How does Oscar Wilde's life compare to one of the characters in The Importance of being Earnest?

Oscar Wilde's life holds some parallels with Algernon Moncrieff's life in particular, because they both have secrets that they choose to hide using creative lies. Algernon creates an imaginary invalid friend named Bunbury, whom he always uses as an excuse to do whatever he wants without his mother being aware of it. This fiction allows Algernon to live the life he desires while maintaining a good reputation and his high social status.
Similarly, at least early on in his adult life, Oscar Wilde maintained a high public reputation despite being an active gay man, which was illegal in England at that time. As his playwriting career advanced and he gained more of a literary reputation, Wilde became more careless about concealing his personal life. In the end, Wilde was exposed as gay and sent to prison for years, which ultimately killed him. The Importance of Being Earnest foreshadows this event—though perhaps unknowingly on Wilde's part—by having the characters' lies exposed at the end. However, since Earnest is a comedy, the exposed lies do not end up preventing a happy ending.