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In Act II of The Importance of Being Earnest, Gwendolen says this in a conversation with Cecily:

Gwendolen: [...] And certainly once a man begins to neglect his domestic duties he becomes painfully effeminate, does he not? And I don't like that. It makes man so very attractive. Cecily, mamma, whose views on education are remarkably strict, has brought me up to be extremely short-sighted; it is part of her system [...]

What is this line's meaning and is Gwendolen insulting her mother?

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    Traditionally people thought that myopia (short-sightedness, nearsightedness) was brought on by too much close work such as reading. Recent research seems to indicate that it's caused by spending too much time indoors, but of course Oscar Wilde or his characters wouldn't know about that. It's easy to imagine how a strict system of education might result in a child spending too much time indoors, reading. From the quoted lines it appears that Gwendolyn may not share or appreciate her mother's views on education. I don't see an insult here.
    – user14111
    Oct 27, 2018 at 23:24
  • I believe the word short-sighted is being used in the literal sense of "Having short sight; having the focus of the eyes at less than the normal distance; unable to distinguish objects clearly at a distance; myopic" (OED) rather than any figurative sense, especially in view of the part of the quotation you omitted at the end: "Cecily, mamma, whose views on education are remarkably strict, has brought me up to be extremely short-sighted; it is part of her system; so do you mind my looking at you through my glasses?"
    – user14111
    Oct 27, 2018 at 23:49

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