The Importance of Being Earnest Act 1 Summary
Introduction of the author, Oscar Wilde:
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was a famous author, playwright, and poet of England. The Importance of Being Earnest is the most successful play by Wilde. He is known for his flamboyant style, excellent wit, and imprisonment for homosexuality.
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There are three acts of the play, The Importance of Being Earnest. The summary of act 1 of the story consists of some elements that are:
Characters:
- Algernon Moncrief
- John (or Jack) Worthing
- Miss Gwendolen Fairfax
- Lady Bracknell
- Cecily Cardew
- Miss Prism
- Lane
- Dr Chasuble
Frequent visits to London by John Worthing:
John Worthing is a resident at the Manor House in Woolton, but he often pays visits to London. He is the guardian of an eighteen-year-old girl named Cecily. She lives with him in the same house under the charge of a governess called Miss Prism. Mr Worthing tells a lie to ladies about the reason for his visiting London frequently. He says that he has a lazy and irresponsible brother in London, his name is Ernest, and he is habitual of getting into troubles due to his non-serious behaviour towards life. John meets him there to help him in coming out of problems. In reality, Mr Worthing does not have any brother, and he often goes to London for having pleasure.
Jack's unknown parentage:
Jack loves a rich girl called Gwendolen who is a daughter of Lord and Lady Bracknell. He wants to propose marriage to her now. He told all his friends and acquaintances that his name is Ernest including Gwendolen and Algernon. Mr Moncrieff is the nephew of Lord and Lady Bracknell and so a cousin of Gwendolen. Jack's parentage is unknown. Mr Thomas Cardew (a rich man) found him as a baby in a leather bag in the cloakroom of Victoria railway station. Mr Cardew adopted and brought him up. He made Jack the guardian of his grand-daughter, Miss Cecily Cardew. Therefore, in this part of the play, Jack's parentage is unknown to the readers. Cecily calls him as uncle Jack.
An invented friend of Algernon:
Algernon has also created a non-existent friend called Bunbury. He says that Bunbury is an invalid and lives in the countryside, and he told about him to his friends and relatives. Mr Moncrieff calls his late mother's sister or Lady Bracknell, Aunt Augusta. Whenever Algernon wishes to go to the countryside or wants to excuse his aunt's boring dinner parties; then he makes a pretext that his friend is sick, and he will have to go to meet him.
Algernon's inquiry about Miss Cecily Cardew:
The act starts with the conversation between Algernon and his servant called Lane. Then Jack appears on the stage. Whenever Jack and Algernon meet, there arises verbal clashes and witty remarks between them. Jack tells Algernon that he wants to propose Gwendolen for marriage. Then, Algernon inspects Jack about Cecily for her printed name on that cigarette case which Jack left in the flat on his last visit. At first, Jack evades giving a response to Algernon. Finally, he tells him about Cecily. Then, Jack also tells him about the invention of his younger brother and the reason behind it. Also, he confesses to Algernon that Ernest is the name which he uses only in London. Then, Algernon tells Jack about his creation of an imaginary friend called Bunbury and the reason for this invention.
Gwendolen's immediate reply for a marriage proposal:
Gwendolen and Lady Bracknell arrive at Algernon's flat for tea. Jack manages to be alone with Gwendolen with the help of Algernon. He proposes her for marriage. She says that his name, "Ernest" interests her a lot and accepts his proposal with the surprising quickness. When Lady Bracknell comes to know of this proposal and its acceptance, then she arranges a cross-examination of Jack for having the opportunity to marry her daughter. When she knows about Jack's unknown parentage, she rejects him as her possible son-in-law for Gwendolen.
However, Gwendolen manages to get the address of Jack's countryside home for visiting him. Algernon overhears the address and writes it somewhere. He foresees chances of having a romantic meeting with Cecily.
In other words, act one introduces the main characters and reason of the biggest tension, Jack's unknown parentage in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Conclusion:
That's all about The Importance of Being Earnest Act 1 summary. Thanks for being here. Subscribe my blog for more such updates.