ize that presenting a false front to the world has its dangers. Jack almost loses his beloved, Gwendolen, because of the charade, as she becomes taken with the name Ernest, and declares that she would not marry any man who was not named Ernest. When he plays the part of Ernest, Algernon is initially quite happy, as Cecily seems quite smitten with him. However, when she reveals that, like Gwendolen, is charmed by the name Ernest itself, Algernon loses heart. Both men begin to realize that by presenting a false front to the world, they have run the risk of being unable to live up to the excitement of that fatade themselves.
In examining this theme of the dangers of false fronts, it is important to consider why the characters in the respective plays decide to employ false fronts in the first place. In the case of Hamlet, the title character chooses to feign madness, and present a false front to those around him for what could be considered a noble reason, namely to avenge his father's death. Hamlet's commitment to family honor and duty causes him to pretend that he is insane, as his father's death weighs heavy on him. He promises his father's ghost, "Haste me to know't, that I with wings as swift/As meditation or the thoughts of love/May sweep to my revenge" (Shakespeare, 1992, p. 217). These are his innermost thoughts just before he concocts his plan to feign insanity. Moments later, Hamlet explains to Horatio, "Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,/How strange or odd some'er
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