Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
by Dori Anne Abbott
(7 May 1999)

    Long before Austin Powers or the Beatles made their momentous trip from England into the hearts of American fans, a young Irish Victorian poet, novelist, playwright, and aesthete made that trip; and made it with style. In a time when men wore tight, long trousers and full mustaches, this author caused a sensation by wearing knee breeches, stockings, and shoulder-length hair. Upon his arrival, sunflowers, and Japanese parasols became the rage because he fancied them. Phrases such as "Too utterly too..." and "Do you yearn?" became wildly popular. Ambrose Bierce denounced him as having an "opulence of twaddle and penury of sense," and ministers vilified his "sunflower aestheticism" from the pulpits of American churches. Who was this enigmatic, charismatic, iconoclastic, ecstatic author? Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde.

    Born in Dublin on October 16, 1854 to a prominent surgeon and the poet who called herself "Speranza," Oscar Wilde grew up in an intelligent, free-spoken, somewhat Bohemian household. He shared his mother's gift for the language arts. While enrolled at Magdalene College, Oxford University, Wilde won several literary awards, including the coveted Newdigate Prize for his poem, "Ravenna." In addition to this, various magazines published his poems. After extensive study of John Ruskin and Walter Pater, Wilde became convinced of the central importance of art in life. Therefore, Wilde adopted his affected, aesthetic style of dress and manner, which would later contribute to his fame. Classmates grew tired of his "new aestheticism" and tried to squelch him by roughing him up while wrecking his rooms. These actions only served to strengthen the loyalty of his followers and elevate Wilde to cult status.

    After Oxford, Wilde sought to take London by storm, which he eventually did thanks to his eccentricities, his personal magnetism, and his shrewd sense of publicity. After London, Wilde turned his sights to America, and in 1882 he undertook a lecture tour in the United States where he was ridiculed, satirized, caricatured, and adored. Although Wilde was violently attacked by some, others of the American literary elite such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Henry Ward Beecher entertained him. For twelve months he exhorted Americans to love art and to live it; then for the next twelve months, Wilde lectured in Britain about his impressions of America. In 1884 Wilde ended his days of poverty when he married Constance Lloyd, the daughter of a prominent Irish lawyer. Wilde had two children (Cyril and Vyvyan) with her. During this time, he was editor of the popular magazine Woman's World, and wrote his first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In this novel, Wilde combined the supernatural elements of the gothic tale with the unspeakable sins of the popular French novels.

    However, Wilde's greatest successes were his social comedies, which brilliantly showed off his "paradoxical, epigrammatic wit" as he poked fun at what he considered the hypocrisies of Victorian society. These comedies were written during the last decade of his life, which was undeniably his most productive. His first major comedic success came in 1892 with the production of Lady Windermere's Fan. Next came A Woman of No Importance followed by An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. By this time Wilde was considered a full-blown social and literary success. Despite critics' scathing accusations that his works were immoral, Wilde constantly maintained that art by nature is neutral or amoral--without morals.

    As is characteristic of many artists who refuse to acknowledge the value-laden nature of art, Wilde pursued a reckless path of pleasure. In many of his works, the main focus is on an indiscretion of some sort, and it consequences--usually disgrace. While art truly imitates life, sometimes the inverse is equally true: life imitates art. Ugly rumors of sexual perversion tore at Wilde's status. Formal charges were brought against Wilde by the Marquess of Queensbury who was deeply concerned about Wilde's friendship with his son. Although no one will ever know for sure if the charges were in fact true, what is known is that Wilde's defense in court did not prevail; and since sexual indiscretions were considered a criminal offense against God, nature, and society, Wilde was convicted and jailed for two years at hard labor.

    Tremendous publicity surrounded the trial. American humorists who had satirically depicted Wilde as the "new Messiah" were amazed to see the prophetic power of their humor. Wilde's "loyal" disciples turned on the writer during the trial and vilified him in the popular press before he was ever convicted. Hotels refused him admission, common folk were shocked by the ugly rumors, and society's worst fears about the inherently depraved nature of artists were confirmed by the headlines of the daily newspapers. It is hard for modern Americans to understand the shock and outrage his followers felt because our "stars" like Madonna publish coffee table books filled with bestiality and every kind of perversion of one of God's greatest gifts; and our "heroes" like the president commit indiscretions in the very seat of American power.

    After his release from prison in 1898, Wilde published The Ballad of Reading Gaol in a foreign country with borrowed funds and a borrowed name (Sebastian Melmoth). His wife died during that same year. Some biographers seem to think that Wilde experienced a religious conversion while in prison. Nevertheless, like so many deep things about this man, the truth will probably never be known in this present world. Oscar Wilde died in 1900 of Cerebral Meningitis. His ever-present wit came forth for one last show when on his deathbed he drank champagne and joked about "dying above his means."

  Not only are Oscar Wilde's writings treasured for their record of literary history, but also they display Wilde's personal philosophy of art for art's sake. Wilde had no personal or social axe to grind. It would be difficult to decide how much of Wilde's popularity and success came from his literary abilities, and how much came from his scandalous reputation (think Dennis Rodman), but this much is surely known: because he was constantly challenging the mores of the very society which supported him, Wilde is considered by many critics to be Victorian England's central chameleon. If this is true, then his writings are the fossil remains of the chameleon.