Oscar Wilde

(1854 - 1900)

Oscar Wilde belongs to those bourgeois writers whose literary activity, contradictory in its nature, mirrors the crisis in bourgeois ideology.

Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854. At school, and later at Oxford, Oscar Wilde displayed a considerable gift for art. While at the University Wilde became one of the most prominent personalities of the day. He wore his hair long, decorated his rooms with peacock's feathers, lilies, sunflowers, blue china and other beautiful things. His witty sayings were quoted on all sides. At that time Wilde joined the Aesthetic Movement and became its most sincere supporter.

After graduating from the University, Wilde turned his attention to writing, travelling and lecturing. The Aesthetic Movement became popular and Wilde got the reputation of the leader of it.

The next ten years saw the appearance of all his major works. The most popular of them are "The Happy Prince and Other Tales" (1888), "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1891), "An Ideal Husband" (1895).

At the height of his popularity and success tragedy struck. Wilde had been married for several years and was the father of two children at the time of his meeting, in 1891, with a handsome young poet, Lord Alfred Douglas, with whom he established a homosexual relationship. In 1895, Lord Alfred's father, the Marquis of Queensberry, accused Wilde of immorality; Wilde recklessly sued for libel, lost the case, and was thereupon arrested and convicted for what was then on the statute books a serious criminal offense. The revulsion of feeling against him in England and in America was violent, and the aesthetic movement itself suffered a severe setback not only with the public but among writers as well.

Wilde was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. When released from prison in 1897 he lived mainly in Paris. Oscar Wilde died there in 1900.

Oscar Wilde's works reflect the emotional protest of an artist against social conditions in England. He thought that art is isolated from life, that art is the only thing that really exists and is worth living for. Life only mirrors art, he declared. Beauty is the measure of all things.

For Wilde the artist was not merely a man with certain faculties highly developed; he was a being apart from common humanity, different in kind. For him the subject treated was of no importance; the artist wrote only to please himself and was not in any way concerned to communicate his vision to others. To such a one reality and truth cease to have any validity. The doctrines led inevitably to artistic anarchy. Most of the members of the aesthetic movement, it should be said, were not so extravagant as their theories; Wilde himself was by no means indifferent to the effect which his writings, or his personal poses, had upon others.

"THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY"

This is the only novel by Oscar Wilde and it is considered to be his masterpiece. O. Wilde's prose fiction reveals the contradiction between his theory and his literary work. His novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and his fairy-tales show that man's chief purpose in life cannot be seeking pleasure. To be good is more importaint than to be beautiful. Though Oscar Wilde in the preface to his only novel declares that all art is quite useless, the novel itself proves the opposite.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" describes the life of a young man, Dorian Gray, or to be more exact, his spiritual life. The author touches upon many important problems of contemporary life: morality, art and beauty in particular.

At the beginning of the novel we see an inexperienced, kind and innocent young man, who was "certainly wonderfully handsome". There was something in his face that made one trust him at once.

Dorian is influenced by two men with sharply contrasting characters: Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton. The attitude of these two towards the young man shows their different approach to life, art and beauty.

Basil is an artist. He paints Dorian and puts his whole soul into the work. On seeing the picture Dorian exclaims: "I shall grow old and horrible and dreadful. But the picture will remain young. If it were only the other way! I would give my soul for that. Youth is the only thing worth having". Dorian's wish comes true.

Basil does not want to exhibit the portrait because he thinks that "every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter". The reason he will not exhibit this picture is that he is afraid he has shown in it the secret of his own soul.

Basil is not such a brilliant wit as Lord Henry, but he is kind, generous, honest and humane. To his mind art without beauty is shallow. The young man's appearance is a kind of inspiration to the artist, an embodiment of beauty which is in full harmony with the inner world of the youth; the harmony of soul and body.

Lord Henry is handsome, pleasant to listen to. But at the same time he is heartless, cynical and immoral. He loves no one, he believes neither in real friendship nor in love. Lord Henry's eloquent and cynical speeches work like poison in Dorian's blood. He knows that he has ruined Dorian's life, but he does not care.

The author shows gradual degradation of Dorian Gray. He becomes even more cynical and immoral than Lord Henry is. Basil is aware of Lord Henry's corrupting influence over the young man and he suffers terribly, but all his attempts to show Dorian how cruel and heartless he is end in failure.

Dorian brings misfortune to everyone he comes in touch with and finally he becomes a real murderer. He kills Basil Hallward, the only man who knows the secret of his soul.

The end of the novel shows a certain change in Dorian's character. He begins to see his life in a new light. He is still young and handsome but not at all happy. Life has suddenly become too hard for him to bear. So Dorian firmly decides to start a new life. He wants to be better and he is going to be. Wishing to do away with his former life and being disgusted with the ugliness of his portrait, Dorian decides to get rid of it and cuts the picture with a knife. That is the last of his crimes. The fact that the portrait acquired its former beauty and Dorian Gray, old and wrinkled lay on the floor with a knife in his heart, shows the triumph of real beauty -- a piece of art created by an artist, a unity of beautiful form and content. Besides that, it conveys the idea that real beauty cannot accompany an immoral life.

Dorian Gray's portrait is symbolic. It shows not only a handsome young man, but,also the inner world of the artist who created it, and the spiritual life of the sitter.

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