The characters:
John Worthing
Algernon Moncrieff
Rev. Canon Chasuble
Merriman, butler
Lane, Manservant
Lady Augusta Bracknell
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax
Cecily Cardew
Miss Prism, Governess
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
A TRIVIAL COMEDY FOR SERIOUS PEOPLE
Act I
The opening scene of the story is
of a conversation between Algernon (the man of the house) and his manservant,
Lane. The conversation was nothing profound as Mr. Algernon isn’t much of a man
with a deeper insight on things. They hold a conversation on “the deep science
of life” as compared to cucumber
sandwiches and of the kind of wine served under married households (that it is
rarely of a first-rate brand). Then enters Jack (Mr. Ernest Worthing) who,
fresh from the country, notices the cucumber sandwiches and tea cups on the
table. Algy informs him that they are for Aunt Augusta and Gwendolen who are
coming over that very afternoon. Jack was delighted upon knowing this as he
himself planned on proposing to Miss Fairfax (Gwen). Algy, however, was less
enthusiastic about this and so was Aunt Augusta who disapproves of the way Gwen
and Jack flirted with each other in a “perfectly disgraceful” way. For Algy, a
proposal only ends all the excitement and the romance in a relationship. Mr.
Worthing, in a off-handed manner, tells him that it’s basically why The Divorce
Court was invented. The man of the house then tells him the very reason why he
is so against Mr. Worthing’s idea of proposing to Miss Fairfax (who is after
all his first cousin). A cigarette case with an inscription of a person’s name
was brought up. Algy asks him who Cecily was. Mr. Worthing tells him that she
is actually an aunt who lives at Tunbridge Wells. A little sceptical, Algy asks
him why his Aunt calls herself “Little Cecily” as the inscription read “From
Little Cecily with her fondest love to her dear Uncle Jack” and why she calls
her nephew (Mr. Worthing) “ Uncle Jack” and first and foremost why she calls
him Jack when in fact his name is Ernest, Ernest Worthing. Mr. Worthing (or
Jack, whatever) bungles for an answer and begs for the cigarette case to be
handed back to him. He then admits that his name is actually Jack not Ernest. Mr.
Worthing, annoyed with the flush of questions, accuses Algy for being a dentist
“ My dear Algy, you talk exactly as if you are a dentist. It is very vulgar to
talk like a dentist when one isn’t a dentist.”
and a Bunburyist (Bunbury is Algy’s invented person for the sole purpose
of avoiding his Aunt Augusta).
Lady Bracknell arrives with Miss
Fairfax. The sandwiches were offered but alas! There was no sign of cucumbers
in it! But it didn’t matter to Lady Bracknell. She asks Algy to join her for
dinner with Mary Farquhar but of which he had to turn down as his “friend” Mr.
Brunbury is very ill (by this time we know that there was no such person and
that he was only saying this to avoid the company of his Aunt and the lady she
mentioned. Wink). Despite Aunt Augusta’s commanding presence and ceaseless
chatter, Gwen and Jack (or Ernest) managed to snuck in a word or two with each
other and like lovers trying to escape Aunt Agatha’s notice expressed their
love for each other with crushing passion.
Jack: You really love me,
Gwendolen?
Gwen: Passionately!
Gwen, at the height of her
inspiration from all the mush told Ernest that she has been in love with him
before she met him. That she was destined for a man named Ernest and that when
Algernon told her about him, she knows she was destined to love him. Ernest,
how she loves the ring of that name, that it is a divine name, how it seems to
have “a music of its own”, that it produces vibrations! A bit worried, Mr.
Worthing asked her if she would love him less if his name wasn’t Ernest but
(consider) Jack. But Gwen would here none of it as she thinks that “Jack” lacks
the thrill, the music, the vibration unlike “Ernest”. Not wasting anymore
breath, Jack/Ernest proposed to her of which Gwen’s only answer was: Of course
I will, my darling.
Lady Bracknell’s entrance killed
the moment, however. Enraged at the public display of affection, she asks the
genuflect Ernest to rise! Gwendolen calls her off saying that she should leave
since she holds no concern on this matter and that Ernest has not quite
finished .... proposing. This angered Lady Bracknell. Furious, she asked Gwen
to wait at the carriage and held Mr. Worthing in an interrogation. Does he
smoke? How old he is, what is the nature
of his income, of any houses with how
many bedrooms he has, about the kind of politics he’s in, an inquiry about his
parents. Here he confides to Lady Bracknell that he has lost both of his
parents and that he was actually a found baby. As if the latter information
isn’t enough to leave Lady Bracknell gobsmacked, he tells her that he was found
inside a hand-bag in the cloak room at the Victoria Station. Aunt Agatha tells
him that he must call on a person of certain relation to him, along with a
parent (from either sex) before the end of the season. She left him in his
frustrations.
Act II
In a garden with roses in full
bloom, one will find Miss Prism and Cecily working on her German class under
the shade of a large yew tree. Their conversation was about how she doesn’t
find interest in learning the German language and of how Cecily’s Uncle (Jack)
insists that she must do well at it. Then enters Algernon introducing himself Ernest,
Cecily’s cousin. Meanwhile, Miss Prism,
who took a walk with Dr. Chasuble to ease out her nagging headache, came across
Mr. Worthing. Surprised at his unexpected visit and the unmistakable grief in
his countenance (mourning clothes), the governess asked him what brought him
over to the country sooner than expected. Mr. Worthing, feigning sadness breaks
the news that his dear brother died of a sever chill in Paris and wished to be
interred there. At the house, Cecily informs her Uncle Jack (in a giddy kind of
way) that his brother (Ernest Worthing, in the person of Algernon) is here for
a visit. Shocked at the news (after his recent story of his death with Dr.
Chasuble and Miss Prism) he then storms into the room to be even more shocked
to find Algernon in the guise of his (supposed to be dead) brother. Everyone,
with the exception of Jack and Algy (who can’t stop calling him John), exits
the room quite pleased to find both brothers in reconciliation. Jack orders him
to leave the soonest but Algy won’t hear it since he is in love with Cecily. What
Algy found out later, as he was trying to bade farewell to the lovely Cecily,
was the fact that he and Cecily were actually engaged last February 14. She
showed him the letters they’ve exchange for over 3 months now. Although the
engagement was broken off, seeing him in person has done so much for Cecily.
After all, he is Ernest. Just the sound of that name seemed to inspire absolute
confidence in her. Rather taken aback, Algernon asks her if she would love her
just the same if his name wasn’t “Ernest” but, say, Algernon. Cecily tells her
that she can only respect him yet not devote an undivided attention (if his
name is Algernon not Ernest). At this point of the story, both the conniving
Jack and Algy intends to go to the rector (Dr. Chasuble) with the intention of
being baptised as “Ernest”. Miss Fairfax
pays a visit to Ernest (Jack) and finds Cecily instead whom she mistook as his
guardian. Quite relieved to hear this (since the sight of the young and lovely
Cecily under the house of her beloved Ernest has struck a certain jealousy on
her part) she tells her how she likes her in a sisterly kind of way. But Gwen
couldn’t contain her shock once Cecily told her that she (Cecily) is actually
engaged with Ernest and she has her journal written 10 minutes earlier to prove
it. At this point, both women under the confounded notion of being engaged
under the same Ernest (although we all know that it was Algy and Jack) sorority
war ensues. The presence of Merriman and a footman causes them to delay it and
they engaged instead in giving snide remarks about each other. Ernest appears
right in the thick of things (the Ernest who is Uncle to Little Cecily and is
Jack to Gwendolen). No sooner than things get interesting another Ernest
enters, offering a kiss to Cecily (this is Algernon). Gwendolen tells Cecily
that this guy is not Ernest but in none other than her cousin, Algernon
Moncrieff! Realizing the misunderstanding of mistaken identities regarding
which Ernest, both women reconciled. At this point, Jack was at pains in
revealing the truth to both ladies that he has no brother named Ernest. This
news convinced both ladies that they are not engaged to anyone after all (since
both men didn’t bear the name “Ernest” at all).
Act III
To console their pains at being
found out the men munched on some muffins while the ladies are in a quiet talk,
quite furious with the obvious trickery employed by two men and therefore finds
no reason to forgive them. But they were swayed when both men told them that,
by sheer act of love, they are willing to be baptized as “Ernest”. This
rekindled their affection in an instant. The sudden presence of Lady Bracknell
broke the smitten lovers apart. Lady Bracknell told Jack that he must never, by
any chance, see her daughter. But Mr. Worthing told her that they are in fact
engaged. Again, Lady Bracknell won’t hear any of it. Algernon also told Lady B
that he too is engaged to Cecily. The idea of two engagements seemed too much
for the old lady as she has never heard of Miss Cadrew, ever. But when Jack
told her of Cecily’s hefty fortune (which is a total of 150,000 pounds) she had
a sudden shift of heart for Little Cecily. Then enter Dr. Chasuble announcing
the christening of the two Ernest-wannabes. Again, the shocked Lady B thought
it ridiculous and irreligious for them to be baptized in their old age. This
means that the baptism will have to be called off. Upon the sight of Lady B it
can’t be denied that Miss Prism was actually acquainted with her. Her unease
gave it away. It turns out that this Miss Prism was actually the same Miss Prism
she knew 28 years ago who actually lost a baby boy by mere recklessness. She
confessed to have placed the boy, instead of the manuscript of a three-volume
novel inside the handbag and deposited it in the cloak room of the larger
railway stations in London. Jack, upon hearing this rather familiar account
rushes to his room and came back with a hand-bag. This turns out to be the very
same hand-bag Miss Prism was talking about, the very handbag where Jack, as he
confessed to Lady Bracknell earlier in her merciless interrogation regarding
his person, was said to be found in while he was an infant. Then reality
finally unfolded: The infant was indeed Jack, the missing nephew of Lady
Bracknell, the long lost brother of Algernon. When he knew that he was lavished
with every luxury available while he was young (including a christening) they
mulled over his given Christian name. When he knew that he was named after his
father, who was a General, it didn’t take him look to go through the list of
the Army for the last forty years, and saw amongst the it, his father’s name
and therefore his given name which was “Ernest”.
