In what ways is Oscar Wilde mocking Victorian society in his drama The Importance of Being Earnest?

lived
during the Victorian period (i.e., the reign of Queen Victoria, which lasted from from 20 June
1837 until her death on 22 January 1901). It is important here to distinguish between the
Victorian period and the rather unfortunate use of the term "Victorian" as standing in
for a certain type of sexual mores which differ from those of the twenty-first century. As
satirical writer, Wilde made fun of what for him was contemporary society, something most
satirical writers do.

One of the main targets of Wilde'swas hypocrisy. He
himself was a gay man who was jailed for a homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas. As
a gay man who married to conform to social conventions, he was very aware of how laws regulating
relationships led to certain forms of hypocrisy. He was opposed to various forms of double
standards and often portrayed characters whose veneer of respectability covered morally dubious
behavior.

Wilde's main audience was the upper-middle and upper
classes,...