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The Importance of Being Earnest, a la Shmoop. Everyone wants a little variety in their life.

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31 flavors of ice cream. Underpants for each day of the week. And something other than

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tuna casserole for dinner.

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But isn’t there anything to be said for “same old, same old?”

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In the satire, The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde keeps it green by recycling his

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characters. Sort of.

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Best buds Jack and Algernon <Al-jer-non> have a lot in common. They’re both rich, they’re

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both in love, and they both make the same lame-brained mistakes.

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Exhibit A: Jack creates a fake brother named “Ernest,” as a handy alibi for weekend

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benders.

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Exhibit B: Algernon also pretends to be Ernest, so he can meet ladies.

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Which brings us to Exhibit C: Jack and Algernon’s better halves end up thinking they’re in

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love with the same man… Ernest. Having a little trouble keeping the characters

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straight?

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Yeah, us too.

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Did Oscar Wilde just copy and paste the same character?

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Why does he make Jack and Algernon so similar? Maybe it was for comedic effect.

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Algernon and Jack don’t take any bowling balls to the family jewels, but they still

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manage some Youtube-worthy gaffes.

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Plus, they’re both big on talking, which is an excuse for Wilde to whip out his witty

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one-liner epigrams.

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Wilde really enjoys a good farce.

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Jack and Algernon’s shenanigans include fighting over pastries, flirting with each

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other’s female relatives, and that whole “fake person” scam.

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One “Ernest” is pushing it, but here we’re talkin’ a seriously, Ernest-happy alternate

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universe. Or maybe Wilde was trying to say that one

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of these things is NOT like the other.

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Jack and Algernon seem like twin BFFs, but when they argue, we see that each is crazy

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in his own special way.

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Sure, Jack invented an imaginary sibling to help him escape responsibility, but at least

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he worries about the future. Algernon? Not so much.

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And while Jack tries to look like a role model, Algernon concentrates on looking sharp. And

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making trouble.

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Algernon and Jack are foils for each other—and we don’t mean the kind you use to cover

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the lasagna.

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More like the compare/contrast kind. With less ricotta.

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Here’s a third perspective… maybe Wilde cloned his characters to make a statement

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about the snobby Victorian upper classes… it’s not you, it’s them.

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Names are everything in this play. “Ernest” is much less attractive when he turns out

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to be plain old Jack and/or Algernon. Well, okay, Algernon’s still pretty fancy.

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And Jack could be Brad Pitt for all Lady Bracknell cares… if he wants to marry Gwendolen, he’d

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better scrounge up a family tree to prove his worth. …

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A handbag isn’t going to cut it.

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It also helps if you’re made of money. Lady Bracknell isn’t super-thrilled with Algernon’s

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fiancée, Cecily, until she hears that cash cowbell.

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No one in this play seems to care too much about personality.

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It doesn’t matter if Jack cuts in line at Disneyland, and Algernon finally buys that

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puppy-kicking machine… money and pedigree will get them what they want.

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So why did Wilde make Jack and Algernon almost-but-not-quite the same?

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Is he aiming for our funny bones?

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Is he a fan of the foil?

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Or is he picking a fight with British society?

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We earnestly want to know.

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Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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