TIOBE by Oscare Wilde

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”.