The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde Practice Test

The idea being tested is howJack’s true origin is tied to Miss Prism’s hidden past, and that connection is made concrete by the handbag incident. Miss Prism reveals that years ago she gave birth to a child and, in a moment of carelessness, left the baby in a handbag. The baby was found later by a guardian named Cardew and raised as Jack Worthing. That single fact—that Jack was found as a baby in a handbag—is the direct link between his life in the country and Miss Prism’s secret in the plot. It explains why Jack exists at all, gives him a legitimate, though concealed, line of descent, and sets up the social complications that drive the story forward, including questions of lineage, propriety, and marriage prospects.

The other options miss that connection. Owning the handbag wouldn’t tie Jack to Miss Prism’s past in the way the handbag discovery does. The idea that Jack never existed contradicts what the play reveals about his life and role. And while Jack’s status as Lady Bracknell’s nephew is part of the family web, it’s not the specific secret Miss Prism shares, and it’s not the incident that links Jack to her hidden past.