21; (98). In actuality, however, it is the promise of social possibilities that motivate him to an end. For, it is his eventual conformity to societal norms that destroys the moral truth he once held dear. By the time Wilde establishes definite engagement for the couple, Algernon and Cicely embrace, and the play ends. As Algernon said in Act 1, “The excitement is all over” (30). This anti-passionate climax epitomizes Wilde’s sardonic wit, humoring a societal institution. Algernon achieves what he believes he wants, but loses his motivation in the process. Marriage, at one point, “seem[ed] to be very problematic to” Algernon. His only hope is to abandon the social expectation of him as a husband and return to his life of “Bunburying” (36). “It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth” (108). Though Algernon, by the play’s close, does not realize this, it is the inevitable that he will eventually realize that the truth is no longer with him. For, Algernon initially speaks nothing but the truth. Yet on his path toward achieving his moral objective, he becomes so intent upon the actions that he loses the truth; Algernon is so set on becoming engaged that he forgets that divorces, not marriages, “are made in heaven” (30). Wilde’s initial intention is for Algernon to appear to be the antithesis to society’s spokesperson. As Algernon, contrary to expectation, abandons his own truth, and the play ends happily ever after, Wilde reveals to the reader his view that marriage is ridiculous. ...
