1.The issue of a marriage proposal being a matter of business or pleasure is discussed. It's a central theme of the play. Algernon and Jack disagree about the purpose of marriage proposals: Algernon thinks it's a business matter, and Jack thinks his proposal to Gwendolyn is for pleasure. 2. The inherent comic element in the scene is that Ernest's real name(as he knows it to be at the time) is Jack. Gwendolyn is just raving about how she could only marry a man named Ernest. This conflict known to only Jack and the audience is what causes the comedic effect of the scene. The scene ends with Jack proposing to Gwendolyn, and Gwendolyn comments about how blue Jack's eyes are. Total aside here, Bette Davis Eyes gets stuck into my head when reading this part. It says more about my perception of Gwendolyn than it does of her character though. 3. The notion is that pedigree,propriety, and property take precedent over quality of character. Jack's engagement to Gwendolyn is rejected by Lady Bracknell until it's found out that he's Algernon's older brother and his assumed lies turn out to be the truth. Nothing changes about him but how others perceive him. Once he is perceived as acceptable, then he is acceptable. …show more content…
Well, the interview is going over well:his smoking habit is seen as an "occupation", and his ignorance is seen as laudable. Lady Bracknell is only disgusted by Jack's lack of a fashionable town house and his uncertain origins. Willfully ignorant? Smoke like a chimney? That's great. I have no qualms about that type of individual marrying my only daughter. A town house on the unfashionable side? No knowledge of your lineage? Absolutely deplorable! It's a ludicrous situation made funny by how Lady Bracknell responds amenably to things a modern reader would find distasteful, and she reacts outrageously to things lower classes wouldn't find that