How can you assess the role of Jack Worthing in the play “The Importance of Being Earnest?”

Answer

How can you assess the role of Jack Worthing in the play “The Importance of Being Earnest?”

Or, The role of Jack Worthing.

Or, How is the mystery of the identity of Jack Worthing revealed at the end of “The Importance of Being Earnest?” 

In Oscar Wilde’s (1854–1900) play “The Importance of Being Earnest” (1895), Jack Worthing is the protagonist. He leads a double life—known as Jack in the country, where he is a guardian to Cecily Cardew, and as “Ernest” in London, where he escapes his duties. The play revolves around his desire to marry Gwendolen Fairfax. The revelation of his true identity at the end is essential to resolving the story’s central conflict.

Jack’s Dual Identity: Jack was found as a baby in a handbag at Victoria Station. It makes him uncertain about his true identity. To escape the dullness of country life, he invents a brother named Ernest. This trick helps him to lead a double life. Jack explains to Algernon:

When one is placed in the position of guardian… in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest.

This shows Jack’s need to escape his responsibilities by creating an alter ego.

Jack’s Love for Gwendolen: Jack’s dual identity creates humor and conflict. In the country, he is serious as Jack, but in London, as “Ernest,” he is carefree. This deception becomes problematic when he falls in love with Gwendolen Fairfax. She adores him because she believes his name is Ernest. Jack realizes that to marry Gwendolen, he must abandon his false identity. He plans to “kill off” his fictional brother Ernest. Jack tells Algernon:

I am going to kill my brother. Indeed I think it is high time that I did.

However, Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell, demands to know Jack’s family background before allowing the marriage, saying:

To marry into a cloak-room, and form an alliance with a parcel?

This highlights her concern with social status.