JACKThat is nonsense. If I marry a charming girl like Gwendolen, and she is the only girl I ever saw in my life that I would marry, I certainly won't want to know Bunbury.ALGERNONThen your wife will. You don't seem to realize, that in married life three is company and two is none.JACKThat, my dear young friend, is the theory that the corrupt French Drama has been propounding for the last fifty years.ALGERNONYes; and that the happy English home has proved in half the time.

Summary

In this quote from Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest," the characters Jack and Algernon engage in a humorous conversation about marriage and the idea of having extramarital affairs. Jack argues that if he marries Gwendolen, he wouldn't need to know about or seek companionship outside of their marriage. Algernon counters by stating that in married life, having a third person (in this case, an imaginary person like "Bunbury") brings excitement and prevents boredom. This quote reveals the contrasting perspectives on marriage and fidelity between the characters, with Jack seeing marriage as a source of contentment and Algernon perceiving it as an opportunity for mischief.

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