# Gwendolen Fairfax — The Importance of Being Earnest character guide

> Gwendolen Fairfax in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Miss Fairfax, Gwendolen

**First appearance:** 0002-act-i

## Snapshot

Lady Bracknell's self-possessed daughter, who has decided she can only love a man named Ernest and says so with unnerving composure.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [Jack Worthing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_importance_of_being_earnest/characters/jack_worthing)

_romantic_

Gwendolen is deeply in love with Jack, whom she knows as Ernest, and insists on marrying only a man named Ernest.

### [Cecily Cardew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_importance_of_being_earnest/characters/cecily_cardew)

_rivalry_

Cecily and Gwendolen initially clash over their shared belief they are both engaged to the same man, Ernest.

### [Algernon Moncrieff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_importance_of_being_earnest/characters/algernon_moncrieff)

_family_

Algernon is Gwendolen's first cousin, and they share a teasing, affectionate familial bond.

### [Lady Bracknell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_importance_of_being_earnest/characters/lady_bracknell)

_family_

Lady Bracknell is Gwendolen's mother, and Gwendolen both respects and subtly defies her domineering nature.

### [Dr. Chasuble](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_importance_of_being_earnest/characters/dr_chasuble)

_social_

Dr. Chasuble meets Gwendolen as a visiting socialite, exchanging pleasantries and religious commentary.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_importance_of_being_earnest/characters/gwendolen_fairfax
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_importance_of_being_earnest
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_importance_of_being_earnest/characters