Jack Worthing

Jack Worthing

Attitudes
1. Women, love and marriage
  1. Marriage is Jack's primary motivation and the lengths he will go to to appease Gwendolen's fickle desires (along with Algernon) create humour
    1. Is earnest in his love for Gwendolen though she is only concerned with his names being 'Ernest'
      1. Reflected in broken speech, very rare in Wilde's dialogue, 'Miss fairfax, ever since I have met you I have admired you more than any girl... I have ever met... since I met you.' p15
        Endearing, vulnerability- contrast to his views of women when not in their presence (more reflective of wider society's views)
        'My dear fellow, the truth isn't quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet refined girl.' p23
  2. In negotiations with Lady Bracknell is out witted due to lack of social parentage and genuine love (?) of Gwendolen
    1. J: 'May I ask then what you would advise me to do? I need hardly say I would do anything in the world to ensure Gwendolen's happiness" LB: '.... to make an effort to produce at any rate one parent, or either sex, before the season is quite over.' p21
      1. 'Produce' when referring to people, connection to 'reproduction', idea than that one can 'produce' a parent at will rather than a child plays on an idea that goes against biology, highlighting the absurdity of the request.
  3. Is humorously genuine (earnest) when believes Miss Prism is his mother- J: (Embracing her) Yes...mother!" p67
    1. Also completely rejects Victorian moral standards (showing their fickle nature), Wilde does this to highlight in this society the importance of family ties over genuine moral beliefs
      1. 'Cannot repentance wipe out an act of folly? Why should there be one law for men and another for women? Mother, I forgive you." p68
        Quick melodramatic changes of emotions, also a subversion of the dramatic trope of the women with a past, here not sensational and sexual for trivial and absurd (in line with the sentiments of the play)
2. Social Hierarchy and morals
  1. Dandy
    1. To less of an extent than A because less secure socially
  2. Jack is more aware and places a larger emphasis on morality (or at least the facade of it) possibly because older than Algernon, but also had to work to be accepted into this society because of background
    1. "When one is placed in the position of guardian, one had to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects. It's one's duty to do so. p10"
      1. Distances himself from Algernon, uses moral to adopt higher tone- Algernon is 'hardly serious enough'
    2. To Algernon, 'Your duty as a gentleman calls you back" p39
      1. Places focus on duty, believes he can manipulate A this way, shows level of naivety towards this society, Wilde uses this to expose truth through humour- A: "My duty as a gentleman has never interfered with my pleasure in the smallest degree." p39
    3. "It is a very ungentlemanly thing to read a private cigarette case"p8 Algernon clearly doesn't have or care about this sense of morality in public and private spheres, later asks to read C's diary.
3. Truth
  1. "Gwendolen- Cecily- it is a very painful thing for me to be forced to speak the truth. It is the first time in my life that I have ever been reduced to such a painful position" p52
    1. "It is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but truth" p70
      1. Inversion of popular idiom- 'living a lie', this goes against conventional thinking, highlights Jack sees lying as more efficient way to live life, which suggest moralistic talk purely a facade.
4. Family
  1. Jack's views on family are very closely linked to his name and identity
    1. Once he finds out his name is Ernest Moncrieff his attitudes towards characters completely change
      1. Immediately starts calling LB Aunt Augusta, and while had previously denounced Algernon, 'I do not approve of his moral character'p62, he then embraces him (literally) '(seizes hold of Algernon) Dr Chasuble, my unfortunate brother. Miss Prism my unfortunate brother.... p68
    2. Does act as an older brother throughout,dispenses advice to Algernon and sets down rules and guidelines for Cecily
5. Idenity
  1. Jack is the character most tied to identity, through name
    1. Gives him importance to Gwendolen, who views it as aesthetically desirable and allows him to escape to the town and do what ever he pleases
      1. Seen through motif of christening
      2. In final act question of identity comes down to name and the oscillate assigned meaning attached to it- g 'My own! But what own are you? What is your Christian name, now you have become someone else?'p68
  2. Uses ellipsis when telling LB about where he was found also identity tied to details of environment, 'gave me the name worthing, because he happened to have a first class ticket for Worthing in his pocket at the time. Worthing is a place in Sussex. It is a seaside resort.' p20
    1. Humour created through superfluous detail, conveys nervousness also leads to pun in line 'The line is immaterial'- double meaning of family line and train line, makes the importance placed on family lineage seem absurd
    2. Link to Aesthetics that stressed individualism and importance of self, through satirising attitudes towards names Wilde conveying how, though it should not be the case, identity is almost comically inked to name and family.
6. Education
  1. 'I'm sick to death of cleverness. Everybody in clever nowadays.'
How he fits key motifs
1. Town and Country
  1. "When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people. It is excessively boring.' p5
    1. Reason for creating Earnest to escape countryside
    2. Possible double meaning, amuse to entertain, but also subtle breaking of 4th wall, play is a comedy and majority of comedic intrigue comes in country.
    3. Also ironic, goes to town to escape boredom yet when there wishes to do nothing, 'I hate listening' 'I hate talking' 'I can't bear looking at things, it's so silly." A: What shall we do?' j; 'Nothing" p24
2. Food
  1. Is less greedy than Algernon, but still engages in childish fighting over muffins
    1. Begins condemning Jack, "I say it's perfectly heartless you're eating muffins al all, under the circumstances.' But then facade of morals (mask) drops and exhibits same childish greed, 'Well, that is no reason why you must eat them all' p54
      1. Implies anger at not also being abel to have muffins not at absurd action itself
3. Christenings (religion)
  1. Attitudes towards christenings reflective not only of the fluid nature of identity within this society but also the growing disrespect for the spiritually of the church
    1. Jack to Chasuble: 'I suppose you know how to christen alright? I mean, of course, you are continually christening?" p35
      1. Alliteration of 'course you are continually christening' creating bounding childish rhythm, highlighting the absurdity of the attitude and the request, thus highlighting that the church will pander to any desire of the upper classes.
      2. Christening also latter seen as a commodity,'Every luxury that money could buy, including christening, had been lavished on you by your doting parents.' p69
4. Ernest
  1. Again Wilde create satire through inversion. In victorian society common to marry someone purely for surname that would ink for to a particular family of fortune, but absurdity and the amount of focus placed on it exposed by having obsession be on first name.
    1. At end of play new name is only meaningful because of what it means socially- can marry Gwendolen and be accepted.
    2. Having Jack search through a book that has been in his house the whole times and has nothing really to do with him ('The Arms lists of the last forty years') suggest the relative meaningless of names in comparison to one's actions and character, thereby undermining the system of marriage through class and character (based upon good names and bad names)
      1. Link to LB books of names
5. Satire
  1. Is perhaps the most 'Earnest' character, certainly more so than Algernon, still wants escapism but wishes to marry Gwendolen and enter into respectability, even in moralistic attitude he adopts is a facade.
    1. But still able to reorganise the ridiculous nature of the trivial Victorian concerns, eg. With Mourning clothes, that introduces a stronger sense of dandyism.
Interactions with other characters
1. Algernon
  1. Jack is more sincere and worse at deception than Algernon, but essentially very similar in characterisation
    1. Wilde constantly builds echoes of each others actions and dialogue.
      1. Seem most comically when two couples of stage echo each other exactly - P50
      2. Through creating two such similar characters (or personas- see Algernon notes) he demonstrates flaws and absurd attitudes not on the individual but of wider society
    2. Jack often tries to use moral righteous to gain power against Algernon's superior wtt, throughout Act 1 peppers speech with 'shoulds'
      1. 'It (modern culture) isn't the sort of this one should talk of in private.' p8
      2. 'You has much better dine with you Aunt Augusta p11'
      3. 'I strongly advise you to do the same...' (kill Bunbury) p11
2. Gwendolen
  1. Seems earnestly in love with her, though audience is given no time frame on how long they have known each other and so it could be as whirlwind as A&C's
    1. He is attracted to Gwendolen as a perceived, 'sensible, intellectual girl' p26, also her good social standing sets him up to benefit socially, something that LB in particular is aware and weary of.
      1. He is more invested emotionally than Gwendolen, 'My own one, I have never loved any one in the world but you.' G: 'Yes, but men often propose for practise'. p17
      2. Willing to go to whatever lengths (changing name) to conform to her fickle requests.
      3. Jack also seems to mainly overlook the obvious parallels between G and LB, 'You don't think there's any chance of Gwendolyn becoming like her mother in about a hundred and fifty years, do you Algy?' p22
3. Lady Bracknel
  1. Fears her, is the obstacle to his desire
    1. Immediate contrast once her knows they are family- 'Aunt Augusta' p69
    2. Jack described as 'irritable' three times in the play, two of those times are to do with LB, he is, like Algernon happy to play the social game, but is annoyed when there are no results.
      1. LB only relents with name discovery, playing into the social game
4. Cecily
  1. Both are orphans
    1. Both invent fictional relationships in order to forge real connections with other characters
      1. Jack creates Ernes to court Gwendolen and Cecily imagines romance with Ernest and becomes engaged to Algernon
        Also links to ideas of fact and fiction, in both fiction becomes fact, Cecily gets a real engagement and Jack gets a real brother.
  2. Jacks seems overall weak in dealing with women, gives into Cecily's childish tantrums
    1. J: 'Never forgive me?' C:'Never, never, never!' p37
  3. Also characterises her by social archetype of innocent country girl, social expectation holds precedence over reality in similar way to his idealised views of intellectual G
    1. 'a sweet, simple, innocent girl' p53
Language
1. Epigrams and repartee
  1. Far less than Algernon
    1. Tries to inject witty one-liners but is undermined by Algernon's rebuttals
      1. A: '...modern literautre a complete impossibility!' J: 'That wouldn't be at all a bad thing' A: 'Literary criticism is not your forte, my dear fellow. Don't try it.' p10
2. Less articulate parts of speech
  1. P20, telling LB found
    1. Mainly in Town
  2. P15 proposing to Cecily
3. Change on language in Act 3
  1. Becomes more confident, Wilde empowers him by giving him more witty lines
    1. 'I mean it naturally is Ernest' p69, play on double meaning of naturally, both Victorian colloquialism that would resonate in syntax when spoken aloud in a contemporary setting- works to play down the drama of the discovery for humour- but also conveys a sense of earnestness and un-forced with realisation of real name
  2. More active and direct in driving forward plot, until this point mainly done by Algernon
    1. Seen in increase of questions, 'Is this the hand-bag, Miss Prism? p67
    2. What railway station? p66
    3. 'Would you kindly inform me who am I? p68'

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	Created by Molly Thatcher over 9 years ago