The Importance of Being Earnest Characters
Every major character in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, with a portrait, who they are and the chapters they appear in.
Algernon MoncrieffMajor character · 3 chaptersA witty, fashionable bachelor and dandy who delights in social games and invents the persona 'Ernest' to escape responsibility and pursue romance.
Canon ChasubleMinor character · 3 chaptersThe genial local rector whose gentle moralising and willingness to officiate provide comic balance and help smooth the play’s resolutions.
Cecily CardewMajor character · 3 chaptersJack Worthing’s imaginative, romantic young ward whose diary-driven fantasies and sharp wit fuel comic conflicts over identity and courtship.
Gwendolen FairfaxMajor character · 3 chaptersA witty, fashionable young society woman; Lady Bracknell’s daughter who insists on marrying a man named Ernest.
Jack WorthingProtagonist · 3 chaptersA country gentleman with a double life—respectable Jack at the Manor and playful 'Ernest' in town—guardian to Cecily and suitor to Gwendolen.
MerrimanMinor character · 3 chaptersJack Worthing’s unflappable butler at the Manor House who announces visitors and maintains household order.
Miss PrismMajor character · 3 chaptersCecily Cardew’s prim governess whose strict propriety, romantic pastimes, and a long-hidden mistake trigger the play’s key revelation.
Lady BracknellAntagonist · 2 chaptersFormidable aunt and social gatekeeper whose interviews and pronouncements control marriage prospects and comic conflict.
LaneMinor character · 2 chaptersAlgernon Moncrieff’s unflappable manservant who supplies dry, polite observations while laying out tea and attending his employer.
All chapter summaries ›Characters ›
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