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An article written by Kelli Frost-Allred describes the significance of the title ‘Earnest’. Frost-Allred believes that Wilde is toying with the audience by giving the play a title with more than one meaning. “The name Ernest implies earnestness as a quality one should seek to acquire, as in being honest, sincere, sober, and serious.” Cecily and Gwendolen fall in love with the name Ernest and the feeling it brings to both of them. Throughout the play, Ernest is a man who portrays the qualities of an ideal man. Front-Allred concludes that this why the audience is left wondering if Wilde meant to use Earnest and Ernest interchangeably, since one is a name and the other is a man’s name.