Victorian Age

Class Assignment 

The Importance of  Being Earnest

Introduction

The Importace of Being Earnest is famous comic play written by Oscar Wilde in 1895. It is considered one of the greatest examples of English satire and comedy of manners. The play humorously criticizes the social customs, moral values, and pretensions of the upper-class society in Victorian England. Wilde uses sharp wit, clever dialogue, and irony to expose the hypocrisy and shallowness of people who care more about appearances than real values.

The play revolves around two young men, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who lead double lives under false names to escape social responsibilities and enjoy freedom. Their lies create a series of misunderstandings, romantic complications, and comic situations. Through these characters, Wilde mocks the seriousness of Victorian society and presents the idea that life should be approached with wit, humor, and honesty.

About the Author 

Oscar Wilde 

Oscar Wilde was a famous Irish writer, poet, and playwright, born on October 16, 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. He was one of the most brilliant and witty literary figures of the late Victorian era. Wilde was known for his sharp humor, clever language, and criticism of the moral and social values of his time.

He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and later at Oxford University, where he became known for his intelligence and unique personality. Wilde was a leading figure in the Aesthetic Movement, which believed in the idea of “art for art’s sake”—the belief that art should be admired for its beauty rather than its moral message.

Some of his most famous works include the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) and plays like Lady Windermere’s Fan (1892), An Ideal Husband (1895), and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). His works are full of wit, satire, and criticism of Victorian hypocrisy.

Summary

The Importance of Being Earnest is a brilliant comedy written by Oscar Wilde in 1895. It is one of his most famous plays and a perfect example of his wit, humor, and criticism of Victorian society. The play is a satire on the social customs, marriage, and the obsession with appearances and status in the late nineteenth century.

The story revolves around two young gentlemen—Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff—who both use false identities to escape their social responsibilities and enjoy a more exciting life. Jack, who lives in the countryside, pretends to have a brother named “Ernest” so that he can travel to London and live freely under that name. In London, he falls in love with Gwendolen Fairfax, the cousin of Algernon. However, Gwendolen insists that she can only love a man named “Ernest,” which makes Jack eager to be christened with that name.

Meanwhile, Algernon discovers Jack’s secret and decides to visit Jack’s country estate pretending to be “Ernest,” Jack’s fictional brother. There, he meets Cecily Cardew, Jack’s young and beautiful ward. Cecily has long been fascinated by the idea of Jack’s wicked brother “Ernest,” and when Algernon arrives pretending to be him, she immediately falls in love with him. Like Gwendolen, she also believes that the name “Ernest” is irresistible and romantic.

The situation becomes more complicated when Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen’s strict and status-conscious mother, investigates Jack’s background. She is horrified to learn that Jack was found as a baby in a handbag in Victoria Station and refuses to allow her daughter to marry a man of unknown parentage. Meanwhile, Gwendolen and Cecily meet and argue over who is truly engaged to “Ernest.” Eventually, the truth begins to come out.

In the final act, Miss Prism, Cecily’s governess, is revealed to have accidentally left the baby (Jack) in a handbag years ago. It turns out that Jack is actually the lost son of Lady Bracknell’s sister, making him Algernon’s older brother. To everyone’s surprise, his real name is Ernest John Moncrieff—so he has been “Ernest” all along.

The play ends happily with both couples—Jack and Gwendolen, Algernon and Cecily—engaged to be married. Wilde ends the play with sharp humor, showing that honesty and sincerity, or being “earnest,” are far more important than social appearances.

Home Assignment 

Characters of the play 

1. Jack Worthing (Ernest)

Jack Worthing, also known as Ernest, is the main character and moral center of Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest. He is a respectable and responsible young man who lives in the countryside, where he looks after his young ward, Cecily Cardew. However, Jack leads a double life. In London, he pretends to be his own imaginary brother, “Ernest,” allowing him to escape his serious duties and enjoy city pleasures.

Jack’s double identity highlights Wilde’s satire of Victorian hypocrisy and morality. On the surface, Jack appears honest and well-mannered, but he deceives others to balance his social image with personal freedom. His love for Gwendolen Fairfax also exposes society’s obsession with names and appearances, as Gwendolen insists on marrying only a man named “Ernest.” Ironically, by the end of the play, it is revealed that Jack’s real name is indeed Ernest John Moncrieff, and he is Algernon’s older brother.

Throughout the play, Jack represents the theme of identity, truth, and social pretension. He struggles between his genuine self and the image society expects him to uphold. Wilde uses Jack’s confusion and eventual discovery of his true identity to mock the artificial values of Victorian society.

In the end, Jack learns the importance of being truly “earnest” — honest and sincere — not just in name but in character. His journey from deception to self-discovery makes him one of Wilde’s most interesting and symbolic characters.


2. Algernon Moncrieff

Algernon Moncrieff is one of the main characters in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. He is a witty, charming, and pleasure-loving young man who represents the carefree and rebellious spirit of Victorian high society. Algernon lives in London and spends his time enjoying parties, good food, and clever conversation. He dislikes responsibilities and uses his intelligence mainly for amusement.

To escape boring social duties, Algernon invents an imaginary invalid friend named “Bunbury,” which allows him to leave town whenever he pleases—a practice he calls “Bunburying.” This shows his playful hypocrisy and his desire for freedom. When he learns about Jack Worthing’s double life as “Ernest,” Algernon decides to visit Jack’s country estate pretending to be “Ernest” himself. There, he falls in love with Cecily Cardew, Jack’s ward.

Algernon’s wit and humor drive much of the play’s comedy. Through him, Wilde satirizes the idle upper class and their shallow values. Despite his irresponsibility, Algernon’s charm and liveliness make him one of Wilde’s most delightful and entertaining characters.

3. Gwendolen Fairfax

Gwendolen Fairfax is one of the main female characters in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. She is the daughter of Lady Bracknell and the cousin of Algernon Moncrieff. Gwendolen is beautiful, intelligent, confident, and represents the sophisticated women of London’s upper class. She is deeply in love with Jack Worthing, whom she knows as “Ernest.”

However, Gwendolen’s love is based not only on Jack’s character but also on his name. She insists that she can only love and marry a man named “Ernest,” believing it to be a name that inspires trust and sincerity. This obsession with appearances and names highlights Wilde’s satire of Victorian superficiality.

Although Gwendolen appears refined and graceful, she also shows a determined and independent spirit. She is not afraid to stand up to her mother or defend her love for Jack. Through Gwendolen, Wilde humorously exposes the contradictions of Victorian society—especially the difference between appearance and reality, and true love versus social convention.

Her wit, elegance, and strong personality make Gwendolen one of Wilde’s most memorable and amusing characters.

4. Cecily Cardew

Cecily Cardew is one of the central characters in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. She is the young and beautiful ward of Jack Worthing and lives a sheltered life in the countryside. Cecily is imaginative, romantic, and somewhat rebellious against the strict education imposed by her governess, Miss Prism. Her most distinctive trait is her fantasy-prone nature—she invents a romantic relationship with “Ernest,” Jack’s imaginary brother, even before meeting Algernon, who later pretends to be Ernest.

Cecily’s character reflects Wilde’s satire of Victorian innocence and romantic ideals. Though she appears innocent, she shows cleverness and independence in her conversations, especially when she meets Gwendolen. Her romantic imagination and diary entries highlight her desire for excitement beyond her rural life. Cecily’s charm, wit, and youthful enthusiasm contrast with Gwendolen’s sophistication and Lady Bracknell’s strictness.

By the end of the play, Cecily becomes engaged to Algernon, and her lively nature contributes to the play’s humor and its theme of mistaken identity and social hypocrisy.

5. Lady Bracknell

Lady Bracknell is one of the is one of the most memorable characters in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. She represents the Victorian upper class and its obsession with wealth, social status, and respectability. As Gwendolen’s mother and Algernon’s aunt, she is a commanding and formidable woman whose opinions dominate those around her. Lady Bracknell is witty, outspoken, and often absurdly strict about social conventions, especially marriage. She treats marriage as a business transaction rather than an affair of the heart, famously interrogating Jack about his background and wealth before approving his proposal to her daughter.

Through Lady Bracknell, Wilde satirizes the hypocrisy and snobbery of the upper-class society of his time. Her exaggerated concern for “proper breeding” and her comical lines expose the shallow values of the Victorian elite. Despite her rigid views, Lady Bracknell’s dialogue is full of humor and irony, making her both intimidating and entertaining. In the end, she unwillingly becomes part of the play’s resolution, revealing Jack’s true identity and restoring order in a typically Wildean, witty fashion.

6. Miss Prism 

Miss Prism is a significant character in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. She is Cecily Cardew’s governess, responsible for her education and moral upbringing. Miss Prism is portrayed as a serious, respectable, and somewhat old-fashioned woman who constantly emphasizes the importance of duty and propriety. However, beneath her strict and proper exterior lies a romantic and slightly forgetful nature. She secretly admires Dr. Chasuble, the local clergyman, and their gentle flirtations add humor and warmth to the play.

Miss Prism also plays a key role in the plot’s main twist. Years earlier, she accidentally placed a baby (Jack) in a handbag instead of a manuscript, leading to his mysterious origin. This revelation at the end of the play resolves Jack’s identity crisis and completes the story. Through Miss Prism, Wilde humorously exposes the flaws and contradictions of moral education and Victorian respectability. Her mixture of seriousness, romantic longing, and absent-mindedness makes her one of the play’s most amusing and memorable characters.

          Essay

Themes of the play

1. The Nature of Marriage:

In the play, marriage is a big deal. It drives the story forward and is often talked about. The characters, like Algernon and Jack, argue about whether marriage proposals are about business or pleasure. Lady Bracknell has her own strict views on what makes a good marriage, focusing on social status, money, and character. The play pokes fun at how seriously people take marriage,showing different opinions on whether it’s enjoyable or not.

2).The Constraints of Morality:

Morality, or what’s considered right and wrong, is a key topic in the play. The characters often discuss moral standards, but the play isn’t about what’s actually moral. Instead, it makes fun of the strict rules of Victorian society. The title itself is a joke about how the main character is both serious and not serious (Ernest/earnest). The play suggests that being too serious about morals can be hypocritical, and that a bit of irreverence, or not taking things too seriously, might be better.

3). Hypocrisy versus Inventiveness:

The characters in the play often deceive others, but not all lies are equal. Jack creates an elaborate lie about his brother’s death, fooling everyone around him. This makes him hypocritical. On the other hand, Algernon and Cecily create playful stories that don’t harm anyone. They’re more like artists creating their own versions of reality. The play seems to favour these creative lies over Jack’s more serious ones.

4).The Importance of Not Being "Earnest":

The play criticizes the idea of being too serious or sincere (earnestness). Wilde saw traits like seriousness, solemnity, and self-righteousness as flaws in Victorian society. In the play,characters often confuse seriousness with triviality and vice versa. Wilde suggests that those whodon’t take life too seriously, and even indulge in a bit of wickedness, might actually be closer to true virtue and sincerity.

For wilde , being earnest could mean begin false or overlay moralists. Characters like Algernon and Jack invite alter egos to escape the strict expectations of society, showing how people idea of what is decent can be misleading. In the end, the play suggest that people who embrace a little wickedness and doesn't take things too seriously might actually have a better chance at being truly more.