Couple things bothering me about this play . . .
1. Jack is marrying his first cousin.
2. At the end of the play, Cecily seems to forget all about her insistence on marrying a man named Earnest.
3. If Gwendolen is the daughter of Lord and Lady Bracknell, why is her last name Fairfax?
Hmm.. these are tough questions. Here are my thoughts
1. The play is set in the late Victorian era in England and during that era it was really common for a man to marry his cousin. It was actually considered a good thing, because it ensured that wealth stayed within the family. In fact, in those days, there were a lot of birth defects from people marrying their own family members, but no one understood modern genetics.
2. I think this is irony. Plus ultimately Earnest's name is actually Earnest.
3. I think Fairfax is her middle name and back in this era eligible women did not use their last names...
What do other people think?
1. I had thought of that. Just needed a second opinion.
2. Yes, Gwendolen's beloved is named Earnest, but Cecily's is still named Algernon! This is completely forgotten at the end of the play!
3. The middle name thing does make sense.
Hi,
I saw the play acted out and I don't really agree with point #2. I think Earnest just pretends to find out that his name is Earnest when he looks up his family name in the book at the end. So, his name really isn't Earnest... he just gets everyone to believe it!
Robin, the same thing happens in the newer film of the play. Jack sees the name "John" in the book but lies and says the name is Earnest. The script for the play, however, does not indicate that Jack is lying. This change is a director's decision.
Now, whether or not Jack's name is really Earnest, Charles is right about Cecily--she still wants to marry Algernon even though his name is not Earnest! This is indeed a loose end in the play.
As far as point 2 goes, in Victorian England members of the nobility would often be granted the title of Lord or Lady (Ladyship was usually bequeathed automatically to the Lord's wife). The name that followed his title would be that of a place in England, hence the monikers Lord and Lady Bracknell. In this play Lord and Lady Bracknell would still possess a surname, but have become known by their titles. Gwendolen, as their daughter, is inelegible for an automatic title, thus retaining 'Fairfax' as a surname.
And yes marrying your first cousin was actually a good thing back then... kept the wealth within the family concerning dowries and suchlike.
I think Wilde was being ironic when Cecily seemingly forgets her earlier obsessions with the name Ernest... just wanted to show how fickle people can be!
3. If Gwendolen is the daughter of Lord and Lady Bracknell, why is her last name Fairfax?
the reason why her last name is Fairfax is not as it is her middle name. It is her mothers maiden name. It was common in those times for the daughter to keep the mothers maiden name untill she was married and then took her husbands name/title. It is much like how a father passes alone his name, well the mothers name is able to be passed down aswell..
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