Late Victoria.

 Implementation of various new policies and the rise of science which introduced a scepticism to the religious faiths

The face and the strength of an industrial success began to wane especially in the 1870s-1901. The row was covered by melancholy and pessimism,A sense of exhaustion And an anxiety to the advent of the 20th century. It also arose to sensual enjoyment To the trivialities of life, Which were very much suppressed and checked in in the early Victorian age which is why the late Victorian age became known as looser and more open and was even coined as the naughty Nineties. (though the tipping point was based on geological discoveries that challenged the biblical view of the young earth, and thus seeded doubt into the Christianised society)

Aspects of the social-cultural climate. 

asceticism was going down, while an emphasis on decadence and loose morals was on the rise

fin-de-siecle: the turn of the new age (or new century) where there were changes from the repressed victorian society into something else entirely

women to be liberal and boldly educated

(1854-1900) Oscar Wilde: I put all my genius in my life, I put all my talents in books; the use of epigrams (witty one-liners)



-presenting himself as a work of art. Through all kinds of presentation. A captivating conversationalist.
tried for homosexuality and lost lawsuits, spent 2 years in jail in which he wrote a reflective journal.

farce satire comedy: BEGIN TO THE ABSURDIST VIEW OF LIFE: no intrinsic meaning, don't take things so seriously. 

Wilde wants winning women: “Life is important enough for us to not take it seriously” strong element of farce, but still find cornerstones of the message, where people delve into existentialism and the keruntuhan of morals, which directly stemmed from the crumbling factor of the Judeo-Christian religious background so entrenched in the Early Victorian Era.

Superficial relationships built on selfish reasons, hardly digs past the Truth of character, though (as we can see from Bracknell, a certain kind of character is expected for high-society)
Men can give anything to keep up the fantasies of women during courtship, for the return of sexual gratification, which snowballs an epidemic of short-term symbiotic relationships.

The commentary: Marriage as a social contract, valued on prestige, especially in aristocracy to maintain the status quo. Targeted matches are purely transactional and businesslike. Less of a divine covenant fully dependant on religious grounds (but still functions through conveners of religion for a sense of formality, albeit in an offhand manner; e.g. Chasuble) and more of a social construct to facilitate sensuous joy. (Though Wilde himself critiques marriage and its impact on diminishing the potential of love) Marriage and the home was used as a nationalistic symbol for the ideal of domestic stability. Jack lying to his family so to go to town, is common back then in structure for debauchery, and wilde criticises this.

Late vic era focusing on the instant gratification monkey+ hedonism.
Marriage is just a vessel to meet such "needs" The ideals of Wilde would be to marry for infinite times? SO that you'll get your maximum shots of dopamine

but he quite focuses on the criticism he wants to seriously flesh out regarding the problems encountered in the early victorian era.

it is better to be beautiful than to be good, 

and good, rather than to be ugly

Truth is rarely pure and never simple.

What is the relationship between truth and appearances?  The high-society thought they were very respectable, but in actuality, there is another reality, which Wilde is trying to call them out for. Late Victorians were like rebellious children, trying to gain what they were deprived of since early Victorian society. Thus turning into victorian hypocrisy. The desire to be viewed as serious/idealistic directly stems from the desire to be socially recognised, but this is contradictory as such "perfection" does not exist, and hence hypocrisy is utilised to achieve such appearances. Lies ensue.

Des Cartes: Cogito, Ergo Sum

A total relinquishment of objective truth, stemming from the fall of religious doctrines as cardinal truths

If appearances can obscure the truth, then the truth doesn't matter?
(E.g. Lady bracknell telling jack that he should find a parent and quick, as long as they look legit)

Plays on Wilde’s aestheticism, where appearance plays a more important role than what’s on the inside. No moral values = no care for Truth. The lack of Truth propagates a chain reaction to the lack of importance placed on other truths as well.

The type of society Wilde portrays in his play: A society that values duty and looking respectable; appearance has a great hold over people. A person could lead a double life in which they’d do whatever they please, but as long as they are proper in appearance and keep things under wraps, society could look the other direction.

Victorian values are repressive and smothering, so their double lives are outlets for them to abandon their duty for a time and be who they want to be.

There are pocket/sub-cultures that mimic both the early and late Victorian era in societies today, but as the effects of globalisation are recognised through media, newer generations will constantly challenge and redefine ‘experimental/loose ideas’.

E.g.
Multiplicity regarding Religious freedom: Post-modernism
Challenging Inter-racial relations
Gender/sexuality

Our present-day society might be even worse in the context of how appearances play a big role in the ideal of success and what's desired by the public.

Mainly because on social media (where appearances are everything) there is now a quantitative and measurable standard in likes and comments for others to perceive you by