NON – AFRICAN DRAMA
OSCAR WILDE: The Importance of Being Earnest
Discuss the significance of the revelation of Jack’s true identity
Explanation
At the invitation of Jack and Algernon, Dr Chasuble arrives at the Manor house to rechristenthe two. He discovers that the arrangement has been cancelled and decides to join Miss Prism whom he says has been waiting for him in the vestry for an hour and a half.
The mention of this name arouses racknell's curiosity as she seeks to know the identity of Miss Prism. When she eventually sees her, events begin to unfold leading to the discovery of Jack's true identity as Algernon's brother.
This scene leads to the resolution the conflict that has been generated in the play. The question of Jack's identity which has served as an obstacle to his union with Gwendolen is finally laid to rest. The true identity of his parents is also revealed. Just as Jack and Gwendolen can now marry so can Cecily and Algernon.
Gwendolen's extreme curiosity is made known in this scene. The revelation of Jack's background is not enough for her as she tries to make an issue out of it. Her desire to know Jack's true name helps in bringing Jack's "honesty" to the fore. Here, the playwright's deliberate satire on the aristocrats who hold such a trivial thing as a name as a condition for marriage is heightened.
The scene also depicts Miss Prism, as one with little or no sense of remorse. She fails to render an apology for the misdeed of placing a baby in a bag at a railway station, twenty-eight years earlier. Yet she is the person who sheds light on all the tangles that are unravelled in the play. T
he discovery of Jack's name as Ernest lends credence to Jack's pun on the word, "Ernest". It also heightens the irony of his earlier pretence. He is surprised that he has been living under a false name all along.