The Importance of Being Earnest

by

Oscar Wilde

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The Coatroom at Victoria Station and The Brighton Line Symbol Analysis

The Coatroom at Victoria Station and The Brighton Line Symbol Icon
The coatroom at Victoria Station is a symbol for Jack’s lack of family “relations” and unknown origins. The Brighton Line is Wilde’s play on the notion of a family bloodline. Instead of having a lineage to his name, Jack has a place of origin and a train line to his credit, underlining the obscurity of his roots as well as the ridiculous value characters like Lady Bracknell place on family "lines".

The Coatroom at Victoria Station and The Brighton Line Quotes in The Importance of Being Earnest

The The Importance of Being Earnest quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Coatroom at Victoria Station and The Brighton Line. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Art of Deception: Fact v. Fiction Theme Icon
).
Act 1, Part 2 Quotes

You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter—a girl brought up with the utmost care—to marry into a cloak-room and form an alliance with a parcel.

Related Characters: Lady Bracknell (speaker), Jack, Gwendolen Fairfax, Lord Bracknell
Related Symbols: Jack’s Handbag, The Coatroom at Victoria Station and The Brighton Line
Page Number: 15
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 3, Part 1 Quotes

Mr. Worthing, is Miss Cardew at all connected with any of the larger railway stations in London? I merely desire information. Until yesterday I had no idea that there were any families or persons whose origin was a Terminus.

Related Characters: Lady Bracknell (speaker), Jack, Cecily Cardew
Related Symbols: The Coatroom at Victoria Station and The Brighton Line
Page Number: 46
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Coatroom at Victoria Station and The Brighton Line Symbol Timeline in The Importance of Being Earnest

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Coatroom at Victoria Station and The Brighton Line appears in The Importance of Being Earnest. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Part 2
The Pursuit of Marriage Theme Icon
Cash, Class, and Character Theme Icon
...He was found tucked in a handbag in a cloak roam at the Victoria railway station on the Brighton line. Lady Bracknell finds this lineage to be an unacceptable pedigree—“the line... (full context)
Act 3, Part 2
The Art of Deception: Fact v. Fiction Theme Icon
Name and Identity Theme Icon
...left the handbag. Whimpering, she admits to having left it in a coatroom at Victoria station on the Brighton line. Excited, Jack rushes out of the room and returns onstage with... (full context)