 The play repeatedly mocks Victorian traditions and social customs , marriage and the pursuit of love in particular . In Victorian times earnestness was considered to be the over @-@ riding societal value , originating in religious attempts to reform the lower classes , it spread to the upper ones too throughout the century . The play 's very title , with its mocking paradox ( serious people are so because they do not see trivial comedies ) , introduces the theme , it continues in the drawing room discussion , " Yes , but you must be serious about it . I hate people who are not serious about meals . It is so shallow of them , " says Algernon in Act 1 ; allusions are quick and from multiple angles . 
