Question

Which five sections in this excerpt from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde show that Lady Bracknell places utmost importance on wealth and appearances?
1. [A moment, Mr. Worthing. A hundred and thirty thousand pounds! And in the Funds! Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her.] 2. [Few girls of the present day have any really solid qualities, any of the qualities that last, and improve with time. We live, I regret to say, in an age of surfaces.] (To Cecily.) Come over here, dear. (Cecily goes across.) 3. [Pretty child! your dress is sadly simple, and your hair seems almost as Nature might have left it. But we can soon alter all that.] 4. [A thoroughly experienced French maid produces a really marvellous result in a very brief space of time. I remember recommending one to young Lady Lancing, and after three months her own husband did not know her.]

JACK: And after six months nobody knew her.

LADY BRACKNELL. (Glares at Jack for a few moments. Then bends, with a practised smile, to Cecily.): Kindly turn round, sweet child. (Cecily turns completely round.) No, the side view is what I want. (Cecily presents her profile.) Yes, quite as I expected. 5. [There are distinct social possibilities in your profile.] 6. [The two weak points in our age are its want of principle and its want of profile.] The chin a little higher, dear. 7. [Style largely depends on the way the chin is worn. They are worn very high, just at present.] Algernon!

There are 7 options? Choose 5?

Answer 1

Answer:

1. [A moment, Mr. Worthing. A hundred and thirty thousand pounds! And in the Funds! Miss Cardew seems to me a most attractive young lady, now that I look at her.]

3. [Pretty child! your dress is sadly simple, and your hair seems almost as Nature might have left it. But we can soon alter all that.]

4. [A thoroughly experienced French maid produces a really marvellous result in a very brief space of time. I remember recommending one to young Lady Lancing, and after three months her own husband did not know her.]

5. [There are distinct social possibilities in your profile.]

6. [The two weak points in our age are its want of principle and its want of profile.] The chin a little higher, dear.

Explanation:

All of these five sections show that Lady Bracknell places a lot of importance on wealth and appearances. In section 1, Lady Bracknell states that Miss Cardew is only "attractive" because she comes with a hundred and thirty thousand pounds. In section 3, she tells Miss Cardew that her simple dress and plain hair are something that needs to be fixed. In section 4, she tells her that she has made similar recommendations to other women, which shows she considers these important. In section 5, she states that her profile will help her achieve social status, which shows that she believes that social opportunities are tied to physical appearance. Finally, in section 6, she laments that young people lack principles and a good profile, which implies she considers both characteristics equally important.

Answer 2

Answer:

  1; 3; 4; 5; 6.

Explanation:

  Lady Bracknell is the mother of Gwendolen Fairfax, the love interest of the main character. She refused to let her daughter marry Jack because of his lack of family and that would be seen as a bad appearance.

  She represents the upper-class Victorian respectability. She also rejected the marriage between Algernon and Cecily. But after she found out that miss Cardew is the heir of a vast fortune she changed her mind towards the marriage.

  I hope the answers help you.