[Algernon.] Besides, your name isn’t Jack at all; it is Ernest. Jack. It isn’t Ernest; it’s Jack. Algernon. You have always told me it was Ernest. I have introduced you to every…

asked Jul 12, 2022 133k views

[Algernon.] Besides, your name isn’t Jack at all; it is Ernest.

Jack. It isn’t Ernest; it’s Jack.

Algernon. You have always told me it was Ernest. I have introduced you to every one 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. . . .

Jack. Well, my name is Ernest in town and Jack in the country, and the cigarette case was given to me in the country.

–The Importance of Being Earnest,
Oscar Wilde

Which feature of a comedy of manners is present in the passage?

an illustration of class differences
an emphasis on appearances over morality
a commentary on marriage
the differences between country and city life