The Question and Answer section for The Importance of Being Earnest is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
Cecily and Gwendolyn both believe the name inspires "absolute confidence." The name, sounding like "earnest," seems to show only uprightness and honesty. Of course, this is the great irony of the play; as Jack and Algernon have both falsified the...
Lady Bracknell is a remarkable comic creation, the paragon of the Victorian lady who stresses good breeding above all else. But she is far from a flat stereotype. Wilde gives her some of his wittiest lines to bring out her quirky way of seeing the...
Algernon wants to know why Jack's aunt calls herself little Cecily when she comes from Tunbridge Wells. Jack replies that his aunt can be anything she likes to be. He admonishes Algernon for presuming that aunts must all be of the same temperament...
