The Importance of Being Earnest · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Jack Worthing
major
Also known as Ernest, Mr. Ernest Worthing, Mr. John Worthing, John, Uncle Jack
Jack keeps two lives running on one name: sober Uncle Jack at his Woolton estate, where he lectures his ward Cecily on duty, and stylish Ernest in London, where he woos Gwendolen. His own moralizing traps him, since the respectable guardian cannot admit the pleasures he craves. When Algernon pockets his cigarette case and demands an explanation, the double life starts to unravel, setting the play's central deceptions in motion.
Algernon Moncrieff
major
Also known as Algy, Mr. Algernon Moncrieff, Mr. Moncrieff, Brother John
Algernon floats through Half-Moon Street on cucumber sandwiches, champagne, and the cheerful conviction that life should be played with wonderful expression rather than accuracy. He prizes style over sincerity and treats marriage as a demoralizing institution, yet his curiosity about Jack's cigarette case exposes his friend's double identity. His own invention of Bunbury gives the play its name for elegant evasion and sets up the mischief he will carry into the country.
Gwendolen Fairfax
major
Also known as Miss Fairfax, Gwendolen
Gwendolen moves through London society with brisk authority, proposing to Jack in town and later facing Cecily with the same cool command. Her fixation on the name Ernest turns a private whim into a public obstacle, and her mother's scrutiny of Jack's origins raises the stakes of the courtship. She matters because her romantic certainty forces the men to keep performing their fictions long after the deceptions should collapse.
Cecily Cardew
major
Also known as Cecily, Miss Cecily Cardew, Miss Cardew, Cecily Cardew, cousin Cecily
Cecily studies German, tolerates Miss Prism's lessons, and keeps a diary devoted to the thrilling Ernest, whose scandals she has embroidered into romance. When Algernon arrives at the Manor House posing as that very brother, her fantasy collides with a real suitor, and her composed sparring with Gwendolen reveals a will as firm as her imagination. Her invented engagement makes the country household a second stage for the play's deceptions.
Lady Bracknell
supporting
Also known as Aunt Augusta, Lady Bracknell
Lady Bracknell presides over the play's social world with a list of eligible young men and an unshakable faith in family background. When Jack proposes to Gwendolen, she cross-examines him about income, politics, and parents, and his orphan origins become a disqualifying scandal. Her veto turns a private romance into a public test of respectability, driving the plot toward the revelations that will decide whether the engagement can stand.
Miss Prism
supporting
Also known as Miss Prism, Egeria
Miss Prism runs the Manor House schoolroom with moral maxims and a three-volume novel she once wrote, urging Cecily toward German grammar and away from frivolous romance. She disapproves of Ernest's debts and extravagance with more heat than the situation strictly requires, hinting at secrets she has buried under respectability. Her past and her cautious flirtation with the local clergyman quietly prepare the ground for the play's final revelations.
Dr. Chasuble
supporting
Also known as dear Dr. Chasuble, Chasuble
Dr. Chasuble is the local clergyman at Jack's country house, forever polishing a sermon he never delivers and gently circling Miss Prism with scholarly affection. His mild pedantry and willingness to perform convenient christenings make him both a source of comedy and a useful instrument for the plot's tangled identities. When Jack announces his brother's death, Chasuble's solemn sympathy and eagerness to officiate reveal how earnestly he takes a world built on polite fictions.
Bunbury
minor
Also known as Mr. Bunbury, this Mr. Bunbury
Algernon's fictional invalid friend used as an excuse.
Lane
minor
Also known as Lane
Algernon's unflappable butler.
Merriman
minor
Also known as Merriman
Jack's butler at the country house.
Lord Bracknell
minor
Also known as Lord Bracknell
Lady Bracknell's absent husband, mentioned but never appears.
Thomas Cardew
minor
Also known as the late Mr. Thomas Cardew, Thomas, Cardew
The deceased gentleman who adopted Jack as a baby.
Mary Farquhar
minor
Also known as Mary Farquhar
A society lady mentioned in passing.
Lady Harbury
minor
Also known as dear Lady Harbury
A widow mentioned as looking younger since her husband's death.
Lady Bloxham
minor
Also known as Lady Bloxham
A society figure mentioned by Lady Bracknell.
Lady Lancing
minor
Also known as Lady Lancing
A minor society name dropped in conversation.
