In this day and age, we have become accustomed to equal gender roles. We like to think that each party has a fair say in marriage and other affairs; but in the Victorian Era, this was not the case. It was a man's world and the women were just living in it. Men were completely independent creatures. An education and career were entitled to most of them and if they were lucky enough, they could ride the coattails of their family fortune and land and not get a job at all. Women on the other hand were the complete opposite. They relied heavily on their husband for income and it was deemed almost unattractive for a woman to receive an education. In Aristocratic society a woman's only job should be a wife and mother. They were expected to be passive and follow whatever their husband says. However, in Oscar Wilde's satirical play, The Importance of Being Earnest the roles are reversed. The reader can see unexpected behavior from the women and men in this play that goes against the accepted norm of gender roles in Victorian times and shines a new light on relationships as well as the society as a whole. To support this claim, Act I introduces the most surprising character in the play, Lady Bracknell. An incredibly strong willed and opinionated woman, her actions and conversations make her out to be the exact opposite of a typical aristocrat woman. When she is informed that her daughter, Gwendolen has become engaged to Jack she is outraged and quickly begins to interrogate him in a firm manner. She seems to be running the show here and Gwendolen shows she is remarkably similar to her mother, being so outspoken and bossy. A prime example of her outspokenness is when Jack begins to talk he her about the weather and she snaps back at him. Jack: Charming day it has been, Miss Fairfax. Gwendolen: Pray don't talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me so nervous. Jack: I do mean somethin