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The Importance of Being Earnest Gwendolen Fairfax. More than any other female character in the play, Gwendolen suggests the qualities of conventional Victorian womanhood. She has ideas and ideals, attends lectures, and is bent on self-improvement. She is also artificial and pretentious. Gwendolen is in love with Jack, whom she knows as Ernest ...
- The Importance of Being Earnest
Gwendolen Fairfax makes her entrance by following her...
- Miss Prism
Of all the moral compasses in The Importance of Being...
- Algernon Moncrieff
Algernon is constantly being summoned to Bunbury’s deathbed,...
- Lady Bracknell
Lady Bracknell delivers her opinion on engagements to...
- Cecily Cardew
If Gwendolen is a product of London high society, Cecily is...
- Jack Worthing
Gwendolen—Cecily—it is very painful for me to be forced to...
- Full Play Summary
Algernon goes off in search of Dr. Chasuble, the local...
- Suggestions for Further Reading
A suggested list of literary criticism on Oscar Wilde's...
- The Importance of Being Earnest
Gwendolen Fairfax makes her entrance by following her mother, Lady Bracknell, into her cousin Algernon’s apartment. She immediately starts flirting with Ernest Worthing, Algernon’s friend, who wants to marry her. Gwendolen serves notice of her ambitious approach to life as a social climber. Her self-interest will lead her to misread ...
Jan 30, 2019 · Gwendolen is the daughter of the pompous Lady Bracknell. She is also the cousin of the whimsical bachelor Angernon. Most importantly, she is the love of Jack Worthing’s life. The only problem: Gwendolen believes that Jack’s real name is Ernest. ("Ernest" is the invented name Jack has been using whenever he sneaks away from his country estate).
- Wade Bradford
A loss of various senses and motor functions, as well as the ability to speak, typically caused by a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke or by any illness that causes an effusion of blood in the brain. It isn't, contrary to what Algernon says, a hereditary malady, though in the late 19th Century it may have appeared to be.
Analysis. Gwendolen’s and Cecily’s conversation at the beginning of Act 3 reveals exactly how eager they are to forgive Jack and Algernon, even to the point of bestowing on the men shame and repentance the men don’t actually feel. Gwendolen and Cecily observe Jack and Algernon through the window of the morning room that looks out on the ...
Gwendolen must have the perfect proposal performed in the correct manner and must marry a man named Ernest simply because of the name's connotations. Cecily also craves appearance and style. She believes Jack's brother is a wicked man, and though she has never met such a man, she thinks the idea sounds romantic.
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Why does Gwendolen want to marry Ernest?
What does Gwendolen say about Ernest Worthing?
Why does Gwendolen start flirting with Ernest Worthing?
Why is the name Ernest important to Gwendolen?
Does Gwendolen have a prior claim?
How do Gwendolen and Cecily observe Jack and Algernon?
Rather, she is going to marry Ernest. They compare diary entries. Gwendolen feels she has the prior claim, since Ernest asked to marry her yesterday. The girls argue and insult each other. Jack enters the garden, and Gwendolen asks if he is engaged to Cecily; he laughs and denies it. Cecily says the man before them is her Uncle Jack.
