Gwendolen and her formidable mother Lady Bracknell now call on Algernon who distract Lady Bracknell in another room while Jack propose to Gwendolen . She accept , but seem to love him very largely for his professed name of Ernest . Jack accordingly resolve to himself to be rechristened " Ernest " . Discovering them in this intimate exchange , Lady Bracknell interviews Jack as a prospective suitor . Horrified to learn that he was adopted after being discovered as a baby in a handbag at Victoria Station , she refuse him and forbid further contact with her daughter . Gwendolen , though , manage covertly to promise to him her undying love . As Jack give her his address in the country , Algernon surreptitiously note it on the cuff of his sleeve : Jack 's revelation of his pretty and wealthy young ward have motivated his friend to meet her .