Question

Where has Cecily recorded her engagement to Jack’s brother Ernest?

• A. In the box
• B. In the family bible
• C. In a letter to her mother
• D. In her diary

Answer 1

Answer:

D. In her diary

• Cecily has recorded her engagement to Jack’s (imaginary) brother Ernest in her diary

• She tells Algernon (who is pretending to be Ernest) that they have been engaged for three months, even though they have never met. She explains:

"It had always been a girlish dream of mine to love someone whose name was Ernest. There is something in that name that seems to inspire absolute confidence."

• She also reveals that she has written herself love letters from Ernest and even broken off the engagement once—just for the drama of it.

• This whimsical and self-created romance satirizes the overly sentimental and idealized notions of love in Victorian society.