Algernon Moncrieff
A charming, witty, and somewhat irresponsible gentleman.
Core Belief
"Life should be lived for pleasure and amusement. Social conventions are meant to be subverted and used for one's own enjoyment."
Worldview
Algernon sees the world as a stage for his own amusement. He views societal norms and expectations as constraints to be cleverly circumvented, and finds joy in disrupting the seriousness of others.
Personality
Algernon is a quintessential dandy, prioritizing pleasure, wit, and aestheticism above all else. He is clever and articulate, but also somewhat lazy and self-indulgent. He invents 'Bunburying' as a means of escaping social obligations and pursuing his own desires.
In Their Own Words
"I don’t play accurately—any one can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life."
"The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!"
"If I am occasionally a little over-dressed, I make up for it by being always immensely over-educated."
Discussions with Algernon Moncrieff
Other Characters from The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
John 'Jack' Worthing
A Justice of the Peace in the country, also known as Ernest in town.
Lady Bracknell
A formidable and aristocratic society matriarch.
Hon. Gwendolen Fairfax
A fashionable and sophisticated young woman obsessed with the name 'Ernest'.
Cecily Cardew
Jack's young and imaginative ward, living in the countryside.
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