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In critical theory, a binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning. It is the contrast between mutually exclusive terms, such as on and off, up and down and left and right. Binary opposition is an important concept of structuralism, especially within the play 'The Importance of Being Earnest. It is seen as a fundamental organiser of human culture, philosophy and language.
Structuralism is the idea that words have no natural relationship with their meanings. We can understand language as being well versed in it's conventions and by its structures of differences. Individual sentences to entire genres, from pictures to performances, all have different structured meanings. The spectator of the play notices when performances or language practices differ from the rules. Structuralism involves performances of subjective rules which are more or less conventional.
Throughout the play, Oscar Wilde portrays several binary opposites using the characters and themes of the play, such as the town and country, class, age, gender and morals. However we don’t think that the binary opposites are the main source of comedy in the play. The reason we believe it to be comical is from the fact that the play is a comedy of manners as well as Wilde’s use satire of the Victorian morals. Wilde’s depiction of Victorian distortions also creates amusement for the audience. In the play, trivial things are regarded so seriously and the serious things in life are treated with triviality. This attitude allows for a very comical scene at the end of Act II. It ends with Jack and Algernon eating and arguing over muffins instead of chasing after their beloved ones. They have found out the truth about them and it seems like the marriage is off. This is shown in the quotation and repartee of "one should always eat muffins quite calmly". This sexual innuendo creates a satirical tone to the scene without using binary opposition. So even though the binary oppositions in the Importance of Being Earnest provide comedy, we don’t believe that they are the key comedic elements within the play.
A binary opposition is portrayed with the theme of gender and the contrast between male and female. The play is set during the Victorian era where men have greater influence than women. Usually men would make all the political decisions for the household and the women would be the mother and housewife. However, Wilde reverses gender roles by placing Lady Bracknell in a position of authority and power in the house. And to add to this, he makes the male characters such as Jack and Algernon quite irresponsible.