Cecily and Gwendolen are presented as character foils in this satirical play by Oscar Wilde. Both are supposedly engaged to a man named Ernest, a girlhood dream of them both, and both are victims of two men's deception.
However, the two women are also quite different. Cecily is a younger woman, still girlish in many ways, who lives a rather isolated life. As a result, she has created a vast romantic and imaginative world for herself in which she has been wooed through a series of love letters, received a proposal, accepted a ring, broken off the engagement, and then reconciled with her man. Of course, all of this has happened in her own mind and diary, without Algernon's knowledge. Cecily does not feel the need to hide this fact from him, for when he protests that he has not written any letters, she announces, "You hardly need to remind me of that, Ernest. I remember only too well that I was forced to write my letters for you."
In contrast, Gwendolen has been raised in a more social environment under the tutelage of her pretentious mother. Polite society does not intimidate her, and she goes more directly for what she wants. She knows the societal expectations and navigates them well. She has known Jack for quite some time and is obvious about her feelings for him. She also is thrilled to be marrying a man named Ernest; as the reader knows, both men are pretending their names are Ernest. Despite her mother's disapproval, she is able to reunite herself with her man in the country.
After a rather humorous moment when both girls believe they are engaged to the same man named Ernest, Gwendolen and Cecily bond through their strength to stand against the men who have lied to them—at least for a few seconds. In true comedic style, the two couples are happy in the end.
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