Jack, emboldened by this success, presses his own suit. Lady Bracknell remains firm until she recognizes him as the baby she once placed in a handbag years ago. She summons Miss Prism, who confesses that she was entrusted with the baby and a manuscript for a three-volume novel. In a moment of absent-mindedness at Victoria Station, she accidentally placed the manuscript in the bassinet and the baby in the handbag. Through this revelation, Jack discovers he is actually Lady Bracknell’s nephew and that his given name is Ernest. With his true identity revealed and his parentage established, Lady Bracknell finally gives her consent for him to marry Gwendolen. The play concludes with Jack embracing Gwendolen, relieved that he has been speaking the truth all along in his intention to be Ernest.
Lady Bracknell’s recognition of Jack as her long-lost nephew appears to resolve the question of his parentage, yet the terms of Cecily’s inheritance create a new obstacle to the couples’ happiness. Jack’s position as guardian gives him unexpected leverage in the final negotiation.
Lady Bracknell, having approved of Cecily’s fortune, insists the marriage must take place immediately to avoid the risk of discovering any character flaws before the wedding. However, Jack intervenes as Cecily’s guardian and firmly refuses his consent. He accuses Algernon of untruthfulness, detailing how the man deceived his way into the house under the pretence of being his brother, consumed an entire bottle of rare Perrier-Jouet reserved for special occasions, and devoured every single muffin in the house while wooing his ward. Lady Bracknell attempts to bypass this legal obstacle by inquiring about Cecily’s age. Though Cecily admits to being eighteen but claims to be twenty at parties, Lady Bracknell condones the lie as socially wise, only for Jack to reveal that the terms of Miss Cardew’s will prevent Cecily from marrying until she is thirty-five. Lady Bracknell dismisses this age restriction as negligible, noting that many society women remain thirty-five for years, but Jack counters with a reciprocal bargain: he will only consent to Algernon if Lady Bracknell consents to his own marriage with Gwendolen. When she rejects this proposal, Jack declares a future of passionate celibacy for them all.
Dr. Chasuble arrives to perform the christenings, interrupting the standoff. Lady Bracknell is horrified by the grotesque idea of adult baptism and forbids it, but Chasuble mentions that Miss Prism is waiting for him in the vestry. Lady Bracknell recognizes the name as the former governess who lost her sister’s baby twenty-eight years ago and demands to see her. Miss Prism enters and is immediately interrogated regarding the infant’s disappearance. Lady Bracknell recounts the discovery of a perambulator containing a three-volume novel instead of the baby. Miss Prism confesses that in a moment of mental abstraction, she accidentally placed the manuscript in the bassinet and the baby in a hand-bag, which she left at Victoria Station on the Brighton line.
Jack rushes off and returns with his hand-bag, which Miss Prism identifies as hers through specific injuries and initials. He realizes he is the baby she lost and embraces her as his mother, but the unmarried Miss Prism indignantly redirects him to Lady Bracknell. She reveals that Jack is actually her nephew, Mrs. Moncrieff’s son, and consequently Algernon’s elder brother. Jack consults the Army Lists to find his father’s name, discovering he was christened Ernest John. His lie has become the truth. With the obstacles of identity, consent, and names removed, the couples embrace, Dr. Chasuble reunites with Miss Prism, and Jack declares the vital Importance of Being Earnest.
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