What role does Miss Prism play in the backstory of Jack?

• A. She serves as a rival for Jack's affections.
• B. She acts as the moral center of the estate.
• C. She helps him cheat at cards.
• D. She reveals Jack's infancy and the handbag incident, connecting to his origins.

Answer: (D)

This question tests how Jack’s origins are understood through Miss Prism’s hidden knowledge and the handbag incident. Miss Prism is the household governess who, in a moment of carelessness, is linked to the infancy of Jack by the famous handbag episode. The baby is found after being placed in a handbag, and Mr. Cardew—Jack’s guardian in the country—takes the infant and raises him as his own, giving him the name Jack Worthing. When Miss Prism’s secret comes to light, it directly connects Jack’s present identity with a mysterious past and explains why his true origins have been a spectator under the surface of the play’s wittiness. This reveal is central to the comedy’s irony because Jack leads a double life, while the handbag incident anchors his origins in a concrete, almost farcical backstory. The other possibilities miss this crucial linkage: Miss Prism is not a romantic rival, nor the moral center of the estate, nor involved in cheating at cards. Her real significance here is how her accidental carelessness ties Jack to his beginnings.