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The play begins in the flat of Algernon Mon crieff, an English bachelor. Visited by his friend Jack Worthing, though Algernon and everyone else in London know Jack as "Ernest. " Jack says that he has come to town to propose to Gwendolyn Fairfax, the daughter of Lady Bracknell, first cousin of Algernon. Algernon tells Jack that he refuses to give his consent for him to marry Gwendolyn until Jack can explain why the name Cecily inscribed in Jack's cigarette case. After making up a story, Jack finally admits to Algernon that Cecily lives in the country. Jack also admits to Algernon that his name is not Ernest but rather Jack, which is what everyone at his country Manor House calls him. Algernon jokingly accuses Jack of "Bunburying, " practice of pretending that he has a friend in some other part of the world, which gives one an excuse to leave whatever part of the world where he currently is.
Algernon explains that he himself has an imaginary friend called Bunbury who frequently gets sick, giving Algernon an excuse to get out of London social obligations Gwendolyn and Lady Bracknell arrive at Algernon's flat for tea. Algernon tells Lady Bracknell that, due to the illness of his friend Bunbury, he must leave London, and as a result will not be able to attend her dinner that night. He distracts her in a different room for a while so that Jack can propose to Gwendolyn. Jack tells Gwendolyn that he loves her, and she replies that she loves him too, particularly because he is named Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence. " Jack, knowing that his name is actually Jack, gets worried, and privately resolves to get baptized and change his name. Gwendolyn, meanwhile, accepts his proposal. Lady Bracknell announces that Gwendolyn may not marry Jack until she gives her approval.
Algernon and Gwendolyn leave while Lady Bracknell interrogates Jack to determine how suitable a husband he is. She is pleased with his answers until she asks him about his parents. When Jack admits that he was abandoned by his parents and found in a handbag by a Mr. Thomas Care in Victoria Station, Lady Bracknell is horrified. She refuses to let her daughter marry a man with no knowledge of who his parents are, and suggests to Jack that he "find some relatives. " Gwendolyn returns, having heard of Lady Bracknell's disapproval, and agrees to meet Jack at his country estate to figure out what to do. He gives her the address, which is overheard and copied down by Algernon.
Setting the scene at Jack's country estate, where, Cecily, is learning German and geography at the hands of Miss Prism, a tutor. Miss Prism, in between teaching Cecily, likes to flirt with, Dr Chasuble. While she is taking a walk with him, Algernon, pretending to be Jack's brother Ernest, arrives to meet Cecily. The two show an immediate romantic interest in one another, Ms. Prism and Chasuble return from their work and meet Jack as he arrives back home from the city. He is dressed in mourning in order to keep up the lie that his brother, who does not actually exist, has died.
While speaking with Chasuble and Prism, Cecily comes out of the house and sees Jack, and quickly informs him that his brother has returned. Jack is shocked and angered when his "brother" Algernon comes out of the house. As the others exit to allow the two reunited brothers time to resolve their differences, Jack tells Algernon that he must leave the house at once. When Cecily returns Algernon proposes to her, she accepts his proposal, although she tells him that she particularly loves him because he is named Ernest, a name that "seems to inspire absolute confidence. " Cecily, in fact, has been pretending in her journal to be engaged to "Ernest" ever since she first found out that her guardian had a brother. Algernon grows secretly worried about the fact that he is not named Ernest. Gwendolyn arrives to see Jack, but in the meantime she talks with Cecily, whom she has never before met.
Gwendolyn is surprised to hear that "Ernest" has a ward but has never told her about it. Cecily is confused when Gwendolyn says that she is engaged to Ernest, and things become heated as they realize that they may be engaged to the same man. They sit in silent hostility until Algernon and Jack re-enter. They confess that they have lied about their names and that neither of them is named Ernest.
The two women are shocked, and because both are engaged to a man named Ernest, they retreat together into the house to await the appearance of this brother named Ernest. Meanwhile, Jack begins to panic while Algernon sits back. Setting the scene inside the Manor House. Algernon and Jack enter shortly after.
Algernon tells Cecily that he lied, and Jack confesses to Gwendolyn that he lied to her about having a brother so that he could spend more time in the city with her. The women are satisfied, although they still cannot accept the men because they are not named Ernest. When the men reply that they are scheduled to be christened that afternoon, all seems well, until suddenly Lady Bracknell arrives. She again refuses to give her consent to the Jack-Gwendolyn engagement. Algernon tells her that he is engaged to Cecily, and when Lady Bracknell learns that Cecily is extremely wealthy thanks to her father's estate, she gives her consent. However, as Cecily's legal guardian, Jack will not give his consent to the marriage unless Lady Bracknell approves of his engagement to Gwendolyn.
Lady Bracknell again refuses and prepares to leave with Gwendolyn. Dr. Chasuble enters and learns that a christening will no longer be necessary, so he resolves to return to Miss Prism. Lady Bracknell, suddenly realizing that she once employed a Miss Prism to take care of her sister's baby, asks to see Miss Prism, who readily appears.
Lady Bracknell demands to know what happened to the baby, which we soon find out disappeared twenty-eight years previously when Miss Prism was supposed to be taking it for a stroll in the perambulator. Miss Prism confesses that she accidentally put her three-volume novel in the perambulator and the baby in her handbag, which she mistakenly left in the cloakroom at Victoria Station. Jack, suddenly realizing that he was that baby, fetches the briefcase in which he was found, which Miss Prism confirms as being hers. Lady Bracknell tells Jack that he is the son of her sister and the elder brother of Algernon. A search through the military periodicals of the time reveals that their father's first name was Ernest, and because first sons are always named after the father, they realize that Jack's name has, indeed, all along been Ernest. Overjoyed, Jack realizes that he has been telling the truth his whole life even though he thought he was lying.
In the end, he gets together with Gwendolyn, Algernon gets together with Cecily, and Jack discovers "the Importance of Being Earnest. " The most symbolic item in this play is the name Ernest. The way Cecily and Gwendolyn react to this name, its quite obvious that there is more to it. The name Ernest its meaning of strong and passionate, while a man named Jack, is nothing more then just Jack. Ernest stands for everything that is good.
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Research essay sample on Part Of The World Lady Bracknell
