The Importance of Being Earnest, Act II - Oscar Wilde (1895)

Extract

[...] 28) (though dead could mean having had an excess of alcohol, or troubles with a creditor?). Apart of that, comparing the brother's defaults with his own vulnerability to air draughts, and insinuating the chill he suffered affected his conscience ("any very serious state of mind") whereas it rather concerns lungs does not make him sound smart. At last, Miss Prism is not a bright light either. Although she pretends to be sophisticated, she fails at doing so by inventing an awkward neologism, namely "womanthrope": instead of replacing -anthropic with -gynos, she not only blends an English word with the classical, Greek root meaning man, but also wrongly considers that since "misan" and "woman" rhyme, that are interchangeable. [...]

[...] This effect was certainly designed for the learned, upper-class spectators. Even though, as Cecily's governess, she should have no indecent thoughts, this façade is further shattered when she has the audacity to make advances to a churchman with kinky metaphors that could come from a Liverpudlian brothel. Then, like a sleek, biting snake (an echo to temptation and ripe apples?), she does a U-turn and adapts to Chasuble's reaction and values, and shows an unkind and uncharitable face, but her scold backfires anyway. [...]

[...] The spectator finds out Chasuble is equally deferent with his ecclesiastical hierarchy, as he sticks to the Church's precepts, and gives away he butters up the Upper Orders, including the bishop. And though nobody stands above Jack, at least in this scene, he may not misbehave or reveal his hidden life, for this would be unworthy of a gentleman: since earnestly was much extoled back then, the outer appearance was to reflect the inner nature, and, as paradoxical as it may be, it is easier to fake earnestly. Thus, in lieu of confessing his deceiving, Jack decides to embrace a life of truth by telling one last fib. [...]

[...] But the biggest challenge might come from the sermon Dr. Chasuble would like to give before his assembled flock: by incorporating the brother's death, and thus publicizing it, the risk is that the locals also start asking intrusive questions, and therefore he should give everyone the same answers or it would be suspect. As well, a sympathizing spectator prays that no disruptive element, especially human, come and gainsay his alibi. As for Chasuble, even a man of faith has his own weaknesses; among these is his taste for the gab, which takes over once he is set in motion: whereas he was refrained in Miss Prism's company, he is enthusiastic to share details of the way he performs his duty, that is, with casualness: although he can seamlessly rework his preaches from the same sermon at any possible occasion, the relation between the manna in the wilderness (l. [...]

[...] The Importance of Being Earnest, Act II - Oscar Wilde (1895) I. Background and summary of the excerpt "As a man sows, so shall he reap": a biblical saying that Miss Prism, as a good Christian, must have been taught at church. But to feel righteous, it is not enough to utter it like she does when reacting to the tiding of Jack's brother's death, it also takes to apply it personally. The scene is taken from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), and is set early at a crossroads in the play: after all the characters have been introduced, Jack is resolute to put an end to his double life, but as in all second acts, the situation goes slightly out of control. [...]