THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

AUTHOR: Oscar Wilde

TITLE: The Importance of being Earnest

EDITORIAL: University Photocopies

DATE AND PLACE OF THE PUBLICATION: Around 1895, in London.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

In this play we can see nine characters:

- John Worthing: he is 29 years old. In the play, he is called John, Jack and Ernest. He hasn’t parents, because Mr Thomas Cardew found him in the cloak-room of the Victoria railway station in London. He was in a hand-bag, and he was a baby. Mr Thomas Cardew gave him the name of Mr Worthing because he had a ticket to this city in his pocket. Then, Mr Thomas Cardew said him to look after his granddaughter, Cecily Cardew. John is called Ernest in the city and Jack in the country. He has a house in the country, where he lives with Miss Cecily and Miss Prism, who is the governess and the companion of Miss Cecily. John (or Jack) has also an imaginary brother, Ernest. It is because he hasn’t got any brother and he wants to have family. John loves Gwendolen. But she thinks that John is called Ernest, and she loves this name more than him. At the end, the truth is found. John says that he hasn’t any brother, and furthermore John finds that he has parents, and they are the parents of his friend Algernon (for that, they are brothers). And his real name is Ernest John Moncrieff. Moreover, he is with Gwendolen, too.

- Algernon Moncrieff: he is friend of John. He lives in the city. He has an imaginary friend, who is called Bunbury. It is because he wants to have a brother. He is Lady Bracknell’s nephew, and Gwendolen’s cousin. He loves Miss Cecily. And he wants to see her. For that, he goes to Jack’s house in the country, where she lives, for impressioning Miss Cecily and for that, he says that he is Jack’s brother, Ernest. Cecily falls in love with him, but she loves his name more than him. At the end, the truth is found, and Cecily knows that his name is Algernon, but they are together. And John is in reality, his brother.

- Miss Gwendolen Fairfax: She is Algernon’s cousin. Her mother is Lady Bracknell. She lives in the city, and she hates the country, the views, the food…and the costumes in the country. She falls in love with John Worthing, but she thinks that his real name is Ernest, and when she discovers that his name is Jack, she is worried. But then, she forgives him. At the end, Ernest is the real name of Jack. And he and Gwendolen are together.

-Miss Cecily Cardew: she is a girl in her 18 years old. She is the ward of John Worthing. She hates study German. She has a diary where she writes all the things that she happens. She loves the imaginary brother of John, and she writes letters as if she was this brother. When she meets Ernest (Algernon in the reality), she falls in love with him. But she loves his name more than him. Then she discovers the truth: This brother is called Algernon, and he isn’t the brother of John. But she loves him.

- Miss Prism: she is the governess of Cecily. She has a repellent aspect, but she has culture and she knows a lot. She is the person who put John in the hand-bag and who left him in the station.

- Lady Bracknell: she is Miss Gwendolen’s mother. She and her husband want the perfect husband for her daughter. For that, she rejects John when her daughter says that they are engaged. She says that she and her husband are in charge to find the husband for Gwendolen.

- Lane: he is the manservant of Algernon in the city.

- Merriman: he is the butler of John in the country.

- Chasuble: he is the priest. He often visits the house of John. He is going to christened John and Algernon in the name of Ernest, but finally, he doesn’t do it.

PLOT AND SUMMARY

In this play, the action is a little complicated but it can be followed. John Worthing is friend of Algernon Moncrieff. John is called Ernest in the city and Jack in the country. He has an imaginary friend, Ernest. Algernon has an imaginary friend, Bunbury. He kills him at the end. John loves Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen, but her mother doesn’t love him for her daughter. Moreover, Gwendolen thinks that the name of John is Ernest, and she thinks that it is the perfect name. In the other hand, Algernon loves John’s ward, Cecily. He wants to get her, and for that, he pretended to be John’s brother, Ernest. Cecily loves him, but she loves his name more than his person. One day, John (Jack in the country) returns and says that his brother is death. But Algernon is in John’s house saying that he is John’s brother. The truth is found: Cecily and Gwendolen find the name of their boyfriends, and at first they are angry, but then, they forgive the boys. Moreover, at the end John discovers that he is brother of Algernon because his mother is the same. Other thing that I want to point is that Lady Bracknell doesn’t admit the engaged of her daughter and John, but the engaged of her nephew and Cecily. For that, John says that if he and Gwendolen can’t be together, neither his ward and Algernon. This decision should be taken by Lady Bracknell.

SPACE AND TIME

The play takes place in two different places: in Algernon’s flat and in John’s house in the country. The action occurs in several days, one after other.

LITERARY RESOURCES

I can emphasize that the characters are interesting, and it’s easy to understand the play because the language used is easy. The sentences that predominate in the text aren’t very long, and the action can be followed well.

PERSONAL OPINION

In my opinion, this is the play that I have understood better. From my point of view, the story is interesting, and it can be followed well. The characters are very easy to understand, although they are complex because they tell the story. I recommend this play for all people, because it is very well structure, the action occurs in order and it is easy to understand it. Other point of emphasizes is that the end is interesting, too. I can’t imagine what the end was, or what occurred after, and it does the play interesting, too.