Are Cecily and Gwendolen sisters?
Cicely and Gwendolyn do share some characteristics, and before their similarities can bring them together as mutually respected “sisters,” they must prove to each other, and perhaps to themselves, that they are both ready to enter London society and are, more importantly, ready for marriage to someone suitably …
What is the name of Algernon’s invalid friend?
He pretends to be the brother of his friend Jack Worthing so that he may meet Cecily, Jack’s ward. Algernon invents an imaginary invalid friend named Bunbury, whom he pretends to be called away to visit whenever he wants to avoid an encounter or an activity.
Why did Lady Bracknell reject Jack as a suitor?
Lady Bracknell expresses her disapproval over Bunbury’s bad health. Lady Bracknell interviews Jack-as-Ernest, and finds his lack of parents very disturbing. She pronounces him unfit to court Gwendolen, unless he can produce his parents by the end of the season. She dismisses him.
What men do women never really marry according to Algernon How true is that?
Algernon believes that girls never marry the men with whom they flirt. According to Algernon’s belief, since Gwendolen and Jack flirt frequently, they will not marry. Furthermore, Algernon refuses to give his consent to the marriage until Jack tells him who Cecily is.
When one is placed in the position of guardian one has to adopt a very high moral tone?
JACK. When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects. It’s one’s duty to do so.
How does Oscar Wilde use the character Lady Bracknell?
Lady Bracknell is first and foremost a symbol of Victorian earnestness and the unhappiness it brings as a result. Because she is now Lady Bracknell, she has opinions on society, marriage, religion, money, illness, death, and respectability. She is another of Wilde’s inventions to present his satire on these subjects.
Is Jack Lady Bracknell’s son?
Lady Bracknell refuses to permit her daughter “to marry into a cloak room, and form an alliance with a parcel.” A literal-minded, domineering woman, she insists that Jack “produce at least one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over.” Several turns in the plot eventually reveal that Jack is the son of …
What is ironic about Lady Bracknell?
What is ironic about Lady Bracknell saying, “To speak frankly, I am not in favor of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other’s character before marriage, which I think is never advisable” (p. 171)?
Why does Wilde use irony?
Wilde uses irony expertly to expose the faults of his society and to question the values of Victorian England. Irony is created when what one expects is different from what happens in reality. Irony is used in the play in order to create humor and draw attention to the vagaries of the upper class.
Why does Jack’s future rest in Miss Prism’s hands?
Chasuble explains that he would “hang upon” Miss Prism’s lips if he were her student, meaning that he would pay close attention to every word she says.
How does Oscar Wilde use dramatic irony?
Wilde uses dramatic irony (the audience knows something that the central characters do not) regarding the double Ernest situation. When Jack arrives back at his home and tells Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble that his brother has dies, the reader knows that “his brother” has arrived only a short time before.