Which two iconic lines critique seriousness and gender roles?

• A. Love conquers all; Women are equal
• B. Fate decides everything; Men dominate society
• C. Truth is absolute; Mothers are saints
• D. The truth is rarely pure and never simple; All women become like their mothers...

Answer: (D)

Wilde uses wit to poke at how people take seriousness and gender roles too literally, showing how social rules shape what people pretend to be and how they expect others to behave.

The line about truth challenges the idea that truth is a noble, fixed thing. In the play, characters often bend or hide the truth to navigate romance and social expectations, so declaring that truth is “rarely pure and never simple” undercuts the notion that sincerity automatically triumphs in serious matters. It’s a playful jab at the earnestness that Victorian society prized, suggesting that life is messier and more performative than pure honesty would allow.

The other line turns a sharp lens on gender expectations. It suggests that women are moulded by their mothers, with the implication that their identities and behaviors follow inherited patterns rather than individual choice. Describing this as a tragedy satirizes how society confines women to predictable roles, even as the men in the play treat these norms with humor and irony.

Together, these lines illustrate Wilde’s method: humor that exposes the pretensions about truth and about how women should behave, revealing the artificiality of social rules rather than endorsing them.