The “happy ending” is not only a moment of lovers reunited, but also a celebration of the earnestness of lying (Lee 2010). This play tells the story of a number of individuals along with their behavior, in a time where there was a strict code of morals. Oscar Wilde uses The Importance of Being Earnest to mock that strict code which existed in the Victorian Age. He ridicules these morals, especially the idea that others were able to dictate the way one could or could not behave in society. This play places great emphasis on Wilde’s motivation to defy the gender roles during the time of the Victorian Era. He did this by using his personal life to bring across that message; to be Ernest one must be earnest to who they are. As stated above, the name “Earnest” brings out an underlying meaning of homosexuality, which shows success in Wilde’s determination to defy these gender roles. In the same year of its first production, Oscar Wilde was arrested for doing exactly what the message of his play relaying, for being who he was, a homosexual.