'The Importance Of Being Earnest' By Oscar Wilde

“The Importance of Being Earnest” In the play, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” by Oscar Wilde, main character, Jack is characterized as living two separate lives. One life he lives and goes by the name Jack and the other he goes by Ernest. Due to the confusion, Wilde leads his audience to believe and excuse the double identities as different aura’s each name comes with. A double-life can be defined as the life of a person who leads two different lives that are kept separate from one another because usually one involves a secret. Jack displays characteristics of someone who lives a double life throughout the play and some may argue he even suffers from a multiple personality disorder. Jack has managed to create himself, Earnest, and

Jack later promises Algernon that he would reveal his true identity to Gwendolyn in which Gwendolyn responds, “...my ideal has always been to love someone of the name Ernest….The moment Algernon first mentioned to me that he had a friend called Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you.” (Wilde, pg. 1706). Wilde is making it known to his audience that now, in order for Jack to marry Gwendolyn and in order for her to remain in love with him, his name should be Ernest. Also, considering that without Ernest there is no Gwendolyn, Jack realizes that he cannot be without Ernest. Jack’s worse fear is to have to explain to Gwendolyn the separate identities and she no longer be able to relate to him. It would be as if he was just a blank canvas and they would have to begin their relationship all over again. The author wants the audience to grasp that Ernest and Jack and separate at this point in the play and essentially get rid of Jack for once and for all. Lady Bracknell says, “You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter--a girl brought up with the utmost care--to marry into a cloak room…” (Wilde, pg. 170). For this is the exact reason why Jack does not care to share is circumstances with anyone because he is afraid that everyone will look at him differently just as Lady Bracknell did.

At first, Jack presents Ernest as his brother when he says, “ ...to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest, who lives in the Albany, and gets into the most dreadful scrapes.” (Wilde, pg. 1703). Jack creates a brother for himself as a result of being an orphan and not being able to have someone always there for him or him there for them. Wilde suggest that it makes Jack happy when he goes to “see” his “brother” Ernest; it makes him feel important and needed by family. Furthermore, Jack explains, “When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt very high moral tone on all subjects. It’s one’s duty to do so. And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness....” (Wilde, pg. 1703). Jack assumes the role as guardian and father figure to Cecily, a young woman. He has created this father figure in order to fill his void of being orphaned and never having a father figure himself. This role Jack jumps into allows him to imagine what life would have been like had he had his father around while he was maturing. Wilde explains that Jack tries to be the best father he can to Cecily strictly based on the fact that he was not afforded one, not biologically at least. Jack feels as though he has created the perfect life for himself