Deceit Flashcards
In Act One, Jack answers Algernon’s enquiry about the name written in his cigarette case.
‘Well, if you want to know, Cecily happens to be my aunt.’
‘Well, if you want to know, Cecily happens to be my aunt.’
Jack lies to cover up his double life. A simple white lie that he doesn’t know anyone named “Cecily” gets him into an incredibly messy situation. When he’s forced to admit he does know a “Cecily,” he tries to pass her off as his aunt. But Algy, a fellow Bunburyist, eventually sniffs it all out and forces Jack to confess. What is most surprising is that Jack seems to have no shame about the lies he’s been feeding to Algernon for years.
In Act One, Jack explains his own Bunburying practices.
‘And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness, in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest,’
‘And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one’s health or one’s happiness, in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest,’
Jack reveals the reason behind his deceit. His life is torn between duty and pleasure. Being dutiful is excessively boring to Jack, so he created his younger brother, Ernest. With Ernest, he has a means of escaping the drab life of a legal guardian into the more interesting world of a social London.
Jack suggests that his Bunburying and immoral actions under a separate name are down to the serious moral responsibilities he must bear in his real life as Cecily’s guardian, though these are not explained. He also implies that being so moralistic is not healthy - just an excuse? An epigrammatic reversal? Another of Wilde’s digs at the upper-class elites?
In Act One, Algernon explains his own Bunburying practices.
‘I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose.’
‘I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose.’
Bunbury is Algernon’s version of Ernest. Like Jack, Algernon also uses excuses about Bunbury to get out of familial responsibilities—like dining with his Aunt Augusta. He practices deceit, like Jack, to avoid unpleasant situations and create more pleasant ones for himself.
Algernon sheds a light on the hedonistic appeal of Bunburying, and the luxurious freedom that it offers.
Cecily speaks with Dr Chasuble.
‘Miss Prism has just been complaining of a slight headache. I think it would do her so much good to have a short stroll with you in the Park, Dr. Chasuble.’
‘Miss Prism has just been complaining of a slight headache. I think it would do her so much good to have a short stroll with you in the Park, Dr. Chasuble.’
Cecily makes up false facts to get out of doing her lessons and to encourage a relationship between Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble. The success of her deceit depends on her ability to read people; the fact that she does get Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble to leave her is a testament to her powers of persuasion. Although her deceit is not as serious as Jack’s or Algernon’s, she lies for the same reasons—to get out of tedious or unpleasant situations. This makes her a perfect match for Algernon.
