Principal Characters Jack Worthing, gentleman of the Manor House; also known as "Ernest" Celcily Cardew, Worthing's pretty young ward Miss Prism, Cecily's governess Algernon Moncrieff, Worthing's friend Lady Augusta Braknell, Algernon's aunt Gwendolen Fairfax, Lady Bracknell's daughter The Reverend Canon Chasublc, Rector of Woolton Story Overview While Algernon Moncrieff and his manservant prepared for a visit froi-n his aunt, the formidable Lady Bracknell, their conversation turned to the question of marriage. Observing the servant's somewhat lax views on the subject, Algernon declared, "Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?" This chat was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of Algernon's friend, Ernest Worthing Worthing was pleased to hear that Lady Bracknell - and her beautiful daughter Gwendolen - would be appearing for tea. But Algernon warned, "I am afraid Aunt Augusta won't quite approve of your bein here." Mildly insulted, Ernest demanded to know why. "My dear fellow," Algernon answered, "the way you flirt with Gwendolen is perfectly disgraceful. It is almost as bad as the way Gwendolen flirts with you." At this point Worthing announced that he intended to propose marriage to Gwendolen, but was taken aback by Algernon's response: "I don't give my consent." Worthing, would first have to explain a certain "Cecily" in his life. As evidence of this relationship, he produced a cigarette case left behind by Worthing on an earlier visit - devotedly inscribed from "Cecily" to her loving "Uncle Jack." "Well," admitted Worthing, "my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country." It happened, he said, that Cecily was his ward, who lived in his country home under the watchful eyes of a stern governess, Miss Prism. But to escape the stuffy constraints of country living, Jack had invented an alter ego: " . . . In order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest, who lives in Albany, and gets into the most dreadful scrapes." Thus, Jack was often "called away" to the city to "rescue" irrepressible Ernest. Smiling, Algernon now confessed that he too was a "Bunburyist," a friend of the equally fictitious "Bunbury," a "permanent invalid," whom he visited whenever he chose to get away. When Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrived, Algernon took his aunt aside, leaving "Ernest" and Gwendolen alone. "Miss Fairfax," Worthing stammered, "ever since I met you I have admired you more than any girl - I have ever met since - I met you.
Gwendolen confesses to Jack, or his confidante Ernest, “The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you” (10). That quote proved that Gwendolen’s drive to marry “Ernest” for him having the name Ernest, rather than marrying him for his character. Cecily also confesses something along the same lines as Gwendolen to Algernon, that even though she had never met him before she fell in love with him: “Well, ever since dear Uncle Jack first confessed to us that he had a younger brother who was very wicked and bad, you of course have formed the chief topic of conversation…a man who is much talked about is always very attractive…I daresay it was foolish of me, but I fell in love with you, Ernest” (32). She is led to believe that Algernon’s real name is Ernest. Cecily and Gwendolen are attracted to Jack and “Ernest” because of their histories. Gwendolen was excited to find o...
Everyone has a poker face. Everyone has a bunbury. Everyone keeps secrets, and everyone lies. The question is, how does one tell if another is truthful about their intentions? There are many different cases in which one will lie about who they really are, but there is no telling when it is okay and if they can be forgiven. In many different stories that were read in Late British Literature this semester, we have characters that keep secrets from friends and loved ones. The simple truth is, people’s words are often different from the truth.
The The surprising thing is that they both understand each other! In addition, both Jack and Algernon have made false statements. Jack has "invented a very useful younger brother called Ernest" Algernon has "invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunberry. According to Jack, his name is not suitable for both the town and the country. The. Algenon and Jack, therefore, live as they please, through.
AThe Importance of Being Earnest a play written by Oscar Wilde is set in England in the late Victorian era. Wilde uses obvious situational and dramatic irony within the play to satirize his time period. According to Roger Sale in Being Ernest the title has a double meaning to it and is certainly another example of satire used by Wilde. With a comedic approach, Wilde ridicules the absurdities of the character’s courtship rituals, their false faces, and their secrets. (Sale, 478)
Within the novel four proposals to the Bennets take place, two of which are received by Elizabeth. The world is often seen through her eyes and as an audience we are positioned to empathise with her opinion on the absurdity of marrying for reasons other than love....
“Of course I knew what they were referring to, but I wasn’t even vaguely engaged. The fact that gossip had published the banns was one of the reasons I had come East. You can’t stop going with an old friend on account of rumors, and on the o...
Jack, thinking he might have been that very baby, retrieves the bag he was found in as an infant in which Ms. Prism identifies by some distinguishing marks to have been her own. Jack realized the woman that had been teaching his niece was his mother. But then Lady Bracknell explained that she was not, but Lady Bracknell’s poor sister Mrs. Moncrieff was. The irony continues to explain how Jack and Algernon were biological brothers. They were pretending to be earlier to play out their game of Bunburyism.
Oscar Wildes ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’’ is believed by many to be his most genius work and certainly has withstood the test of time. The play is set in London during the 1890’s in which time frame aristocracy and upper class held the majority of the countries wealth. Many of the comical aspects question the morals of the upper class in which he satirises throughout the play. One method of this, for instance is through one of the main protagonist, Algernon Moncrieff. Algernon is an upper class individual who is oblivious to the world around him in such an exaggerated manner that it makes his character comically adjusted for Wildes own views. Many aspects of the time period are made a mockery through puns and witty remarks from the main protagonists, most if not all are portrayed in a sense that makes them undoubtedly a laughing stock. Wildes methods are not discrete; nor are they obvious, many of the comical comments made are by none other than the protagonists themselves. This furthermore enforces the corrupted morals of the time periods prestigious upper class by showing their sheer inability to acknowledge hypocrisy. For example, in act one; Algernon states “ Lane's views on marriage seem somewhat lax. Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them? They seem, as a class, to have absolutely no sense of moral responsibility.” This is especially amusing as Algernon believes that the lower class have a duty to set an example when in reality the matter of fact was quite the contrary. Algernon states that he believes the lower class are lacking in morals, he being arguably one of the most morally distorted characters Wilde created makes the double standards more prominent.
Two of the main characters, Jack and Algernon, strive to be "Ernest" and "Earnest" in the play, yet they both deceive others to escape lives which they grow tired of. They both hope to marry the girls that they love, yet they are starting the relationship based on false pretence and lies. It is ironic that they both call themselves "Ernest," a name that suggests honesty and sincerity, yet they both create stories to escape something or the other. Jack creates a brother called "Ernest" in the city that he uses as a scape goat' to leave his prim and proper, respectable country life, whereas Algernon creates a friend by the name of "Bunbury" to escape his aunt's high class society parties. He shows his lack of interest in such social events when he tells Jack.
Although Algernon showed little signs of wanting to settle down with a wife at the beginning of the play: his love for Cecily swept him off his feat. This quick and sudden falling in love is very characteristic for lovers in Comedy of Manners plays. Although he may have been draw to Cecily with the rake quality of being a womanizer, he soon found true romantic love thus becoming a young male lover. Moreover, The director of The Importance of Being Earnest chose to show Algernon as a knight in shining armor coming to rescue Cecily. This choice on the director's part was definitely meant to highlight Algernon’s young male lover
To soothe a dying friend or to help a fallen brother is a respectable excuse to get away from the repressive convention. Bunburying is the reason for all the mistaken identities. Algernon is serious about Bunburying as the Bunburyist is serious about not ...
IT WAS THE SECOND WEEK in May in which the three young ladies set out together from Gracechurch Street for the town of—in Hertfordshire; and, as they drew near the appointed inn where Mr. Bennet’s carriage was to meet them, they quickly perceived, in token of the coachman’s punctuality, both Kitty and Lydia looking out of a dining-room upstairs. These two girls had been above an hour in the place, happily employed in visiting an opposite milliner, watching the sentinel on guard, and dressing a salad and cucumber. After welcoming their sisters, they triumphantly displayed a table set out with such cold meat as an inn larder usually affords, exclaiming, “Is not this nice? is not this an agreeable surprise?” “And we mean to treat you all,”
To give a little background on the play; the pursuit of marriage is the driving force behind the play. “I now pronounce you, man and wife.” This traditional saying, commonly used to announce a newlywed couple during a wedding ceremony, marks the happily ever after that many dream of today. In today’s society, marriage is an expression of love between two individuals. Marriage has not, however, always been an act of love. In the Victorian era, marriage was almost a chore. Most people married out of need rather than want. In the Play this is evident when Lady Bracknell objects to Gwendolen and Ernest’s engagement on the basis of his lack of legitimate background. On the other hand, Jack objects to the marriage of Cecily and Algernon’s
As an example, Alyson handling of her two suitors outside her marriage, is not only slapstick comedy material but also a middle class perspective of the upper class imposed view of love. When Nicolas woos Alison aggressively after her husband leaves for work, “That she her love did grant him at the last, / … / That she would be at his command, content,” ( ) She was so enamored by the street smart Nicholas that she was willing to be at his “command and content” even if it was at expense of cheating her husband. In contrast to falling for the physical advances of Nicholas, Alyson not only spurns the dignified wooing by the parish clerk Absalom, she does this so by tricking him to kiss her her genitals. After that episode, "Teehee!" she laughed, and clapped the, window to; / And Absalom went forth a sorry pace.” ( ). Leaving aside the twists and turns of love situations, Alyson’s contrasting responses point to what is admired and scorned in a middle class setting. Alyson clearly values attributes such as street smartness, directness and physical advances of Nicholas. On the other hand, she makes a mockery of the upper class gentlemanly approaches of Absalom and humiliates him in the process. At the same time, Alyson’s infidelity disregards the
Oscar Wilde’s, “The Importance of Being Earnest”, play carefully uses satire as a didactic tool to mask the underlying social commentary with the help of comedy through characters theme and dialogue. Wilde uses satire to ridicule class and wealth, marriage and the ignorance of the Victorian Age. Audiences are continually amused by Wilde’s use of linguistic and comic devices such as double entendre, puns, paradox and epigrams, especially in the case of social commentary and didactic lessons. Characters portrayed in the play such as Jack, Cecily, Algernon and Lady Bracknell, allow Wilde to express his opinions on the social problems during the Victorian Age.