Cecily Cardew Jack Worthing's ward, daughter of his adopted father, Sir Thomas Cardew. She is of debutante age, 18, but she is being tutored at Jack's secluded country estate by Miss Prism, her governess. She is romantic and imaginative, and feeling the repression of Prism's rules. A silly and naïve girl, she declares that she wants to meet a "wicked man." Less sophisticated than Gwendolen, she falls in love with Algernon but feels he would be more stable if named Ernest.
Miss Prism Cecily's governess and a symbol of Victorian moral righteousness. She is educating Cecily to have no imagination or sensationalism in her life. Quoting scripture as a symbol of her Victorian morality, she reveals a secret life of passion by her concern for the whereabouts of her misplaced novel and her flirtation with the local vicar. She becomes the source of Jack's revelation about his parents.
Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D. Like Miss Prism, he is the source of Victorian moral judgments, but under the surface he appears to be an old lecher. His sermons are interchangeable, mocking religious conventions. Like the servants, he does what Jack (the landowner) wants: performing weddings, christenings, sermons, funerals, and so on. However, beneath the religious exterior, his heart beats for Miss Prism.
Lane and Merriman Servants of Algernon and Jack. Lane says soothing and comforting things to his employer but stays within the neutral guidelines of a servant. He is leading a double life, eating sandwiches and drinking champagne when his master is not present. He aids and abets the lies of Algernon. Merriman keeps the structure of the plot working: He announces people and happenings. Like Lane, he does not comment on his "betters," but solemnly watches their folly. His neutral facial expressions during crisis and chaos undoubtedly made the upper-class audience laugh.
