Initially, after reading The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde, I recognized much from The Picture of Dorian Gray. The idea of the doppelganger was still a prominent literary device that Wilde used, also with, once again being satirical of society and the standards of it. In The Importance of Being Ernest, Wilde adds his wit into Algernon, who parallels to Lord Henry, who actually is Oscar Wilde. In a way, Wilde always seems to put himself into his work through wit, sarcasm and cynicism.

            In both Wilde pieces read, the issue of morality according to society and how it constrains people is present. I found it amusing and terrible that people at the time period were so constrained by society that Jack had to make up Ernest for him to be able to do what he wants. He becomes a different person, not necessarily a person that he likes better, as Jack adheres to responsibilities such as taking care of Cecily. On the other hand, Jack, being the romantic he is, falls in love with Gwendolyn as Ernest. He lives this double life that his friends do not know about and it makes me wonder how many people and who actually lives this kind of double life. Who actually has a doppelganger in real life that no one knows about?

            At the same time, on the issue of morality, the play focuses on what is moral and what is not moral. Every character that seems to be moral is either hypocritical or gets lied to. Which scenario is better? Even Algernon, the character who seems to be against the constraints of Victorian morality from the start, goes against his own standards by marrying Cecily. That makes him just as much of a hypocrite as Jack is. It seems to me that no one is innocent and everyone has done some kind of wrong, just like in real life.