Question

What position of public responsibility does Jack Worthing hold in Hertfordshire?

• A. Police chief
• B. School headmaster
• C. Justice of the Peace
• D. Mayor

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Justice of the Peace

In Hertfordshire, Jack Worthing holds the position of Justice of the Peace (J.P.).

What Does This Mean?

• As a Justice of the Peace, Jack is responsible for upholding the law and maintaining order in his community.

• This adds to the irony of his double life, as he is supposed to be a pillar of respectability, yet he is living a lie by pretending to have a fictional brother named "Ernest."

• Wilde uses this contrast to satirize Victorian hypocrisy, showing how even those in positions of moral authority are often deceiving others.