Ernest? Ernest! Characters Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Commentary About the Author About the Translator

“If I wanted a good conversation, I would choose Oscar Wilde as the best storyteller.” _ George Bernard Shaw

Oscar Wilde's pursuit of aesthetic truth
A hilarious comedy intertwined with love and lies.

Two men need the name 'Ernest' to win the heart of the woman they love.
They become Ernest, their own 'other selves', and go to meet their lovers.
For the two women, the only thing that matters is that the man they love has a 'name' of Ernest.
I don't really care whether they are truly sincere, honest, and earnest as their name suggests.
As a romance develops between the four characters, everything comes to a head when they come together and a shocking secret surrounding Jack is revealed.
Is the ending where he pretends to be Ernest and becomes the 'real' Ernest a happy ending?

"A Bunburyite? What on earth does a Bunburyite mean?"
Contains delicate humor and sharp satire
Wilde's sentence

Although he deals with such commonplace subjects as romance between lovers and the secrets of birth, Wilde's prose is witty, delicate, and never vulgar.
Armed with humor, it criticizes the moral strictures of the 19th-century Victorian era and sharply targets capitalist values ​​on marriage, money, and education.
At the same time, while satirizing the society of the time, it also portrays even worldly figures like Mrs. Bracknell, who is the subject of the satire, with great warmth.
The two main characters, Algernon and Jack, go to Bunbury to meet the woman they love, and although they show a duality, it is not dark or malicious.
Rather, it makes the story more complicated and the comedy more prominent.

“Novelist Poster (E.
M. Foster) emphasized the satirical aspect of the work, evaluating it as showing a world where true values ​​are reversed and rationality and irrationality are mixed.
Meanwhile, novelist H. Wells
G. Wells) highlighted the comic elements of the work by commenting that the work uses dramatic devices such as dialogue and reversal in a comical way to create great laughter.” _Page 195

The theme and material of the play, 'Bunburism', refers to the act of creating a virtual character, another 'self', and living as a completely different being depending on the location or the people one meets.
In other words, it is about moving the standards that shape me to another place, breaking free from social obligations, and experiencing new worlds and relationships.
One reason why "Ernest? Ernest!" continues to be reread in modern times and is considered one of Wilde's most important works is that Wilde's perspective on the world remains completely unsung.
Even without any particular moral message or profound theme, you will find yourself being drawn into the story the author unfolds without even realizing it.

The Importance of Seriousness.
In this play, known by titles such as “The Importance of Being Ernest,” “important” values ​​are mocked through characters and dialogue, ultimately leaving one wondering, “What was really important?”
Serious people might find themselves in the world Wilde created, becoming more serious, or leaving in search of something more serious, or appearing to be absorbed in something but quickly becoming childish.

The title was retranslated to reflect the multi-layered implications of the adjective and proper noun 'Ernest' in this work and to encourage reflection on the work.
Before publication, we edited and reorganized a separate page of readers' interviews where they shared their thoughts while enjoying the snacks and tea featured in the play.
On the web page linked by QR code, you can find stories of five interesting readers' works, materials about Oscar Wilde's life, and behind-the-scenes stories of the editing process.