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What is the girls fascination with the name Ernest in The Importance of Being Earnest?
Gwendolen is in love with Jack, whom she knows as Ernest, and she is fixated on this name. This preoccupation serves as a metaphor for the preoccupation of the Victorian middle- and upper-middle classes with the appearance of virtue and honor.
Who is obsessed with the name Ernest?
Cecily Cardew
Cecily Cardew Cecily is probably the most realistically drawn character in the play. Like Gwendolen, she is obsessed with the name Ernest, but she is even more intrigued by the idea of wickedness.
Why is the name Earnest important?
The name of “Ernest” comes to symbolize different things for different people. For Gwendolen and Cecily it “inspires absolute confidence” but also symbolizes the ideal husband/ lover. The name holds similar meaning to Algernon, who masquerades as “Ernest” to escape to the country to meet Cecily under false pretenses.
What significance do names naming or christening hold within the play The Importance of Being Earnest?
Jack and Algernon each arrange a christening with Dr. Chasuble so that they can change their names to “Ernest.” The eager willingness of these characters to change their names symbolize the fluid nature of identity in the play. Get the entire The Importance of Being Earnest LitChart as a printable PDF.
Why does Cecily want to marry earnest?
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.
Where does Jack say Ernest when he died?
What does Jack say about his brother Ernest when he returns? He says that Ernest has died of a severe chill in Paris.
Why does Gwendolen marry earnest?
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. She believes Jack’s brother is a wicked man, and though she has never met such a man, she thinks the idea sounds romantic.
What does earnest symbolize?
Similar to Bunbury, Ernest represents deception, fiction, and escapism, but also idealism. Similarly Jack uses the mischievous antics of his brother Ernest to escape to the city, just as Algernon uses Bunbury as an excuse to escape to the country. …