Scarica Summary of "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Characters: -Earnest in town and Jack Worthing in the country -Cecily -Algernon Moncrieff -Gwendolen Fairfax -Lady Bracknell (aunt Augusta) -Miss Prism -Lane -Merriman ACT 1 SCENE 1 The scene is set in Algernon’s flat in London. We see Jack who is in town in order to meet Algernon’s cousin, the beautiful Gwendolen, of whom he is deeply in love and to whom he wants to propose. Algernon is afraid to admit that aunt Augusta won’t approve the marriage. Before allowing Jack to marry her, Algernon wants to understand who Cecily is. In fact, Jack left his cigarette case the last time he dined there and Algernon finds out that it’s a present from the mysterious Cecily. At first, Jack says that Cecily is her aunt but she calls herself “little Cecily” so Jack justifies himself by saying that some aunts are tall and some aunts are small. Algernon understands that it’s a lie because Cecily calls Jack “her dear uncle Jack”. Algernon can’t make out why an aunt should call her own nephew her uncle and besides, his name is supposed to be Earnest, not Jack. Finally, Jack admits that Cecily is Mr Thomas Cardew’s granddaughter. He adopted Jack when he was a child and made him guardian of Cecily, who now addresses him as her uncle and lives in his place in the country under the charge of Miss Prism. Jack, in his position of guardian has to adopt very high moral standards so he pretends to have a younger brother called Earnest who always gets in trouble and always need Jack’s help (instead he goes to the city to have fun). That’s why his name is Earnest in town and Jack in the country. Similarly, Algernon invented an invalid friend called Bunbury in order to escape from the city-life and the dinners with Aunt Augusta.If Gwendolen accepts Jack, he will get rid of his brother, indeed Cecily is too interested in him and Jack advises his friend to do the same thing with Mr Bunbury but he doesn’t convince him. SCENE 2 Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrive. Algernon and Aunt Augusta go into another room so Jack can propose to Gwendolen . They start talking about the weather but she understands he means something else. Jack is not able to declare his love and so Gwendolen says that he has always had an irresistible fascination to her because of his name (she doesn’t know his real name) who inspires absolute confidence and it’s divine. Jack asks her if she could love him even if his name wasn’t Ernest. She says that other names, like Jack, don’t produce vibrations. Jack does a slip of the tongue: he says that he must get baptised but then he corrects himself saying that they must get married at once. Now Gwendolen wants a real proposal: Jack goes down to his knee and actually settled and she says that is on the 14 of February. She says that he asked for her hand under an old tree and after a long struggle with herself she accepted. She also bought a little ring and a bracelet in his name. Then they broke off the engagement because it wouldn't have been a serious engagement if it hadn't been broken off at least once. Now Cecily has got something to say about his name: she always had a dream to love someone whose name is Ernest because it inspires absolute confidence and she doesn’t like other names (like Algernon). He does a slip of the tongue: he says that he must get baptised by Dr. Chasuble but then he corrects himself saying that he must see him for an important business matter, then he goes away. After some time Merriman announces the arrival of Miss Fairfax who wants to see Mr. Worthing. Cecily invites her to come in. SCENE 4 Initially Gwendolen and Cecily are very kind to each other: Gwendolen says they are going to be friends and her first impressions of people are never wrong. After that Gwendolen discovers that Cecily is Mr Worthing’s ward so she express a wish that she was older and plain. Moreover Gwendolen discovers that Ernest has got a elder brother and she’s going to be his but Gwendolen says that he already proposed to her. Because of this misunderstanding, they start a verbal fight. Cecily says that Ernest changed his mind since he proposed to Gwendolen so she says that Cecily entrapped the poor man into a foolish promise. Therefore Cecily says that when she sees a spade she calls it a spade and Gwendolen feels superior about her social sphere. Cecily offers her some tea and Gwendolen wants it with no sugar but Cecily puts four lumps of sugar into the cup. Then she gives her a slice of cake even if Gwendolen wants bread and butter. Jack arrives offering to kiss Gwendolen but she draws back and asks him if he’s engaged to Cecily and of course he says he’s not. Cecily also reveals that his name is Jack. After some time Algernon arrives offering to kiss Cecily but she draws back and asks him if he’s engaged to Gwendolen and of course he says he’s not. Gwendolen reveals that he’s her cousin Algernon. The two ladies understands the gross deception so they returns into the house angrily. ACT 3 SCENE 1 Gwendolen and Cecily are at the window looking out into the garden and the two men didn’t follow them so they have sense of shame left (misapplied logic). After some time Jack and Algernon enter the room but the ladies speak first (even if they said they shouldn’t). Cecily asks Algernon why he pretended to be Jack’s brother and he says that he wanted to have the opportunity of meeting her. Gwendolen asks Jack why he pretended to have a brother and he says that it was in order to come to town to see her. The explanations appear to be quite satisfactory in the ladies’ opinion so they forgive them. But there’s still a problem: their first names are an important barrier (the two ladies say that together) and the boys say together that they’re going to be baptised in the afternoon. Gwendolen and Cecily are amazed by the “terrible thing” they’re going to do to please them. SCENE 2 Lady Bracknell arrives and says that all the communication between her daughter and Mr Worthing must stop. Moreover she asks if Algernon’s friend lives there and he says that Banbury exploded. After that Lady Bracknell asks who Cecily is and Algernon admits that he’s engaged to be married to her. Lady Bracknell asks if Cecily has got a little fortune and indeed she has, so now Lady Bracknell sees her as the most attractive young lady (she focuses on appearance: also Algernon has nothing but he looks everything). Jack won’t approve the engagement until she will be thirty-five years old but Cecily doesn’t want to wait. Lady Bracknell doesn’t give Jack the consent to marry her daughter so he has to tell Miss Prism to ask Dr. Chasuble to cancel the baptism. Hearing that name, Lady Bracknell asks to see the governess immediately. She was once employed by Lady Bracknell as a nanny and one day, leaving with the child, she never came back. Miss Prism admits that she was out with the baby in its perambulator and, in a moment of distraction, she placed the child in the bag and her manuscript in the perambulator. Then she left the hand-bag in the cloak at Victoria Station. Now Jack thinks he’s Miss Prism’s son but in reality, he’s the son of Lady Bracknell’s sister (Mrs. Moncrieff) and consequently Algernon’s elder brother. Discovered the relationship, Lady Bracknell gives the consent for the marriage between Jack and Gwendolen, but there’s still the problem of the name. Lady Bracknell says that he was named after his father (a general in the English army), of who Algernon doesn’t