In which locations does the action primarily occur?

• A. Paris and the countryside
• B. London (Algernon's flat) and the countryside (Worthing estate and Cecily's home)
• C. Dublin and a city park
• D. A single metropolitan apartment

Answer: (B)

Setting shifts between a London apartment and a countryside estate, with Cecily’s countryside home also part of the action. These two environments are what continually frame the comedy, since Wilde uses the contrast between urban wit and rural propriety to drive the plot and satire. The London scenes—centered in Algernon’s flat—let the characters engage in quick, clever dialogue and social maneuvering. The countryside scenes—at Jack’s Worthing estate and Cecily’s home—provide a backdrop for misunderstandings, romantic entanglements, and the more formal social rituals of the era. That dual-location pattern is why the answer describes both Paris or Dublin as irrelevant and a single metropolitan apartment as insufficient. The play relies on the interplay between city and country to propel its humor and themes.