The second portion of The Importance of Being Earnest that I have read delves further into the characters, Jack in particular. Determined to propose to Gwendolen, he waits for her mother (Algernon's aunt) to leave the room before bringing up their relationship. Gwendolen immediately professes that she reciprocates Jack's love for her. However, under the impression that Jack's name is in fact Ernest, she states that she was drawn to him chiefly because of his name. The passage below is what follows.
JACK: I don't much care about the name of Ernest . . . I don't think the name suits me at all.
GWENDOLEN: It suits you perfectly. It is a divine name. It has a music of its own. It produces vibrations.
JACK: Well, really, Gwendolen, I must say that I think there are lots of other much nicer names. I think Jack, for instance, a charming name.
GWENDOLEN: Jack? . . . No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations . . . I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John! And I pity any woman who is married to a man called John. She would probably never be allowed to know the entrancing pleasure of a single moment's solitude. The only really safe name is Ernest.
JACK: Gwendolen, I must get christened at once--I mean we must get married at once.
Wilde's tone is especially comedic in this passage-- he calls heavily upon dramatic irony. The audience is aware that Ernest's real name is Jack whilst Gwendolen bashes the name extensively and dismisses it as boring. At the end of the above exchange, Jack even makes a Freudian slip, saying that he must get christened (a way of changing one's name in 19th century England).
When Gwendolen accepts Jack's marriage proposal, he learns that he must now win the approval of Gwendolen's parents. In an interrogation demonstrative of etiquette in 19th century England, Gwendolen's mother, Lady Bracknell, inquires Jack for seemingly benign information. While the first few questions seem to indicate her approval, the marriage is cast in doubt when Jack admits that he is without parents, causing Lady Bracknell to call him "careless" despite it being out of his control.
I read on to discover the fate of the engagement.
Hey John, solid analysis of this passage. You hit on all of the points that really sum up Wilde's style, especially in this book/play. Wilde relies heavily on irony,dialogue, and wordplay in his more humorous works, and you really chose an excellent passage to represent each of these elements of Hemingway's writing. As a side-note, and almost completely unrelated, I thought it odd that one of the characters was named Algernon, not simply because it's a rather unusual name, but because I happen to be reading the book 'Flowers for Algernon', which is the only other place I've ever seen the name. Ah well, coincidences aside, your analysis and commentary of Hemingway was spot on. I look forward to your next post.
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