In the play The Importance of Being Earnest, explain the theme of gender.

Oscar Wilde used his writings as a conduit of his own
opinions about society. Two of the things Wilde detested the most were the concepts of
marriage and married life. He felt that the courtship process was ridiculous and that
the expectations placed upon men and women alike by society were nonsensical.

For this reason, the characters of Lady Bracknell, Cecily,
and Gwendolen seem to share one thing in common: A preference for all the superficial
and trivial aspects of marriage, hence rendering it as a silly institution with no real
prospects. The women in the play represented Wilde’s aversion to marriage, and were
characterized by their silly reactions towards it. Cecily and Gwendolen, were fascinated
by the name "Ernest" and were willing to commit to marriage just for the sake of the
name. We also know that Lady Bracknell is snobby, elitist, classist, mean, and only
interested in material possessions. To her, marriage was a business transaction that
would ensure the future of her daughter in society. All the drama that transpired among
the women in the play occurred as a result of their views on marriage, and how badly
they wanted it. However, nowhere in the play do we see the real reason behind their
penchant for marriage, nor can we define clearly their true feelings and thoughts about
it.

Contrastingly, neither Jack nor Algernon take marriage
seriously. Even Lane, Algernon's manservant, says that his marriage was caused by a
"misunderstanding between himself and a young person". Therefore, while the women
battled, and planned their lives, around their own concepts of marriage the men hardly
paid attention to the topic and clearly placed their own personal interests before it.
Jack is the character most closely interested in marriage, but we still do not know to
what extent he would be willing to commit to Gwendolen. We find the same situation with
Algernon.

Therefore, the theme of gender in the play is
treated under the subtopic of marriage and relationships. It is clear that Wilde wants
to show the differences in mentality between men and women when it comes to commitment
and stability. Through these differences, we can also perceive Wilde's partiality
towards the idea that men can only be happy if they are free to do what they want.