Plot and Characters
What fake invalid friend does Algernon invent to escape social duties?
Bunbury
What is the central irony of the play’s title?
No one is truly “earnest” (sincere), though everyone wants to be called “Ernest.”
In what year did The Importance of Being Earnest premiere?
1895
“To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”
The Wild One (Lady Bracknell)
Name-based romantic. I only fall for men called ‘Ernest.’
Fluent in small talk and passive aggression over tea.
Mother thinks no one’s good enough for me — she’s probably right.
Gwendolen Fairfax
Why does Lady Bracknell reject Jack as a suitor for Gwendolen?
Because he was found in a handbag and lacks “proper family connections.”
What does Wilde use “Bunburying” to symbolize?
Leading a double life / escaping social constraints
What literary movement was Wilde part of?
The Aesthetic Movement
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.”
The Wild One (Gwendolen)
City boy with a secret countryside alter ego 👀
Not into long-term commitment… unless you mean baptism.
Looking for someone who won’t ask what’s in my family tree (or handbag).
Jack Worthing
Who are the play’s two clergymen (one literal, one moral)?
Dr. Chasuble and Lady Bracknell (metaphorically!)
What does the handbag symbolize in terms of identity and class?
The absurd randomness of social status and origin in Victorian society
What does the phrase “art for art’s sake” mean?
Art should exist for beauty and pleasure, not moral teaching
“It is perfectly easy to be cynical.”
Wilde (essay / criticism)
If we match, bring muffins.
Known for avoiding all responsibility via dying friend named Bunbury.
Believe me love should be light, witty, and never before lunch.
Algernon Moncrieff
What lie does Jack tell everyone at the start of Act II?
That his brother Ernest has died in Paris
In what way does Wilde turn the “moral lesson” of a comedy upside down?
There’s no genuine moral growth — deception leads to happiness.
How does Wilde’s personal life mirror his characters’ lives?
He lived as a public artist and a secret homosexual man in repressive society
“One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art.”
Wilde (lecture quote)
Creative writer ✍️ / gardener 🌿 / romantic visionary 💌
Currently in a situationship with an imaginary fiancé.
Live, laugh, lie — but make it aesthetic.
Cecily Cardew
How does Wilde make every character, even the “moral” ones, complicit in deceit?
He turns lying into a universal language — the foundation of polite society
What deeper critique of gender roles emerges through Wilde’s female characters?
They manipulate social systems cleverly, revealing female power within patriarchy.
What major event occurred just after the play’s success?
Wilde’s trial and imprisonment for “gross indecency.”
“Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone.”
The Wild One (Lady Bracknell)
Morality coach by day, former accidental baby abandoner by night.
Love language: guilt.
Seeking someone who appreciates both Latin grammar and moral repression.
Miss Prism