Social class, in its simplest terms, is a way of dividing a population into strata based on their wealth, access to power, or a combination of the two. It is also a subjective measure that often only needs to be implied to exist, so that while in one degree a person's social class is inescapable, in another it can be easily falsified . Ultimately, this resulted in many texts in which upper class people live like lower classes or similar. In Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance, the characters fantasize about the lives of classes other than their own, which allows Wilde to offer a particularly pointed commentary on class relations in the late 19th century. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay At the beginning of the play, Lady Caroline establishes herself as representative of the more vocal aspects of the wider Victorian society of the time, which is to say that she is a snob. She is quick to assume that America has few country houses because there is no country, rather than that perhaps their culture is different. This reveals that her snobbish view of even upper-class society is very rigid and assumes that all upper-class cultures are the same or perhaps just that Britain's is the best. Indeed, his later comments about Lady Hunstanton "mixing too much" (1:11) and his pointed use of the rather accusatory phrase "that Member of Parliament" (1:11) establish quite visibly the snobbery of his ideas regarding class and social structure. This is repeatedly emphasized by Lady Caroline's constant and deliberate modification of Mr. Kelvil's name to "Kettle" (1:11, 1:82, 1:156), (which is no coincidence that it is a completely banal object). An interesting observation, written by Antony H. Harrison in A New Companion to Victorian Culture and Literature, is that upper- and middle-class single women themselves in Victorian society "were traditionally dependent (on their fathers or brothers) » (Tucker, 2014, p.31) if not their husbands, Lady Caroline judges others with hypocrisy, simply being born into this life. Gerald Arbuthnot, on the other hand, having been raised in the poorest circumstances of all the actors in the play, perhaps gives the reader the best insight into lower-class fantasies about upper-class life. There is no doubt that Gerald is delighted at the prospect of working for Lord Illingworth, calling the job offer "such good news" (1:27) and saying that he hopes to prove it "in is worthy” (1:33). Here he is ostensibly referring to the work itself; However, crucially, in the previous line Lady Caroline refers to it as a "wonderful opening" (1:32), which is a telling phrase and one which is repeated verbatim by Gerald later (2:454). This is Gerald's only entry into upper-class life and, according to Lady Caroline, it is certainly something for which he should be infinitely grateful. However, before Gerald enters, she implies that she does not approve of crossing grades, stating that she is "not sure...whether Jane is right to remove [Gerald] from his position” (1:17). Gerald does not seem to have the same beliefs. He views this opportunity as a paradigm shift, asserting that “things that were beyond the reach of hope before may be within the reach of hope now” (1:37). It’s a telling phrase; previously, noonly the things he referred to were beyond his reach, but they were even beyond the reach of his hope. This presents an interesting counterpoint to Lady Caroline's rigidity and snobbery. This implies that he also considers the classes as strata, but in his mind this does not prevent him from moving between them. So, from Lady Caroline's point of view – seen from above, so to speak – people are born into the class to which they belong. From Gerald, the view from below is where people end up. Gérald is therefore, in a sense, an “anti-snob”; he sees the world through the same lens as Lady Caroline and sees the same boundaries, but transcends them without judgment. Lady Hunstanton clearly identifies with Gerald's position, as she describes him as "quite sheltered?" (1:47) and attributes the offer solely to "good fortune" (1:47), implying that she too believes that one can climb the ladder under the right circumstances. Wilde cleverly intertwined this belief of “born in him” with the alternative “can become” in the narrative; If Gerald's true parentage were known, then his presence in the upper class would not only be accepted, but guaranteed. It is the fact that he is known in society as "an underpaid clerk in a small provincial bank in a third-rate English town" (2:502), as Illingworth himself puts it in his conversation with Mrs. Arbuthnot at the end of Act Two is so annoying for him. Illingworth himself is completely unwilling to view Gerald's potential contentment as worthwhile, revealing his own snobbish tendencies. Gerald's view of Illingworth is clearly respectful, if not a little awestruck. At the start of the third act, Gerald is seated in a chair – an attitude that implies professionalism and respect – while Illingworth himself is “slumped on a sofa” (3:532). This exposes the different attitudes of Gerald and Illingworth when it comes to their understanding of membership in the higher orders. Certainly, Lady Caroline comments, near the beginning of the play, that "in [one's] youth... one never met anyone in society who worked for a living." This was not considered a good thing. (1:17). Illingworth too subtly devalues ​​his job later in the first act, referring to the job he hired Gerald for as "something [he's] stupid enough to think of doing" (1:93) rather than something more serious. This is then echoed by his later statement that "one should never take sides in anything...taking sides is the beginning of sincerity, and seriousness follows soon after, and the human being becomes boring » (1: 114). In short, Illingworth intends for his son to emulate his own simplicity, which seems to be far from the hard work Gerald expects. Although Ms. Arbuthnot no longer appears to have any positive illusions or fantasies about upper-class life, there may be some that cause her to oppose them. For example, although his scandal has yet been little mentioned, the chance appearance of Lord Henry Weston's name in conversation (2:387) provokes Hester's outburst about the women he has wronged, and This is where Ms. Arbuthnot intervenes. From her perspective, it may seem like people have only been talking about her since she left upper-class society, and especially since Hester is a stranger to her at this point, this may have contributed how quickly relationships deteriorate after that point. . She hesitates to participate in the conversation she overhears when she arrives, for obvious reasons. However, even if the conversation progresses and it is addressed directly or.