The Importance of Being Earnest Allusions

Literature and Philosophy

• Aegeria (II.29): a Roman mythological water nymph known for giving wisdom
• Mudie (II.12) of Mudie’s Lending Library, which was largely responsible for the rise of the Victorian three-volume novel
• Cervantes, Don Quixote (II.66)
• New Testament, Galatians 6:7 (II.107)

Historical Figures

• Liberal Unionist (I.199)
• Tories (I.200)
• French Revolution (I.214)
• Maréchal Niel (II.72): a species of yellow roses was named after this French minister of war who conquered the Malakoff at the Siege of Sevastopol in 1855
• Anabaptists (III.115)
• Army Lists (III.168, 170)

Pop Culture

• Wagner (I.100)
• "Wedding March" (I.219)
• The Morning Post (II.288)