What does the name Ernest mean in the Importance of Being Earnest

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What's Up With the Title?

The genius of this title depends on a pun between the adjective "earnest," meaning honest or sincere, and the name "Ernest." Oh, Wilde! You wit!

So let’s focus on the first definition.

Wait, we’ve already run into a problem. Not one character in the play seems to care about telling the truth—whether it’s about their names, where they’ve been, or pretty much any other detail of their lives.

At the very beginning of the play, we learn that Jack has created a convenient younger brother named Ernest. We don't know why he comes up with that particular name, but we’re guessing Jack had a laugh or two over it. Jack, a.k.a. Ernest, fools his lady friends, all of whom have an obsession with the name "Ernest." Both Gwendolen and Cecily are in love with that name, based on an assumption that boys named Ernest will be as honest as the name suggests.

Ironically, there is no character (initially) named "Ernest," but everything depends on pretending to be Ernest. Trouble ensues when Algernon (Jack's friend), who has his own version of Ernest (a friend named Bunbury), catches on to the scheme and shows up at Jack’s country manor impersonating Ernest, just as Jack decides to kill off his pesky younger brother.

We now have two different girls in love with Ernest... and Ernest doesn’t exist, but is being impersonated by two different guys. At one point he’s supposed to be dead in Paris but is instead dining, alive and well, with Cecily. He’s engaged to Gwendolen, but wait—he’s engaged to Cecily, too!

Finally, things start to unravel and the truth is revealed. We’d like to say that Jack and Algernon are finally being earnest, but they can’t really take credit for the events that occur. When Jack’s identity is revealed, he still doesn't know what his real name actually is. But then he finds out that it is Ernest. So he really has been "earnest" the entire time.

The ending, where Jack cheekily tells Lady Bracknell, "I’ve realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest" (III.181) is ambiguous. Is Jack saying that he’s learned the importance of being honest, or the importance of being named Ernest?

It's just as important to be named Ernest in the end as it was in the beginning, since Gwendolen still insists on loving a man named Ernest (because she's a weirdo).  Either Jack really does learn the value of honesty at the end, or he simply clings tighter to the importance of being named Ernest.

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Similar to Bunbury, Ernest represents deception, fiction, and escapism, but also idealism. While Algernon and Jack attempt to masquerade as the real Ernest, he is just as fictional as Algernon’s Bunbury. Similarly Jack uses the mischievous antics of his brother Ernest to escape to the city, just as Algernon uses Bunbury as an excuse to escape to the country. Even so, Gwendolen and Cecily hold up Ernest as an ideal name, as well as husband. Both women not only fantasize about marrying a man named Ernest, they say it is a name that “inspires absolute confidence.” Their idealism is reflected in these “girlish dream[s]” and definitive assertions.

Ernest Quotes in The Importance of Being Earnest

The The Importance of Being Earnest quotes below all refer to the symbol of Ernest. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

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I have introduced you to everyone as Ernest. You answer to the name of Ernest. You look as if your name was Ernest. You are the most earnest looking person I ever saw in my life. It is perfectly absurd your saying that your name isn't Ernest.

Page Number and Citation: 5

Explanation and Analysis:

Even before I met you I was far from indifferent to you…my ideal has always been to love some one of the name of Ernest. There is something in that name that inspires absolute confidence.

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 10

Explanation and Analysis:

Your Christian names are still an insuperable barrier. That is all!

Page Number and Citation: 44

Explanation and Analysis:

Gwendolen, it is a terrible thing for a man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth.

Page Number and Citation: 54

Explanation and Analysis:

I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.

Related Characters: Jack (speaker)

Related Literary Devices:

Page Number and Citation: 54

Explanation and Analysis:

Ernest Symbol Timeline in The Importance of Being Earnest

The timeline below shows where the symbol Ernest appears in The Importance of Being Earnest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...of the inscription, Algernon produces a business card from the case with the name “Mr. Ernest Worthing” printed on it and insists that he has only every known his friend as... (full context)

...excuses, Jack reluctantly confesses that his name is actually Jack and that he goes by “Ernest” in town and “Jack” in the country. (full context)

...let loose and enjoy himself, so he pretends to have an unruly younger brother named “Ernest,” whose antics in the city compel him to rush off to London frequently. (full context)

...expresses her affection for him, announcing that it is her “ideal” to love someone named “Ernest” because the name inspires “absolute confidence.” When Worthing suggests that she might marry a “Jack,”... (full context)

...comforts his friend for having no relations, Jack decides to kill off his fictional brother “Ernest,” deciding that he will “die” in Paris of a “severe chill.” (full context)

...is a young and beautiful girl of eighteen holding an intense fascination with Jack’s brother, “Ernest.” (full context)

...with them. Prism remarks that Mr. Worthing is an upstanding man whose “unfortunate” younger brother “Ernest” causes many “troubles in his life.” Cecily wishes that “Ernest” would visit them, suggesting that... (full context)

When Cecily is alone in the garden, Merriman announces the arrival of Mr. Ernest Worthing and presents his business card. It is the same card that Jack stored in... (full context)

...dandy, greets his “little cousin” Cecily, who is excited to finally meet her “wicked cousin Ernest.” She tells Algernon that Jack will not be back until Monday because he is buying... (full context)

...in mourning clothes, surprising Miss Prism and Dr. Chasuble. Jack tells them that his brother “Ernest” has just died abroad in Paris of a “severe chill.” While Dr. Chasuble offers his... (full context)

...greets Algernon coldly, furious that Algernon has showed up at his country estate, masquerading as “Ernest” and shocked that he has been talking to Cecily about “Bunbury.” At Cecily’s prompting, Jack... (full context)

...to leave. Algernon insists that that he is staying for week, but Jack asserts that “Ernest” has been called back to town and instructs Merriman to order a dog-cart to take... (full context)

...their engagement confirmed, Cecily confesses that she has always dreamed of marrying a man named “Ernest” because it inspires “absolute confidence.” When Algernon asks if she could love a man with... (full context)

...visitor to the house, but shows concern when she learns that Cecily is actually Mr. Ernest Worthing’s young and beautiful ward. Cecily corrects her, informing Gwendolen that Jack Worthing is her... (full context)

Believing that they are both engaged to “Ernest,” Cecily and Gwendolen’s jealousies play out over the course of a tea service. Gwendolen refuses... (full context)

...denies this. Yet Cecily takes great pleasure in pointing out that Gwendolen’s betrothed is not “Ernest,” but her guardian Uncle Jack. Cecily goes to Algernon’s side and declares that he is... (full context)

...embrace each other and demand to know the whereabouts of Jack’s brother and their fiancé, “Ernest.” Jack confesses that he does not have a brother at all. Cecily and Gwendolen, distraught... (full context)

...in town or country. They also debate about who will ultimately take the name of “Ernest” at their upcoming christenings with Dr. Chasuble. Jack asserts that he should take the name... (full context)

...enter from the garden, Cecily demands to know why Algernon pretended to be Jack’s brother, “Ernest.” Algernon replies that he masqueraded as “Ernest” so that he could meet her. Cecily finds... (full context)

...suspects Algernon of being “untruthful,” listing the crimes his friend has perpetrated while masquerading as “Ernest.” Jack will not consent to Cecily’s marriage, until Lady Bracknell consents to Gwendolen’s. (full context)

...that he has been telling the truth the entire time: his name is in fact Ernest, but also John, and he does have a troublesome younger brother, Algernon. Jack turns to... (full context)

What does Ernest mean in The Importance of Being Earnest?

Why does Jack use the name Ernest?

What does Ernest symbolize?

What does Algernon say about the name Ernest?