Reflecting his life, Oscar Wilde's witty works explore the concept of truth and its role in shaping Victorian society. A vague question faced by readers is whether Wilde believed in falsehood or upheld the importance of truth. Oscar Wilde examines themes of truthfulness through the use of character deception in his social comedies The Importance of Being Ernest and Lady Windermere's Fan. Both comedies exploit situations shaped by secrecy and ultimately seed a statement on social life, albeit a satirical one. Wilde's works have greater significance when his personal life is taken into account. Oscar Wilde was born in Dubin, Ireland in 1854 and after a successful stint at a local college, Wilde enrolled at Oxford in 1877 (Gale, 1998). Wilde's academic success may have been a product of his social environment; his mother also being a poet, under a pseudonym, exposed Wilde to numerous other writers, undoubtedly shaping his future writing aspirations (Gale, 1998 and Edwards, 2004). The death of Wilde's sister in 1867 may also have developed a personal pattern for his frequent depiction of innocent young women in his works. Oscar Wilde managed to amass a moderate fan club while at Oxford and gradually grew into publishing several poems until 1882, when he ventured to America for a year. Wilde married in 1884 and fathered two children. According to Edward's article (2004), financial problems led his wife to abstinence to avoid having more children. Wilde, at this point, then turned to homosexual activities to relieve his growing sexual frustrations. Wilde's most successful works, probably inspired by his active homosexual double life, were published during this period, in the early 1890s; ironically, the plots revolved around secrecy... the center of the paper... twists and objects to examine the morals of Victorian society. However, he refrains from overtly introducing his own philosophical point of view in a way that would taint the overall quality of his work. Works Cited Edwards, Dudley Owen, "Wilde, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills (1854-1900)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2010. Web. November 5, 2011.Wilde, Oscar, “The Importance of Being Ernest” The Importance of Being Ernest and Other Plays. London, England: Penguin Books Ltd. 2000. 295-358. Print.Wilde, Oscar, “Lady Windermere's Fan” The Importance of Being Ernest and Other Plays. London, England: Penguin Books Ltd. 2000. 5-64. Print.“Wilde, Oscar Fingall O'Flahertie Wills (1854-1900).” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale World History in Context. Network. November 14. 2011.