How does Oscar Wilde use comic pairings to show Victorian moral hypocrisy in "The Importance of Being Earnest"?

During Wilde's time, women still could not vote and the London aristocracy was clinging onto its traditions of marrying for money and social status. Parents and guardians were still very much a part of the marriage process and determining who could marry whom. Thus, in "The Importance of Being Earnest," Wilde pokes fun at everyone involved in these traditions by showing the attitudes and hypocrisy that seemed to coincide with them. In order to personify these traits and drive the message home for the audience, Wilde pairs Jack Worthing with Lady Bracknell as parent/guardian figures; Jack and Algy as "gentlemen" seeking wives; and Cecily and Gwendolyn as the foolish brides.

First, Jack and Lady Bracknell both show their hypocritical sides when determining the value of a future spouse. Jack wants to marry Bracknell's daughter Gwendolyn, but she won't have it because Jack cannot produce documentation of who his parents were. But when Lady Bracknell wants her son Algy to marry Jack's ward Cecily, it's not because of who Cecily's ancestors are so much as the fact that Cecily is rich and can pay off Algy's debts. Then Jack is a hypocrite because he treats Algy just like Lady Bracknell treats him when applying for marriage.

Next, Jack and Algy are both bachelors who are deceitful to the women that they love. Both Jack and Algy lie about having a brother or a friend in another town simply to get away from family from time to time. Algy calls this "Bunburying" (the name of the fake friend) and Jack shows his hypocrisy again when he says the following:

"You young scoundrel, Algy, you must get out of this place as soon as possible. I don't allow any Bunburying here" (Act II).

Jack is a hypocrite here because he does the same thing when he goes to visit his fake brother Ernest in London.

Finally, Cecily and Gwendolyn are paired together to show how hypocritical women can be as "friends." When the two ladies meet, they promise each other to be best friends forever. Then when each believes she is engaged to an Ernest Worthing, they are immediately enemies. For example, the two ladies offer to be called by the other with their first names, signifying friendship; but when they become jealous and angry, they revert back to calling each other by their last names, signifying a more aloof relationship. Then in comical fashion, when the ladies discover the men have been lying about their names, they are instantly back on a first-name basis again. Clearly, Wilde makes fun of women's inconstancy and hypocrisy through Cecily and Gwendolyn.