Cartões: Questioning witness | Quizlet

Prosecutor: The prosecution calls Miss Gwendolen Fairfax to the stand.

My name is Gwendolen Fairfax. I am Algernon Moncrieff's cousin and I am engaged to Mr. Worthing.

Prosecutor: Miss Fairfax, let's begin simply. When you travelled to Mr. Worthing's country home, whom did you expect to see there?

I expected to see Mr. Worthing, whom i knew - or believed to know - as Ernest

Prosecutor: And when you arrived, did you have any reason to suspect that anyone had been using false identities?

Oh no, not at all. I trusted completely what I had been told.

Prosecutor: What was the first moment you realized something was wrong?

When Miss Cecily Cardew told me she was engaged to my Ernest Worthing. It contradicted everything i believed.

Prosecutor: Did Algernon Moncrieff's behaviour add to that confusion?

Yes, absolutely. Cecily addressed him as Ernest and he did not deny it.

Prosecutor: Miss Fairfax, was Algernon's silence in that moment truthful?

No...

It was deceptive. He let Cecily believe a lie

Prosecutor: So you personally witnessed Algernon allowing a false identity to continue uncorrected?

Yes, precisely

Prosecutor: When Cecily asked him directly, "Are you called Algernon?", how did he respond?

He said "Oh I cannot deny it." Only then, after being asked directly about it did he admit the truth.

Prosecutor: Would you say he told the truth freely, or was the truth forced from him?

It was definitely forced. Algernon had absolutely no escape left from the mess he had created.

Prosecutor: Miss Fairfax, does that behaviour qualify as deceit in your eyes?

Algy: Objection — leading.

Judge: Overruled. The charge is about deceit. She may answer.

Yes, absolutely. If this isnt deceit then i do not know what is.

Prosecutor: Thank you. Now let's discuss Algernon's motives. Did Algernon come to the country house for any genuine moral purpose?

No, he came only because he wanted to meet Miss Cardew. He only shows up, if it is for his own amusement.

Prosecutor: Did he consider how his deception might affect Cecily's feelings? Or yours?

No. He only thought of what he wanted and how his actions affect him. Thats all he ever does.

Prosecutor: Did Algernon's lies cause conflict between you and Cecily?

Yes, we were pitted against one another because we both believed we were enganged to Ernest Worthing

Prosecutor: Did Algernon show any concern for that emotional harm?

None. He laughed. He saw the whole misunderstanding as rather entertaining

Prosecutor: Did you witness Algernon exploit even a christening, a sacred ritual, purely to protect his false persona?

Yes. He planned to be christened as "Ernest" simply to maintain the lie

Prosecutor: Miss Fairfax, would exploiting a holy ritual merely to prop up a false identity — not for faith, not for morality — be an example of selfishness?

Absolutely. It was entirely self-serving. Disrespecting our Lord and Savior as well as the church... Besides, Algernon had already been christened before!

Prosecutor: Let's turn to hypocrisy. In your presence, did Algernon criticize Jack for inventing a fictional brother?

Yes. If I am not mistaken, I remember he mocked Mr. Worthing for it.

Prosecutor: And yet Algernon himself was pretending to be that fictional brother — under a false name — at that very moment?

Yes. That is exactly what Algernon did.

Prosecutor: Would you consider that hypocritical?

Algy: Objection — argumentative.

Judge: Overruled. It is directly relevant to the charge of hypocrisy.

Yes, it is hypocrisy

Prosecutor: Miss Fairfax, based on everything you personally witnessed — the false identity, the selfish motives, the conflicting lies, the ridicule, the emotional harm — in your view: Was Algernon Moncrieff deceitful?

Yes

Prosecutor: Was he selfish?

Yes.

Prosecutor: And was he hypocritical?

Without question.