroundings, which significantly dates Towers while keeping Earnest afloat, but each of them retains its importance when attempting to understand gender dynamics as they relate to the Victorian era, during and after.