The Importance of Being Earnest

THE SHALLOW MASK OF MANNERS
VICTORIAN ENGLAND
In the XIXth century the sun never set on the British Empire. It is the
largest empire in history and it is ruled by a woman, Queen Victoria, who assumed
the throne as an 18 year old in 1837, reigning for 63 years. Her dominance is such
that her era, with its stuffy morality and its haughty colonialism, is called the
“Victorian Age”.
She rules over 1/5th of the earth’s surface and 1/4th of the world’s
population. But at the turn of the century there is war in South-Africa and strife in
Ireland. These are sign-posts that Britain’s era is about to end.
Then Victoria dies on January the 22nd 1901; The widow of Prince Albert
of Saxe-Coburg, a German royal house, the mother of nine children, Victoria dies
at the age of 81. She gives way to her son, King Edward the VIIth. More
importantly, the Victorian Age gives way to the Edwardian Age. There is a new
spirit of liberation as Edward shakes up stuffy old England, leading the American
writer Henry James to call it a time when you should “live all you can.”
CNN, Celebrate the Century, 2000
Recap
Watch the documentary and fill in the gaps.
1. Reign of Queen Victoria: 18……..…...-19…………… (……………. years);
2. The ……………….…………... in history: …. th of the world’s surface, ….th of the world’s population);
3. Values: ………………….…………………………………………………………………..…………… ;
4. Foreign policy: ……………………….…………………………………………………………………. ;
5. King ……………………………….... ushers in a new era of ………….………………………………. .
OSVAR WILDE
Oscar (Fingal O'Flahertie Wills) Wilde (1854-1900), an Irish-born poet, dramatist and novelist, was the
leader of an aesthetic movement that advocated Art for Art's sake. He wore his hair long, dressed
eccentrically and carried flowers in his hand while lecturing. He dazzled London literary society with his
wit. His works include a novel (The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891) and a series of brilliant social satires.
The four best-known plays are Lady Windermere's Fan, 1892; A Woman of No Importance, 1893; An
Ideal Husband, 1895; The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895. Accused of homosexual practices he was
tried, found guilty and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment with hard labor. Physically, spiritually, socially
and financially ruined, he lived in exile in France from 1897 until his death three years later.
THE COMEDY OF MANNERS
In early 17th century England, Ben Jonson pioneered the comedy of humours with characters who are gross
characters of ruling passions. Then in the late 17th century came a more sophisticated, polished form of
comedy, the comedy of manners, in which emphasis was placed on witty dialogue. The first writers in this
vein were William Congreve and William Wycherley. Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward continued the
tradition in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Comedy of Manners exposes the vanities and hypocrisies of the
upper classes, by inventing real values and exposing to ridicule the shallowness of a society which trivializes
the values it seems to uphold.
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The Importance of Being Earnest
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GWENDOLEN: … Of course you are quite, quite sure that it is not Mr. Ernest Worthing who is your guardian?
CECILY: Quite sure. [A pause] In fact, I am going to be his.
GWENDOLEN [inquiringly]: I beg your pardon?
CECILY [rather shy and confidingly]: Dearest Gwendolen, there is no reason why I should make a secret of it to you.
Our little county newspaper is sure to chronicle the fact next week. Mr. Ernest Worthing and I are engaged to be
married.
GWENDOLEN [quite politely, rising]: My darling Cecily, I think there must be some slight error. Mr. Ernest
Worthing is engaged to me. The announcement will appear in the Morning Post on Saturday at the latest.
CECILY [very politely, rising]: I am afraid you must be under some misconception. Ernest proposed1 to me exactly
ten minutes ago. [Shows diary.]
GWENDOLEN [examines diary through her lorgnette carefully]: It is very curious, for he asked me to be his wife
yesterday afternoon at 5:30. If you would care to verify the incident, pray do so. [Produces diary of her own.] I never
travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train. I am sorry, dear Cecily, if
it is a disappointment to you, but I am afraid I have the prior claim.
CECILY: It would distress me more than I can tell you, dear Gwendolen, if it caused you any mental or physical
anguish, but I feel bound to point out that since Ernest proposed to you he clearly has changed his mind.
GWENDOLEN [meditatively]: If the poor fellow has been entrapped into any foolish promise I shall consider it my
duty to rescue him at once, and with a firm hand.
CECILY [thoughtfully and sadly]: Whatever unfortunate entanglement2 my dear boy may have got into, I will never
reproach him with it after we are married.
GWENDOLEN: Do you allude to me as an entanglement? You are presumptuous3. On an occasion of this kind it
becomes more than a moral duty to speak one's mind. It becomes a pleasure.
CECILY: Do you suggest, Miss Fairfax, that I entrapped Ernest into an engagement? How dare you? This is no time
for wearing the shallow mask of manners4. When I see a spade5 I call it a spade6.
GWENDOLEN [satirically]: I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres
have been widely different.
[Enter Merriman, followed by the footman. He carries a salver7, tablecloth, and plate stand: Cecily is about to retort.
The presence of the servants exercises a restraining influence, under which both girls chafe8.]
MERRIMAN: Shall I lay tea here as usual, Miss?
CECILY [sternly, in a calm voice]: Yes, as usual.
[Meerriman begins to clear table and lay cloth. A long pause. Cecily and Gwendolen glare at each other.]
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895.
COMPARING
¾ A is MORE + adjectif long + than B
¾ A is adjectif court-ER + than B
¾ A is LESS + adjectif(court ou long) + than B
The more + adjectif + of the two is…
¾ A resembles B in that …
¾ It is difficult to distinguish between A and B.
¾
1
to propose: demander en mariage.
entanglement: enchevêtrement.
presumptuous: impertinente.
4
manners: bonnes manières.
5
spade: bêche.
6
to call a spade a spade: appeler un chat un chat.
7
salver: plateau (de métal).
8
to chafe: ronger son frein.
2
3
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The Importance of Being Earnest
TO + ADJECTIVE + TO
Les expressions en TO + ADJECTIF + TO expriment des degrés de probabilité, de certitude, ou de
tendance:
¾
¾
¾
¾
to be sure to: être sûr de
to be likely to: être probable
to be bound to: être inévitable
to be liable to: être enclin à, avoir tendance à
¾ to be apt to: être sujet à
Ces expressions ont pour caractéristique de pouvoir toutes se conjuguer avec un sujet personnel:
¾ Ernest is sure to deny he said this to both of us.
Ernest va sûrement nier avoir dit cela à chacune d'entre nous.
¾ I am bound to tell you the truth.
Je n'ai d'autre choix que de vous dire la vérité.
¾ He is liable to make jokes.
Il a tendance à faire des plaisanteries.
¾ Cecily is apt to lose her temper.
Cecily est sujette à des accès de colère.
¾ Gwendolyn is likely to ask Ernest for some explanation.
Gwendolyn va probablement demander quelque explication à Ernest.
WORDS
RELATIONSHIPS
a guardian:
a parent:
a relative:
to be engaged:
to propose:
to receive a proposal:
to entrap someone:
to get a divorce:
LIENS AFFECTIFS
un tuteur
un parent (père ou mère)
un membre de la famille
être fiancé (≠ to be hired: être embauché)
demander en mariage
recevoir une demande en mariage
prendre quelqu'un dans ses filets
divorcer
SAY IT YOURSELF
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Who is engaged to be married to Mr. Ernest Worthing?
When did he propose?
Why do the two girls keep diaries?
What sort of occasion is this?
Why does Gwendolen use a lorgnette?
Who has the prior claim to Ernest? What does Gwendolen think has happened?
How does the other girl explain her fiancé's inconstancy?
SAY WHAT YOU THINK
8. What is the meaning of the word "earnest"? Show how Oscar Wilde mocks society from the very
outset by his pun in the title of the play.
9. What similarities and what differences are there in the language used by the two women?
10. What comic remark reveals Gwendolen's social superiority over Cecily?
11. Point out the incongruity at the end of the passage between what Cecily and Gwendolen are doing
and the way in which they look at one another.
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The Importance of Being Earnest
Literary APPRECIATION
12. Examining only the stage directions show they point to the development of the relationship
between the two women.
13. Show how the first one and then the other girl gain control of what is happening.
14. What makes the scene more comical on stage than on the printed page?
15. Pick out one example of each of the following:
a) cold civility;
b) cutting irony.
16. Describe the setting and the manner in which the two women are dressed.
17. Oscar Wilde styled his play "a trivial comedy for serious people". Which of the following adjectives
would apply to it?
extravagant / absurd / preposterous / idiotic / saucy / brilliantly clever / diverting / entertaining
TAKE IT FURTHER
18. The poet W.H. Auden says of Wilde's play that it is a verbal opera "in which the characters are
determined by the kinds of things they say, and the plot is nothing but a succession of opportunities to
say them." Do you think this applies to this scene?
PRESENT PERFECT (HAVE + V-EN)
¾ Forme: HAVE + V-EN = présent de l'auxilaire HAVE + participe passé du verbe lexical.
Le present pefect exprime donc bien, par sa forme, un lien entre le présent et le passé.
¾ Valeur: Le present pefect s'emploie pour exprimer un bilan, pour évaluer le résultat ou les
conséquences d'évènements passés sur la situation présente.
¾ Comparez:
GWENDOLEN [meditatively]: If the poor fellow has been entrapped into any foolish promise I shall
consider it my duty to rescue him at once, and with a firm hand. (l. 17)
[…]
CECILY: Do you suggest, Miss Fairfax, that I entrapped Ernest into an engagement? (l. 23)
1. Qui fait un bilan de la situation présente en se référant à un événement passé?
2. Qui s'intéresse seulement à la réalité d'un fait passé?
¾ Exercez vous!
Put the verbs in the preterit or the present perfect as appropriate.
GWENDOLEN : "I don't know where Mr. Worthing ……….…….(to go). I last …………(to see) him last
night. He then …………………(to propose) to me and I ………………… (not to hear) of him ever since."
CECILY: "My dear Gwendolen, you can't imagine to what extent my life …………………(to change) since
we last ………………(meet). I ……….……..(spend) most of this morning writing about it in my diary."
SHOULD + BV
1. Find in the text the sentence corresponding to the following translation: Il n'y a aucune raison pour
que j'en fasse un secret.
2. What verbal form corresponds to the French subjunctive?
3. Translate :
Il est étonnant que vous n'en ayez pas entendu parler.
C'est incroyable qu'il ait changé d'avis.
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