Part 3: Characterization in The Importance of Being Earnest Answers

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Jack. I fear there can be no possible doubt about the matter. This afternoon during my temporary absence in London on an important question of romance, he obtained admission to my house by means of the false pretence of being my brother. Under an assumed name he drank, I’ve just been informed by my butler, an entire pint bottle of my Perrier-Jouet, Brut, ’89; wine I was specially reserving for myself. Continuing his disgraceful deception, he succeeded in the course of the afternoon in alienating the affections of my only ward.

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Jack. I fear there can be no possible doubt about the matter. This afternoon during my temporary absence in London on an important question of romance, he obtained admission to my house by means of the false pretence of being my brother. Under an assumed name he drank, I’ve just been informed by my butler, an entire pint bottle of my Perrier-Jouet, Brut, ’89; wine I was specially reserving for myself. Continuing his disgraceful deception, he succeeded in the course of the afternoon in alienating the affections of my only ward. He subsequently stayed to tea, and devoured every single muffin. And what makes his conduct all the more heartless is, that he was perfectly well aware from the first that I have no brother, that I never had a brother, and that I don’t intend to have a brother, not even of any kind. I distinctly told him so myself yesterday afternoon.

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Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Jack. [In a pathetic voice.] Miss Prism, more is restored to you than this hand-bag. I was the baby you placed in it.Miss Prism. [Amazed.] You?Jack. [Embracing her.] Yes . . . mother!Miss Prism. [Recoiling in indignant astonishment.] Mr. Worthing! I am unmarried!

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Jack. [In a pathetic voice.] Miss Prism, more is restored to you than this hand-bag. I was the baby you placed in it.Miss Prism. [Amazed.] You?Jack. [Embracing her.] Yes . . . mother!Miss Prism. [Recoiling in indignant astonishment.] Mr. Worthing! I am unmarried!

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Lady Bracknell. There are distinct social possibilities in Miss Cardew’s profile.Algernon. Cecily is the sweetest, dearest, prettiest girl in the whole world. And I don’t care twopence about social possibilities.

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Lady Bracknell. [Sitting down again.] A moment, Mr. Worthing. A hundred and thirty thousand pounds! And in the Funds! Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her. Few girls of the present day have any really solid qualities, any of the qualities that last, and improve with time. We live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces. [To Cecily.] Come over here, dear. [Cecily goes across.] Pretty child! your dress is sadly simple, and your hair seems almost as Nature might have left it. But we can soon alter all that. A thoroughly experienced French maid produces a really marvellous result in a very brief space of time. I remember recommending one to young Lady Lancing, and after three months her own husband did not know her.

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Gwendolen. True! I had forgotten. There are principles at stake that one cannot surrender. Which of us should tell them? The task is not a pleasant one.Cecily. Could we not both speak at the same time?Gwendolen. An excellent idea! I nearly always speak at the same time as other people. Will you take the time from me?Cecily. Certainly. [Gwendolen beats time with uplifted finger.]Gwendolen and Cecily [Speaking together.] Your Christian names are still an insuperable barrier. That is all!

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Jack. [In a pathetic voice.] Miss Prism, more is restored to you than this hand-bag. I was the baby you placed in it.Miss Prism. [Amazed.] You?Jack. [Embracing her.] Yes . . . mother!Miss Prism. [Recoiling in indignant astonishment.] Mr. Worthing! I am unmarried!Jack. Unmarried! I do not deny that is a serious blow. But after all, who has the right to cast a stone against one who has suffered? Cannot repentance wipe out an act of folly? Why should there be one law for men, and another for women? Mother, I forgive you. [Tries to embrace her again.]

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Jack. That is very generous of you, Lady Bracknell. My own decision, however, is unalterable. I decline to give my consent.Lady Bracknell. [To Cecily.] Come here, sweet child. [Cecily goes over.] How old are you, dear?Cecily. Well, I am really only eighteen, but I always admit to twenty when I go to evening parties.Lady Bracknell. You are perfectly right in making some slight alteration. Indeed, no woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating . . . [In a meditative manner.] Eighteen, but admitting to twenty at evening parties. Well, it will not be very long before you are of age and free from the restraints of tutelage. So I don’t think your guardian’s consent is, after all, a matter of any importance.Jack. Pray excuse me, Lady Bracknell, for interrupting you again, but it is only fair to tell you that according to the terms of her grandfather’s will Miss Cardew does not come legally of age till she is thirty-five.

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Jack. [In a clear, cold voice.] Miss Cardew is the grand-daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Cardew of 149 Belgrave Square, S.W.; Gervase Park, Dorking, Surrey; and the Sporran, Fifeshire, N.B.Lady Bracknell. That sounds not unsatisfactory. Three addresses always inspire confidence, even in tradesmen. But what proof have I of their authenticity?Jack. I have carefully preserved the Court Guides of the period. They are open to your inspection, Lady Bracknell.Lady Bracknell. [Grimly.] I have known strange errors in that publication.Jack. Miss Cardew’s family solicitors are Messrs. Markby, Markby, and Markby.Lady Bracknell. Markby, Markby, and Markby? A firm of the very highest position in their profession. Indeed I am told that one of the Mr. Markby’s is occasionally to be seen at dinner parties. So far I am satisfied.

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Gwendolen. True! I had forgotten. There are principles at stake that one cannot surrender. Which of us should tell them? The task is not a pleasant one.Cecily. Could we not both speak at the same time?Gwendolen. An excellent idea! I nearly always speak at the same time as other people. Will you take the time from me?Cecily. Certainly. [Gwendolen beats time with uplifted finger.]Gwendolen and Cecily [Speaking together.] Your Christian names are still an insuperable barrier. That is all!

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Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Chasuble. [Looking rather puzzled, and pointing to Jack and Algernon.] Both these gentlemen have expressed a desire for immediate baptism.Lady Bracknell. At their age? The idea is grotesque and irreligious! Algernon, I forbid you to be baptized. I will not hear of such excesses. Lord Bracknell would be highly displeased if he learned that that was the way in which you wasted your time and money.

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Jack. Miss Cardew’s family solicitors are Messrs. Markby, Markby, and Markby.Lady Bracknell. Markby, Markby, and Markby? A firm of the very highest position in their profession. Indeed I am told that one of the Mr. Markby’s is occasionally to be seen at dinner parties. So far I am satisfied.

Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest.Lady Bracknell. [With a shiver, crossing to the sofa and sitting down.] I do not know whether there is anything peculiarly exciting in the air of this particular part of Hertfordshire, but the number of engagements that go on seems to me considerably above the proper average that statistics have laid down for our guidance.