The Importance of Being E(a)rnest

I loved The Importance of Being Earnest. Perhaps it was because I actually understand what Wilde was trying to satirize. Or perhaps it was because I was comparing TIOBE to my Lit Circle book, Catch-22. Although I have mentioned this before, I did not like Catch-22 at all. Sure, I liked certain parts of the novel that I could actually understand and laugh at, but the overall structure of the novel confused me too much for me to completely understand Heller's satire. However, Wilde's style and structure, much more straightforward, was much easier to understand.
Something I wanted to comment on in TIOBE was Wilde's portrayal of women. There were four female characters throughout the play, whereas there were three male characters. That there were more female characters than male characters seems somewhat significant in that it emphasizes the contrast in power between the male and female characters throughout the play. The 4:3 ratio of women to men is significant in that the men, at first glance, seem to have more power over the women. After all, the play is set in Victorian society, a time when manners were king and men ruled over women. Both Jack and Algy seem to have power over Cecily and Gwendolen, at closer examination, the women have more power over their men than it initially seems. It is the women who persuade their men to even get another christening, who influence both Jack and Algy to become and remain Ernest, even if it means leading a double life and lying to both themselves and the women they love. Both women make the initial offers of marriage, acts that seem somewhat backwards in such a proper society as Victorian England. Cecily's imaginative stories in her diary--of her and Algy's engagement on Valentine's Day and of their broken and reformed engagement--serve to emphasize her power in her relationship with Algy. In hearing of her fantasy-filled stories, Algy does nothing but wholeheartedly agree with her, as if he takes her fantasy as truth.
I found it interesting that Lady Bracknell seems to also exude much power, particularly over Miss Prism. The two characters coming face-to-face surprised me a bit. Although Miss Prism seemed to have much power over Cecily in teaching her her lessons, she almost cowers in fear when Lady Bracknell enters the scene. Though this could be because of Miss Prism's past, I found it interesting that Lady Bracknell could have such a big effect on Miss Prism's disposition simply by being around her.
Although Algy often seems to take command of the scene in his blatantly true sarcasm, he almost cowers back into a shell when Cecily enters the scene. Though he maintains a certain wit, much of it transfers to Cecily as she playfully taunts him and he is unable to respond. He seems most comfortable around only Jack, as he freezes up when Lady Bracknell enters the scene as well.
Perhaps Wilde was commenting that men do not have as much as they seem to have...

Catch-22 Ponderings

So, now to discuss all of the things I didn't have time to discuss in my measly, short timed writing on Catch-22. Overall, I didn't like this novel at all. Sure, there were some times where I chuckled to myself as I read it, and other times that I truly did get to think about life, it was too confusing and sporadic, too cynical for me to actually enjoy.
The ending of the novel took me completely by surprise. No, actually, it didn't. Heller had set Yossarian up to be a coward since the beginning of the novel, and by the time the novel was about to end, I had already suspected a kind of backed-off ending. The ending, to me, kind of symbolizes Heller's take on life. No, scratch that; the novel itself was a huge rant by Heller of his view of life. That Yossarian runs away, leaving his place of supposed responsibility and honor in the army, is significant in that first off, Yossarian, by escaping his place in the army, also escapes the corruption and hypocrisy that surrounds his position and life as a solider (more specifically, a captain). Not only does he run away from the "sure" and yet unsure death that life as a soldier offers him, he also runs away from a position of power into nothingness. As part of the army, Yossarian had only one sure thing: that he would die someday. However, he was unsure as to how he would die, something he hates about death. In running away from that unsurety and uncertainty, Yossarian defies society and the ideals that society puts forth about death. Death has always been and always be a mystery; Yossarian's wishes to know the uncertain and unknown distinguishes him from the rest of society, almost outcasting him at times. It seems that Heller wanted to--through Yossarian--point out society's ways of outcasting someone who does not conform, is not like the others. Although Yossarian is arguably the main character of the novel--after all, it does begin and end with him and centers a great deal around him--he is not necessarily the hero of the novel.
The ending of the novel seems to symbolize one's ability to walk away from one's current life in search of a new one. Much of the novel is concerned with identity--and often, a lack thereof. Yossarian seems at times to be a sort of an adolescent, angsty teen figure in that he doesn't really seem to know who he is. He wanders around causing trouble, be it getting the chaplain in trouble for signing Washington Irving or messing up the entire war by moving the bomb line, Yossarian seems to cause trouble in search for himself, in search for his own identity.
I didn't like the novel because it was confusing. But then again, life itself is confusing. Does that mean I don't like life?