Lady Bracknell — The Importance of Being Earnest Character Profile

About Lady Bracknell

The formidable, snobbish matriarch who dictates social rules and marriage alliances. She initially rejects Jack but ultimately discovers he is her long-lost nephew, resolving the plot's central mystery.

Character Facts

Played by

Edith Evans

Appears in

The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)

Role

Supporting

Relationships (4)

• Lady Bracknell — Family Mother — Gwendolen Fairfax (Joan Greenwood)

  Matriarchal mother-daughter bond defined by strict social expectations.

• Lady Bracknell — Family Nephew — Algernon Moncrieff (Michael Denison)

  Aunt-nephew relationship rooted in the Bracknell family lineage.

• Lady Bracknell — Professional Former Employer — Miss Prism (Margaret Rutherford)

  Historical employer-employee tie that triggers the central mystery.

• Lady Bracknell — Power Social Gatekeeper — Cecily Cardew (Dorothy Tutin)

  Aristocratic authority figure assessing a ward's marriageability.

Explore the full interactive character relationship map of The Importance of Being Earnest

More characters from The Importance of Being Earnest

• Ernest Worthing (Michael Redgrave)
• Algernon Moncrieff (Michael Denison)
• Gwendolen Fairfax (Joan Greenwood)
• Conductor (Uncredited) (Ivor Barnard)
• Cecily Cardew (Dorothy Tutin)
• Miss Prism (Margaret Rutherford)
• Canon Chasuble (Miles Malleson)
• Seton (Richard Wattis)
• Lane (Walter Hudd)
• Merriman (Aubrey Mather)