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Difficulty: MediumContrasting Characters and Foils

Read the following excerpt from Act II of Oscar Wilde's play *The Importance of Being Earnest* carefully before choosing your answer:

GWENDOLEN: Are there many interesting walks in the vicinity, Miss Cardew?
CECILY: Oh! yes! a great many. From the top of one of the hills quite close one can see five counties.
GWENDOLEN: Five counties! I don't think I should like that; I hate crowds.
CECILY: [Sweetly.] I suppose that is why you live in town?
[GWENDOLEN bites her lip, and beats her foot nervously with her parasol.]
GWENDOLEN: [Looking round.] Quite a well-kept garden this is, Miss Cardew.
CECILY: So glad you like it, Miss Fairfax.
GWENDOLEN: I had no idea there were any flowers in the country.
CECILY: Oh, flowers are as common here, Miss Fairfax, as people are in London.

In this exchange, the sharp contrast between Gwendolen’s metropolitan attitude and Cecily’s provincial perspective primarily serves to do which of the following?

  1. A
    document the chronological sequence of their conversation, beginning with walks in the countryside and moving to the abundance of flowers in London.
  2. B
    conclude that the playwright is using Gwendolen to express his sincere distaste for rural life while using Cecily to advocate for the superiority of London.
  3. highlight how Gwendolen's performative urban sophistication and Cecily's deceptively sweet country wit act as foils, exposing the social pretense of both characters.Answer
  4. D
    suggest that because Gwendolen and Cecily both love the name Ernest, their contrasting behaviors fail to highlight any meaningful differences in their character traits.
  5. E
    interpret Gwendolen's physical gesture of beating her foot with her parasol as an indicator of an imminent physical fight, rather than as a theatrical expression of irritation.

Answer

The correct answer is the option highlighting how Gwendolen's performative urban sophistication and Cecily's country wit act as foils to expose their mutual social pretense.
The correct option correctly identifies the foil relationship between Gwendolen and Cecily. Gwendolen's performative, urban sophistication is directly contrasted with Cecily's sharp, provincial wit, revealing the passive-aggressive rivalry beneath their polite facades and highlighting the social pretense characteristic of Wilde's satire.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the passage and identify the relationship and interaction between the two characters.
Gwendolen and Cecily are engaging in a polite but highly competitive and passive-aggressive conversation during tea, using their respective settings (London vs. the countryside) as weapons.
This establishes the context of the social conflict and character dynamics.
2
Examine how the differences in their attitudes function in relation to one another.
Gwendolen's condescending remarks about the country (e.g., 'hate crowds' in five counties, 'no idea there were any flowers') are met by Cecily's sharp, sugarcoated comebacks ('that is why you live in town', 'flowers are as common... as people are in London'). Their contrasting backgrounds highlight each other's defensiveness and wit.
This shows they act as foils, with each character's traits emphasizing and clarifying the other's.
3
Evaluate the thematic purpose of this foil relationship in Oscar Wilde's comedy of manners.
The contrast exposes the absurdity of their social pretension. Gwendolen performs metropolitan elegance but is easily riled, while Cecily plays the innocent country girl but delivers calculated insults. The foil relationship serves to satirize Victorian social pretense.
This links the characterological contrast directly to the thematic and structural functions of the work.

Key Concept

Foil characters are used to contrast with one another to highlight specific character traits and develop the work's themes.
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Topics

Contrasting Characters and Foils

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