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Lady Bracknell Analysis

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Lady Bracknell interviews Jack

Marriage in the Victorian era was very different to marriage nowadays. Love actually played a very minor role in the majority of weddings that took place. There were certain “rules” that you had to follow, as shown in the scene where Lady Bracknell questions Jack. She asks a series of very specific questions that portray these certain “rules”.

First of all, like I said, love played a very minor role in the majority of weddings that took place. We can see that in the interview between Lady Bracknell and Jack: at no point does she ask him if he really loves her daughter or if he will love her to the end of her days. On the other hand, she treats him as a candidate (“you are not down on my list of eligible young …show more content…

First of all, when Lady Bracknell tells Jack to sit, Jack refuses, saying that “he prefers standing” which shows us that Jack isn't comfortable with being on the same “comfort level” as Bracknell. He probably thinks that since she has more authority/status than him, she should have more comfort, that she should sit on nice suede chairs while he should stand on the hard wooden floor. We can also see that Jack is intimidated by Lady Bracknell: he often hesitates (“after some hesitation”) and he often replies with short answers. This shows us that he wants to quickly get over the interview, that he wants to leave as soon as possible. We can also see that, as the interview moves on, Lady Bracknell starts to think that Jack is a joke and that she can't be bothered with him: the more she learns about him, the more she becomes repulsed. She often replies with exclamative sentences, showing us that she is totally shocked with the answers that she gets from Jack: “A country house!” and “Found!” or “Me, sir!”. She also quickly dismisses him: “I don't know her.” or “The unfashionable side.”. So in conclusion, Bracknell's behavior is far different from Jack's. Bracknell is rather relaxed and calm (although she gets quite agitated at the end) while Jack is full of anxiety and stress. Bracknell is much more comfortable than Jack for she has nothing to lose while Jack's future may depend on what she thinks of

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