To Be Earnest Or Not To Be

In the Victorian Era, women were pretty much servants to either their parents or their husband, depending on with whom they live. The parents basically got to decide their daughter's fate by choosing who they marry. The father, if not both parents in higher families, had to approve of the man that wished to marry their daughter before he could even ask for her hand in marriage. If the parents approved, the daughter usually did not have a choice but to marry him.

In the Importance of Being Earnest, Jack proposes to Gwendolen basically out of the blue without asking for her parent's permission first. Lady Bracknell is then appalled at the scene when she enters the room to find Jack down on one knee. Later when Algernon announces he is engaged to Cecily, Jack does everything he can to prevent it simply because he does not favor Algernon as a suitable match.

Also, the women in the play do not worry about getting their father's to agree like they would in real life during the Victorian Era. They seem to be in the state of mind that they get to decide their future, not their parents. In the Victorian Era, the daughters rarely got to decide their own fate. Sometimes the sons didn't either, if they're social standings were at risk. Though usually the women had no say. In the play, however, the both Gwendolen and Cecily completely go against that and agree to marriage without letting anyone else know.