In the play, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Jack Worthing's physical journey from Hertfordshire to London and back again, transforms into a complex situation with vivid reflections of the Victorian time period. The protagonist is known to be "Jack" in Hertfordshire, but is ironically known to be "Ernest" in London. His journey from place to place complicates the relationships he develops with people like Algernon Moncrieff. Jack's double life parallels with the meaning of the work as a whole. The hypocrisy of the Victorian time period is shown with Jack's choice of name: Ernest. Not only is he completely lying about his background and lifestyle while in London, he is falling into the typical pomposity that is the Victorian period. The title clearly recognizes that Ernest is supposed to represent a person who is serious and honest, the complete opposite of Jack and Algernon. However, in this era, the only thing of importance was impressions.
The complications occur when confronted by Gwendolen and Cecily. Jack and Algernon both adopted the name "Ernest" in the process of trying to flirt with Gwendolen and Cecily. The smug girls only appreciated the name "Ernest". Not only do they only care about shallow appearances, they were actually in possession of a diaries with fictional engagements and arguments between their fiances and themselves. "Yes, but it usually chronicles the things that have never happened, and couldn’t possibly have happened" (Wilde 22). Cecily's statement toward her diary easily wraps up the ridiculous standards of the time period. It conveys the idea that a young girl must make up their life's stories in order to be entertaining to others. This event ties back into Jack's physical journey between London and Hertforshire. He felt as though he was not up to society's standards and therefore creating a fictional character with a more enthusiastic lifestyle just like Gwendolen and Cecily felt the need to do.
However, the real hypocrisy occurs toward the end of the work when Jack finds out that he actually has been telling the truth about his name and imaginary brother. At this point in the novel, it is obvious that there is no real intellect going on with these characters. They are merely pawns in their society. They all do not comprehend that there is more to life than appearances. The concept of this story was evident from the beginning of the work throughout the conclusion. Jack's physical journey from Hertfordshire to London created an abundance of superficial struggles that reflect the Victorian time period flawlessly.
