 Lady Bracknell 's line , " A handbag ? " , has been called one of the most malleable in English drama , lending itself to interpretations ranging from <unk> or <unk> to <unk> . Edith Evans , both on stage and in the 1952 film , delivered the line loudly in a mixture of horror , <unk> and <unk> . <unk> Channing , in the Gaiety Theatre , Dublin in 2010 , <unk> the line , in a critic 's words , " with a barely audible ' A handbag ? ' , rapidly swallowed up with a sharp intake of breath . An understated take , to be sure , but with such a well @-@ known play , packed full of witticisms and aphorisms with a life of their own , it 's the little things that make a difference . " 
