Living on the Wilde Side

Oscar Wilde is very different from other authors we have read recently. He received many mixed reviews because he was controversial, outrageous, and unafraid of the spotlight. Browning was virtually anonymous with his play writing; but Wilde liked to write them and then play the lead if possible. He lived an extravagant lifestyle and could easily be described as vain about that and himself. His work, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a decent picture of himself. The story presents a character that cares about his eternal beauty that corrupting his soul seems an affordable price. Hints of homosexuality were noticeable in the story as well. Both vanity and homosexuality are relevant to Wilde.

Wilde liked the "shock factor". He was not opposed to writing about subjects that might be societally unacceptable, such as homosexuality, perverse love, etc. This affinity for the inappropriate led many of his works to banishment. His controversial behavior was his demise. Homosexuality was a crime at this point in time and it landed Wilde in prison.

Before his imprisonment, he wrote my favorite Wildian work, The Importance of Being Earnest". The message of the play, according to Oscar was "...That we should treat all trivial things very seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality." (830) This obsession with triviality is what makes this play hilarious and witty. All the characters are fixate on "paying scrupulous attention to surfaces is an act of the deepest sincerity." (847) The trivial things are certainly obsessed over. Each of the characters have their notions of how things should happen and what behaviors are acceptable. These standards are held to without question. Act one opens with the butler, Lane saying how married couples did not buy fine champagne. Algernon proceeds to ramble about his views on the demoralization of marriage, how the working class should set the example for the upper class, and his cousin's love life. No one within the story seems concerned about offending each other with their opinions. I find this similar to Wilde's life. He certainly acted with disregard to public opinion. In the story, Algernon and Jack fight over the definition of romance. Algy thinks "the very essence of romance is uncertainty. If I ever get married, I'll certainly try to forget that fact." (849) Jack believes in the beauty of marriage and thinks people like Algy are the reason that the divorce court is so busy. (Side note---I wonder if that could still be the reason for the high divorce rate. People get bored?) During this serious conversation, Algy keeps on bringing up the importance of having cucumber sandwiches for his aunt. I cannot think of something much more trivial than a cucumber sandwich.

Out of all the characters, Algernon is probably the most absurd, but yet surprisingly, my favorite. He seems to think he knows everything, but somehow does not come off as an arrogant jerk. Algy thinks he is quite the lady's man and has women figured out. He cautions Jack about Gwendolen because "...girls never marry the men they flirt with. Girls don't think it right." (850). Jack tries to refute it, but Algy replies that this was a "great truth" and it would account for the excessive number of unmarried men around the world. He has never married but has many ideas about it. Algy finds it inappropriate for wives to flirt with their husbands. What's wrong with a couple still finding each other exciting and romancing? According to Algernon, the cure for all the marital issues is to acquire a Bunbury. His Bunbury is a sickly old man that he uses as an excuse if he wants to escape from the present company for a time. He tells Jack that getting a "Bunbury" is necessary for any married man. Jack seems appalled by the idea that he might need to escape Gwendolyn, but yet he is Earnest in town and Jack in the country. He justifies this deception by saying that he needs to adhere to a moral standard while in the country that he wants freedom from in town. Jack calls Earnest, his young scoundrel brother when speaking to his household in the country. Each character easily calls into question the morality and motives of others' inconsistencies, but never notices their own absurdity. Humanity in general has a tendency to view oneself as more logical and righteous than reality would note. Maybe this is because we cannot agree on an ultimate truth. Algy makes an interesting point about truth: "The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility." (852) Basically, our concept of "truth" is hardly universal. Many of the recent authors have wrestled with the concept of truth and morality, such as Browning, Tennyson, and obviously, Wilde.
The characters all present their own agendas and standpoints; so why should the author not do the same? Wilde slips in subtle hints of his own opinions and struggles. Much of Wilde's work was censored because of content, so what better way to justify his writings than through the mouth of Algernon: "Oh! It is absurd to have a hard-and-fast rule about what one should read and what one shouldn't. More than half of modern culture depends on what shouldn't be read." (850) To a point, I agree with Algernon's statement. I believe Wilde had many good writings that were not given a chance, but I think there should be some legislation. For example, movie ratings are a good plan, I believe. Young, impressionable minds should be protected and eased into maturity when ready.
I could ramble on about the ridiculousness of the characters for ages. Lady Bracknell blaming a person for bad health or losing both parents. Cecily and Gwendolyn's obsession over the name Earnest or having a good story for their journal. Most importantly, the trivial things are obsessed over and that's where the appeal of this play in lies. I love this play! :)