Which statement about Miss Prism's role highlights how birth and guardianship affect legitimacy in society?

• A. Guardianship and birth origin determine legitimacy in society.
• B. Birth records are irrelevant to social standing.
• C. Guardianship has no impact on relationships.
• D. Only wealth determines legitimacy.

Answer: (A)

Birth origin and who raises you shape how society views a person’s legitimacy. Miss Prism’s role as Cecily’s guardian shows how guardianship assigns social standing to the people in her care, giving Cecily a place within a certain social order. The twist that Jack is connected to Miss Prism by birth—the baby she once bore but hid—pulls birth into the center of legitimate claim: his true parentage could confer or deny status depending on how he is recognized and raised within the proper family and circles. Wilde uses this to satire how legitimacy in the Victorian world rests not just on being born, but on being born into and raised within the right guardianship and social framework. So the statement that guardianship and birth origin determine legitimacy in society best captures what Miss Prism’s role illustrates.