The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde that follows two young men, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, as they attempt to win the hearts of two young women, Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Jack and Algernon both use the same pseudonym, Ernest, in order to gain the affections of the women. Jack has created a fictitious brother, Ernest, in order to explain his frequent absences from his home in the country. Algernon, on the other hand, has invented an invalid friend, Bunbury, in order to escape from social obligations. The play is a comedy of manners, and the characters are constantly trying to outwit each other. Jack and Algernon's schemes are eventually revealed, and the women are not pleased. Jack and Algernon must then prove their worthiness to the women, and the play ends with the two couples happily engaged. The play is a satire of Victorian society and its conventions, and it is full of witty dialogue and clever wordplay.
By Oscar Wilde · First published 1895 · Genre: Comedy, Romance, Satire · 3 chapters