Discussion Topic
Mrs. Prism's Role and Significance in The Importance of Being Earnest
Summary:
Mrs. Prism serves as the governess to Cecily and represents Victorian values and social norms in "The Importance of Being Earnest." Her misplaced manuscript and backstory also provide crucial plot twists, revealing key connections between characters. Her comedic interactions and strict demeanor highlight the absurdity of societal expectations, adding depth and humor to Wilde's critique of Victorian society.
In The Importance of Being Earnest, who is Miss Prism and why is she significant?
Despite her inauspicious beginning as Cecily's ironically unintelligent tutor, Miss Prism ends up being a hugely important character in the play, because she turns out to be the woman who erroneously deposited Mr. Jack Worthing in a cloakroom at Victoria Station, the Brighton Line, when he was an infant. Jack never knew who his parents were because he had been found in a handbag given to Mr. Thomas Cardew in place of his own. Mr. Cardew kept and raised the baby until his own death. Later in the play, when Aunt Augusta visits Jack's home to retrieve her daughter, Gwendolyn, she hears someone speak Miss Prism's name, and she remembers Miss Prism as the servant of her sister's family, the nanny who disappeared with the infant one day and never returned. This prompts Miss Prism to tell the story of what happened to the baby, the baby who turns out...
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to be Jack, and when Jack produces the very handbag that used to belong to Miss Prism, it confirms his identity as that baby, meaning he is Algernon's brother, Aunt Augusta's nephew, and Gwendolyn's cousin. As he has now acquired parents and pedigree, he is granted permission, by Aunt Augusta, to marry Gwendolyn, which was his goal from the beginning of the play. The revelation of Miss Prism's identity and history makes both Jack and Gwendolyn's and Algernon and Cecily's weddings possible.
Who is Mrs. Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest?
Ms. Laetitia Prism is presented at first as Cecily's governess, or tutor. She seems to be the main female figure in Cecily's life and does her best to direct her pupil to stay on task with her studies. Ms. Prism doesn't seem to be that important in the play since she merely supports her pupil and flirts with the pastor of the town, Mr. Chasuble. However, Ms. Prism is very important to the plot's twist near the end. She is the one who misplaced Jack at the train station when he was a baby! It is through her confession, by Aunt Augusta's insistence for it, that Jack's heritage is addressed. It is ironic that Ms. Prism would wind up working for the man whom she lost as a baby! Luckily, though, it works out because once Jack's family line is known, he can marry Gwendolen.