Read the excerpt from Act III of The Importance of Being Earnest. Jack. That is very generous of you, Lady Bracknell. My own decision, however, is unalterable. I decline to give my consent. Lady Bracknell. [To Cecily.] Come here, sweet child. [Cecily goes over.] How old are you, dear? Cecily. Well, I am really only eighteen, but I always admit to twenty when I go to evening parties. Lady Bracknell. You are perfectly right in making some slight alteration. Indeed, no woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating . . . [In a meditative manner.] Eighteen, but admitting to twenty at evening parties. Well, it will not be very long before you are of age and free from the restraints of tutelage. So I don’t think your guardian’s consent is, after all, a matter of any importance. Jack. Pray excuse me, Lady Bracknell, for interrupting you again, but it is only fair to tell you that according to the terms of her grandfather’s will Miss Cardew does not come legally of age till she is thirty-five. In this excerpt, the Victorian social code that stresses the importance of manners is most reflected through Jack’s words when he addresses Lady Bracknell. Lady Bracknell’s words when she commends Cecily for lying. Jack’s actions when he declines to consent to the marriage. Lady Bracknell’s actions when she speaks in a “meditative manner.”