Oscar Wilde used puns and witty dialogue throughout the entire drama, The Importance of Being Earnest. These comical lines allowed the audience to laugh their way through the unfolding story he has created to disprove Victorian social standards and culture. One specific joke that is immoral seems to justify the actions of Jack and Algernon. In the following dialogue Algernon is speaking to Jack-
Algernon: “Nothing will induce me to part with Bunbury, and if you ever get married, which seems to me extremely problematic, you will be very glad to know Bunbury. A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it.”
The interpretation of this sarcasm and satire states nothing can stop him from “Bunbury” (or living a double life) and if one were to get married he better know how to deceive his wife and “Bunbury”. He is saying husbands should know how to fool their own wife that they are going somewhere on important business, when really they are just going on a mini vacation for their pleasure. Along with the falseness of their absences, it suggests there is nothing wrong with the fact they are neglecting their personal duties. The corruption of this joke is within the context that he is treating such “behavior” and deceit with moral approval. There seems to be no importance placed on the value of truthful honesty inside the covenant of marriage. In contrast the joke suggests that marriage means the end of freedom, pleasure, wickedness, and the beginning of duty and following through with what is expected. Wilde probably used this dialogue to mock Victorian marriages suggesting that most husbands were living double lives and disregarding the importance of integrity in their marriage. No matter what the purpose of this wittiness, marriage should never be subjected to such humor. It is wicked to think before he even got married he had plans to be a lying bastard. The spectators of this play can clearly notice the immorality of the characters from the very beginning.
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