|
Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" - Act Three
This plot summary is continued from Act Two of Oscar Wilde's delightful comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest.
Setting:
早上在杰克·沃辛在英国乡下的庄园房间里。格温多林和塞西莉看向窗外。他们看到杰克和阿尔杰农正在吃松饼。先生们进家门，“用口哨吹着一些英国流行的可怕的歌剧。”
The morning room of Jack Worthing's manor house in the English countryside.
Gwendolen and Cecily look out the window. They watch Jack and Algernon consume muffins. The gentlemen enter the house, "whistling some dreadful popular air from a British opera."
They explain to the women that they lied only so that they had a reason to visit them often. http://www.ukassignment.org/dxessay/ The ladies are on the verge of forgiving their suitors. However, the women simultaneously announce that Algy and Jack's christian names are "an insuperable barrier." When the men explain their plan to change their names, the women happily forgive them. Each couple embraces, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Gwendolen's mother, the grim-faced Lady Bracknell.
She scolds Gwendolen for running off. She is also surprised to see her nephew, Algy. He explains that his invalid (not to mention imaginary) friend Bunbury died. Algernon also announces his interest in Cecily as a wife. Lady Bracknell inquires about Cecily's heritage. Once Bracknell realizes the girl has over 100,000 pounds in government stocks, Cecily becomes a most attractive young lady.
布拉克内尔夫人开始讨论婚礼安排，但被她的侄子杰克中断了。作为她的监护人，他拒绝塞西莉结婚。除非布拉克内尔夫人让格温多林和杰克结婚否则他不会放弃的。但布拉克内尔夫人也是同样固执的。
Lady Bracknell begins to discuss wedding arrangements for her nephew, but Jack interrupts. Acting as her guardian, he refuses to give Cecily consent to marry. He won't give in unless Lady Bracknell allows Gwendolen and Jack to wed. But Lady Bracknell is equally stubborn.
Dr. Chausible enters to announce that the christening ceremony is on schedule. He also mentions the name of Miss Prism, to which Lady Bracknell reacts with vehement surprise. When Miss Prism enters, Lady Bracknell demands to know: "Where is that baby?"
With a bit of exposition, Bracknell and Prism detail the scandalous events which occurred 28 years ago. Miss Prism was working as a nanny. One afternoon, she was engrossed in the writing of a three-volume novel while at the same time caring for a baby boy. She absent-mindedly placed the baby in a handbag and put the manuscript in the baby carriage. The child had been missing ever since.
After listening to their tale, Jack realizes that the handbag is the same one in which he was discovered. He rushes to another room to find the bag. After Miss Prism confirms that it is indeed the handbag in question, Jack embraces her, exclaiming: "Mother!"
Miss Prism clarifies that she was his caretaker, not his mother. Jack then looks to Lady Bracknell and asks:
JACK: I hate to seem inquisitive, but would you kindly inform me who I am?
Lady Bracknell reveals that Jack is the son of her deceased sister and "consequently Algernon's elder brother." Excited, Jack seizes www.ukassignment.org hold of Algy and merrily "introduces" his brother to everyone in the room.
Gwendolen wants to know Jack's christian name. Lady Bracknell recalls that the child was named after his father, General Moncrieff. However, she does not recall his first name. Jack looks up his father's name in a military directory and discovers that his name is Ernest after all.
The couples (Jack and Gwendolen, Algernon and Cecily, and even Miss Prism and Rev. Chausible) embrace. The final lines of the play are:
LADY BRACKNELL: My nephew, you seem to be displaying signs of triviality.
JACK: On the contrary, Aunt Augusta, I’ve now realized for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.
|
 |
|||
| 网站地图 |
