I would say the setting Hawthorn choose for his book to take place, this Puritan village
Explanation:
The victorian era had the division of people into the noble upper class, middle class and the working class.
Algernon's display of cucumber sandwiches was referred to as reckless extravagance in a young person by Jack. But the irony here is that cucumber sandwiches are not even extravagant or reckless to serve at tea. Another is the fact that the lady that the sandwiches were meant for is not even a young person.
We have the hypocrisy of algernon who scolds jack for trying to take a sandwich but yet does so himself. He even ends up eating it all before lady Bracknell arrives. Then he has his servant lie that there were no cucumbers at the market.
The lady's reaction is that of indifference about the sandwiches. A great part of this play explores the consequences of the reckless formalities of society. Jack considered as rash behavior, the formal extravagance of the upper class.
The moral in the fable of the fisherman and his wife was based in being happy and greatful if something has been obtained for a good work and avoiding the greed if you get something. In it you can see two positions, one exposed in the fisherman who from the beginning asked for nothing in exchange for having saved the fish's life and the opposite in his wife who was always greedy and sended his husband back to the fish always asking for more.
A letter, autobiography, and others are primary source information.
