The Importance of Being Earnest: A Study Guide
1. Why Did Worthing Keep Cecily a Secret from Algernon?
Because Worthing doesn’t trust Algernon and doesn’t want to tell him anything. Unfortunately, he’s finally forced to tell the truth. This conversation starts because Worthing wants to marry Gwendolen, who is Algernon’s cousin. Algernon refuses to allow the marriage because he found an inscription inside Worthing’s cigarette case that confuses him. Finally, Worthing explains to Algernon that his name is Ernest in the city and Jack in the country.
2. How Were Bunbury and Ernest Similar?
On one hand, we have Ernest, Worthing’s fictional younger brother who lives in London. Ernest usually gets in trouble, and Worthing has to go to London to rescue him.
On the other hand, we have Bunbury, an old invalid friend of Algernon who lives in the country. He is frequently ill, and Algernon has to be called to his side. This usually happens when there’s a boring social event he doesn’t wish to attend.
In conclusion, it sounds funny, but both characters are similar because they don’t exist; both are invented by Worthing or Algernon.
3. Why Did Algernon Take His Aunt into Another Room to Discuss Music?
Algernon takes his aunt into another room to discuss music to let Worthing speak with Gwendolen. Worthing tells Gwendolen that he admires her more than any girl he has ever met. Gwendolen tells him that she was well aware of that fact and that he should be more demonstrative about it in public.
4. Why Did Worthing Try to Convince Gwendolen that Jack Was a Good Name?
Gwendolen tells Worthing that her ideal was to love someone with the name Ernest. They continue speaking, and Gwendolen says that she adores Worthing.
Worthing tries to convince Gwendolen that Jack was a good name because it was his real name. Unfortunately, Gwendolen doesn’t like that name and says that the name Jack “has no music in it” and that it was an ordinary, dull name.
5. What Was Lady Bracknell’s Objection to Worthing as a Husband to Gwendolen?
Lady Bracknell starts asking Worthing some questions to get to know him a little. She starts by asking about his age, income, and where his parents live.
Lady Bracknell’s objection to Worthing as a husband to Gwendolen is that he can’t name any relatives. She demands that he “produce at least one parent, of either sex, before the season is over.” She says this because Worthing tells her that he has lost both of his parents and that Mr. Thomas, a very kind and generous old man, found him in a large black handbag in the cloakroom at Victoria Station.
6. Why Did Worthing Decide to Get Rid of Ernest Very Soon? The Motive?
Algernon tells Worthing to get rid of Ernest as soon as possible, and Worthing says that he is going to get rid of Ernest before the end of the week. He decided to make him emigrate to Australia or Paris, where he will die of a serious illness called influenza.
His motive for doing this is that if he is going to marry Gwendolen, he has to tell the truth about his identity and not start with a lie.
7. Why Did Algernon Write Something on His Newspaper? The Motive?
While Algernon and Worthing are speaking, Gwendolen enters the room, saying that she has to speak with Worthing. She tells him that they can’t get married because his mother won’t permit it. Finally, Worthing tells Gwendolen his address in the country so they can communicate or she can visit.
Algernon was listening to the whole conversation and wrote the address on his newspaper because he wants to go to the country to meet Cecily.
8. Why Did Cecily Say Miss Prism Had a Headache? The Motive?
Cecily says that Miss Prism had a headache because she wants Chasuble and Miss Prism to go for a little walk. Finally, Miss Prism and Chasuble go for a little walk, and she throws her German book down, saying that German is horrible.
9. Why Did Cecily Say She Would Never Forgive Worthing? The Motive?
This scene happened when Worthing arrived in the country in black clothes, as if for a funeral, because he wants to tell the family that Ernest died of influenza. This part of the book is very funny and embarrassing at the same time because when he arrives at the house, there is a man that Cecily says is Ernest, but it is actually Algernon.
In my opinion, Cecily said this to Worthing because she is in love with “Ernest,” who at that moment is Algernon. Finally, Worthing shakes hands with Algernon, and Cecily, Miss Prism, and Chasuble start clapping.
10. Why Did Worthing Tell Merriman to Order the Carriage? The Motive?
Merriman tells Worthing that Ernest will sleep in the room next to Worthing’s, and Worthing tells Merriman to order the carriage because “Ernest” has suddenly been called back to town.
Worthing told this to Merriman because he is very angry and doesn’t want to see Algernon.
11. How Did Cecily Surprise Algernon When He Proposed to Her?
Algernon was about to go back to the city because Worthing ordered a carriage for him. Algernon decided to say goodbye to Cecily. He started saying that Cecily was a perfect female, and Cecily wrote all his words in her diary. He told Merriman to tell the carriage that he was staying one week more. Before that, he asked Cecily if she would marry him, and Cecily said of course because they have been engaged for three months. Algernon is very shocked, and Cecily explains to him that since Jack was always talking about his brother, she finally fell in love with Algernon.
12. Why Did Cecily and Gwendolen Quickly Become Angry at Each Other?
They started speaking in a friendly way, but when Gwendolen started speaking about Ernest, saying that he is strong and honorable, the whole conversation changed. As soon as Cecily said that, Gwendolen said that she is going to marry Ernest, and Cecily said the same.
They start getting very angry, and we can see this because the tone of voice isn’t very friendly and because Cecily dropped four spoons of sugar into Gwendolen’s cup when she knows that Gwendolen said that sugar isn’t fashionable anymore.
13. What Did the Two Ladies Discover When Algernon and Worthing Arrived?
Fortunately, when Algernon and Worthing arrive, the women discover two things. The first is that neither man is actually called Ernest, and the second is that they weren’t thinking about the same person (Gwendolen was thinking of Worthing, and Cecily was thinking of Algernon).
14. What Had the Two Men Decided to Do to Make the Ladies Happy?
When they learned the truth, the two girls looked scornfully at the men and went into the house.
Algernon and Jack started speaking, deciding what they had to do to make the ladies happy. They were very nervous, so they started eating cake because, to Algernon, eating is comforting.
Finally, they decided to be christened with the name of Ernest at quarter to six.
15. Why Did Gwendolen Forgive Jack’s Deception About Having a Brother?
While Jack and Algernon were speaking in the garden and eating cake, Gwendolen and Cecily spoke about what to do when they went back to the house.
Gwendolen forgave Jack’s deception about having a brother because when she asked Jack why he pretended to have a brother and if he did it to come to town and see her as often as possible, Jack said in a very credible voice that yes, of course, and that she shouldn’t doubt it for a second.
16. What Condition Did Jack Make for Consenting to Cecily’s Marriage?
The condition that Jack made for consenting to Cecily’s marriage was that if he permitted Cecily to marry Algernon, Lady Bracknell had to consent to his and Gwendolen’s marriage.
At first, Lady Bracknell said absolutely not, but before that, Chasuble entered the house for the christenings of Jack and Algernon, and before him, Miss Prism entered. Finally, Lady Bracknell accepted the marriage.
17. What Incorrect Supposition Did Jack Make?
The incorrect supposition that Jack made was telling Lady Bracknell that Cecily has a large fortune, about 1,300,000 pounds.
Because of this, Lady Bracknell said that she doesn’t approve of marriages based on money, but finally, she gave her consent to the marriage.
18. What Proof Did Jack Offer of His Origins?
When Miss Prism and Lady Bracknell started speaking, Lady Bracknell was very angry because Miss Prism lost her baby 28 years ago. Miss Prism told her that she lost the baby when she was going for a walk and, in a moment of confusion, put a manuscript in the carriage and the baby in the handbag.
Jack entered the conversation, and they came to the conclusion that the handbag that Miss Prism lost was the one that Mr. Thomas Cardew found with a baby inside, and that baby was Jack. So the baby that Miss Prism lost was Jack, Miss Prism is his mother, Lady Bracknell is his aunt, and Algernon is his brother.
I enjoy this part because it’s very funny and impressive at the same time.
19. Why Was It Important for Jack to Know If He Had Been Christened?
On one hand, it was very important for him to know that because Gwendolen prefers the name Ernest instead of any other, so he wanted to know his original and real name.
On the other hand, he wanted to know his name because he knew that Jack wasn’t his real name, and he wanted to know if he had an original name.
To sum up, they started searching the Army Lists from the period of his father’s service because Miss Prism said that the first name of his father was the same as Jack’s. When Jack found the name, they were very happy because his real name was Ernest.