What device signals the play's focus on social performance, aside from Bunburying?

• A. Shrewd, paradoxical statements that turn serious topics into humor.
• B. The ritual of social manners and etiquette underscores performativity.
• C. A repeated motif of inheritance.
• D. A recurring subplot about mistaken identity.

Answer: (A)

The main signal is the use of sharp, paradoxical statements that turn serious topics into humor. Wilde’s epigrams expose how social norms are performative: characters speak and act in polished, witty ways to appear virtuous or proper, while the underlying motives and realities often tell a different story. This linguistic play makes the audience aware that social roles are constructed through language and behavior, highlighting the performative nature of society itself beyond the Bunburying plot device. The other options refer to aspects of the play—manners, inheritance motifs, or mistaken identities—but they don’t directly demonstrate how language itself reveals social performance as effectively as the paradoxical wit does.