Deadly sins of gay esthete Oscar Wilde

The childhood of an unusual boy

Oscar Finngal Wilde O'Flaherty was born in the glorious city of Dublin in 1854. His date of birth was October 16. The parents of the future poet were wealthy and respected people in Irish society.

Oscar's father worked as a doctor, his specialization was ophthalmology and surgery. The boy's mother was an active woman who devoted a lot of time to the fight for the rights of the Irish. Jane Francesca also adored poetry, and managed to convey this love to her son.

William Wilde was not only an eye surgeon, but also was fond of literature, wrote historical works, and once even received a knighthood from the Queen for his work as a doctor.

There were always a lot of visitors and guests in the Wilde family house. The evenings hosted by the married couple attracted the “cream” of local society.

Oscar had an older brother, as well as a younger sister, Isola, who died of meningitis at age ten. Oscar took the loss of his sister very hard.

With his brother William, who was named after his father, Oscar was homeschooled. The brothers' home education was excellent. The boys were taught all the necessary manners. The children read a lot, then learned French and German thanks to their governesses, who were foreigners.

The children were then assigned to the Royal School of Portora. Having completed his schooling at the age of seventeen, Oscar could not boast of deep knowledge in the exact sciences, but nevertheless graduated from the institution with a medal for his talents in speed reading and literature. He also received a placement at the prestigious Irish Trinity College.

As a student, Oscar did not get along well with his classmates. One day, the college kids decided to teach the dreamy and arrogant Oscar a little lesson. They dragged the future poet up the hill. Once at the top, Oscar dusted himself off and said loudly: “What a beautiful view!”

Student Wilde loved to participate in various literary competitions. In many of them he took first place. In college, the young man became interested in Ancient Greece. Antiquity, aesthetics, ancient languages became a real passion for him.

Wilde always gravitated towards self-irony, was a skeptic and a supporter of Hellenism. Three years later, the talented guy was sent to study at Oxford. In addition to his knowledge at Oxford, Oscar acquired an English accent, losing his Irish pronunciation.

Various rumors circulated around the poet’s extraordinary personality even in his student years. Oscar himself was in no hurry to dispel them; he liked the fact that his person was surrounded by legends and myths during his lifetime.

During his studies, one of the teachers greatly influenced the young man’s worldview. John Ruskin, who sees the beauty of the world only in synthesis with goodness, had a great influence on Oscar's views.

During the same period, the young poet went on a trip to Italy and Greece. The countries made a good impression on Wilde. Returning home, the talented young man took inspiration from the trip and created the poem “Ravenna”. For this work, Oscar received one of the university's main awards.

The writer's childhood and youth

Oscar spent his early childhood in Dublin in a luxurious house, decorated with busts of Greek and Roman philosophers, as well as numerous paintings. Perhaps it was the environment of his father’s house that arose in the heart of the impressionable young man a love of beauty.

Oscar's parents spared no expense on their children's education. From childhood he had a French and a German governess. So, going to the Royal School of Portora, near Dublin, at the age of nine, the boy spoke excellent French and German.

Far from his parents' home in a new environment, young Oscar Wilde soon created an excellent reputation for himself. Witty quotes from this student passed from mouth to mouth among his comrades. In addition, he managed to study well. So, the guy managed to graduate from school with a gold medal and earn a scholarship to continue his studies at Dublin College of the Holy Trinity.

Three years of college greatly influenced Wilde's worldview. Here he became interested in antiquity and aestheticism, over time creating his own style of behavior and manner of communication, which subsequently delighted his fans.

Having performed well in college, Oscar Wilde earned a scholarship to Oxford, where he spent the next four years. During this time, he became an even greater admirer of antiquity, and was also fascinated by the ideas of John Ruskin. A trip to Greece and Italy finally helped shape the young Wilde’s worldview.

Creative development of a poet

Having lived for a quarter of a century and having graduated from Oxford, Oscar goes to London to start a new life there. In the capital of Britain, the young man is considered a trendsetter, as his style of clothing seems very attractive to local young men. In addition, after meeting the local literary bohemia, he becomes accepted into many salons in London.

At first, the young author wrote only poems, occasionally changing his taste by writing essays.

After gaining popularity in England, Oscar goes on a tour of America. There he successfully lectures on art, which find a positive response in the hearts of the local public.

The poet returns home even more famous than before. Oscar's popularity at such a young age was confirmed by the fact that his jokes and sayings began to be parsed into quotes.

After America, the poet went to France, where he met the elite of French literature. During his next return to his native Britain, Wilde marries. In this marriage, children are born who inspire the writer and poet to create fairy tales and children's stories. For the sake of his children, Wilde wrote such works as:

Collection "The Happy Prince";
Collection "Pomegranate House".

Being at first an exemplary family man, Oscar Wilde received the favor of high English society and also achieved incredible popularity.

At the age of 33, which is known to be a transitional age in the lives of many people, Oscar wrote some of his main works. "The Canterville Ghost" was enthusiastically received by the public. "Lord Arthur's Crime" also won the approval of high society.

Around the same years, Wilde began creating The Picture of Dorian Gray. This work was released to the general public in 1890. The novel received mixed public reviews.

In addition to non-trivial works, there were many moments in the writer’s life that were subject to criticism and gossip. After all, fame goes hand in hand with condemnation, and other people's success invariably causes envy.

The author’s next drama, entitled “Salome,” although it influenced the development of decadence in literature, was also not fully understood by English society.

In the 90s, Oscar distinguished himself as a humorist and comedy writer. He created several comedies for the theater stage. The plays “An Ideal Husband” and “A Woman Not Worth Attention” began to be in great demand.

Oscar Wilde. Biography

In 1878, Wilde settled in London. In 1881 he published a collection of poetry, Poems. His early poems demonstrated his commitment to the aesthetic direction of decadence (French decadence - decline), which is characterized by the cult of individualism, pretentiousness, mysticism, pessimistic moods of loneliness and despair.

At the end of 1881, Wilde left for New York, where he was invited to give a course of lectures on literature. In these lectures, he was the first to formulate the basic principles of English decadence, later developed in detail in his treatises, compiled in 1891 in the book “Designs” (“Brush, Pen and Poison”, “The Truth of Masks”, “The Decline of the Art of Lying”, “The Critic as artist"). In America, Wilde gave 140 lectures over nine months.

Returning to England, in 1888 Wilde published two collections of fairy tales, The Happy Prince (1888) and The House of Pomegranates (1891), and a collection of short stories, The Crime of Lord Arthur Savile (1891).

In 1890, Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published, in which the hero, who rejects all moral restrictions in the name of pleasure and freedom of expression (an idea consonant with Wilde himself), dies, finding himself hostage to his immoralism and aesthetics. Critics accused the novel of immorality.

The personal vicissitudes of Oscar Wilde

At first, everything went smoothly in Oscar’s personal life. In his youth he was a regular at brothels. According to rumors, it was there that he contracted a sexually transmitted disease, which he could not cure for a long time.

During his student years, he often fell in love with young beauties and actresses. Only Constance Lloyd was able to calm down the writer’s ardent heart a little. Oscar courted Constance for three years until the girl agreed to marry him.

In the early years of their marriage, the couple had two children: Cyril and Vivian.

A few years later, disagreements began between the spouses. They moved away from each other and then began to live separately. According to unverified data, Oscar suffered from an untreated venereal disease, due to which he could not live with his wife and children.

Life separate from the family made the morals of the poet and writer freer. He began to enter into relationships not only with women, but also with men.

His first partner was his personal secretary, Robert Ross. Then, in one of the salons, Wilde was introduced to the aristocrat Alfred Douglas. At first, a strong friendship developed between the marquis and the poet based on an interest in literature, then the men entered into close relationships with each other.

Alfred was 16 years younger than Oscar. He constantly encouraged the writer to do little madness. Sometimes Alfred demanded walks together in public, which, of course, could not go unnoticed. He also constantly took money from Oscar. Before meeting the Marquis, the writer lived quite modestly, although he received large fees. Wilde never got into large debts, was not a drunkard or a gambler. Douglas is used to living in grand style. His influential father for the time being tolerated his son’s antics, but after an open relationship with Oscar, he stopped financing him and demanded a break with his famous lover.

The lovers resisted pressure from the public and Douglas's relatives. Relatives, for their part, blackmailed Wilde in every possible way so that he would break up with Alfred. Homosexual relations in England at that time were prohibited by law and punishable by hard labor. Alfred Douglas was also blackmailed by other dandies, and Oscar had to pay off all his ill-wishers while he had the opportunity.

The result of the relationship between Wilde and Douglas was endless problems, which then escalated into lawsuits. After one such trial, Oscar was convicted and sent to prison.

Wilde, Oscar

early years

Oscar Wilde was born on 16 October 1854 at 21 Westland Row, Dublin, the second child of Sir William Wilde (1815–1876) and Jane Francesca Wilde (1821–1896). His brother William, "Willie", was two years older. Wilde's father was Ireland's leading oto-ophthalmologist (ear and eye surgeon) and was knighted in 1864 for his service as consultant physician and assistant commissioner for the Irish Census. In addition to his professional activities, William Wilde wrote books on Irish archeology and folklore, was a philanthropist, and established a free medical clinic that served the city's poor. Jane Wilde, under the pseudonym "Speranza" (Italian for "hope"), wrote poetry for the revolutionary Young Irish movement in 1848 and remained an Irish nationalist throughout her life. She read poems by participants in this movement to Oscar and Willie, instilling in them a love for these poets. Lady Wilde's interest in neoclassical revival was evident in the abundance of ancient Greek and Roman paintings and busts in the house.

In 1855 the family moved to No. 1 Merrion Square, where they expanded with the birth of their daughter a year later. The new home was larger and, thanks to her parents' connections and success, a "unique medical and cultural environment." Guests at their salon included Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Charles Lever, George Petrie, Isaac Butt, William Rowan Hamilton and Samuel Ferguson.

His sister Isola died at age ten from meningitis. Wilde's poem “Requiescat” (Latin for “may he rest in peace”, 1881) was written in memory of her.

Until the age of nine, Oscar Wilde was educated at home; he learned French from a French governess, and German from a German governess. After this he studied at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. Until the age of twenty, Wilde spent his summers at his father's country villa in Moytura, County Mayo. There, young Wilde and his brother Willie often played with the future writer George Moore.

From 1864 to 1871, Oscar Wilde studied at the Royal School of Portora (Enniskillen, near Dublin). He was not a child prodigy, but his most brilliant talent was reading quickly. Oscar was very lively and talkative, and even then he was famous for his ability to humorously reinterpret school events. At school, Wilde even received a special prize for his knowledge of the Greek text of the New Testament. After graduating from Portor School with a gold medal, Wilde was awarded a Royal School Scholarship to study at Trinity College, Dublin.

At Trinity College (1871-1874) Wilde studied ancient history and culture, where he again brilliantly demonstrated his abilities in ancient languages. Here he first listened to a course of lectures on aesthetics, and thanks to close communication with the curator - professor of ancient history J.P. Mahaffy, a sophisticated and highly educated man - he gradually began to acquire extremely important elements of his future aesthetic behavior (some contempt for generally accepted morality, dandyism in clothes, sympathy for the Pre-Raphaelites, slight self-irony, Hellenistic predilections).

Oxford

In 1874, Wilde, having received a scholarship to study at Oxford Magdalene College in the classical department, entered there. At Oxford, Wilde developed a crystalline English pronunciation: “My Irish accent was among the many things I forgot at Oxford.” He also acquired, as he wanted, a reputation for effortlessly shining. It was here that his special philosophy of art took shape. His name even then began to be illuminated with various entertaining stories, sometimes caricatures. So, according to one of the stories, in order to teach Wilde a lesson, who was disliked by his classmates and whom the athletes could not stand, he was dragged up the slope of a high hill and only released at the top. He stood up, shook off the dust and said: “The view from this hill is truly enchanting.” [ source not specified 2291 days

] But this was exactly what the aesthetic Wilde needed, who later admitted: “What is true in a person’s life is not his deeds, but the legends that surround him. Legends should never be destroyed. Through them we can dimly discern the true face of a person.”

At Oxford, Wilde listened to lectures by the art theorist John Ruskin and the latter’s student, Walter Pater. They both praised beauty, but Ruskin saw it only in synthesis with good, while Pater allowed a certain admixture of evil in beauty. Wilde remained under Ruskin's spell throughout his entire period at Oxford. Later he would write to him in a letter: “You have something of a prophet, a priest, a poet; Moreover, the gods endowed you with such eloquence as they did not endow anyone else, and your words, filled with fiery passion and wonderful music, made the deaf among us hear and the blind see.”

While still studying at Oxford, Wilde visited Italy and Greece and was captivated by these countries, their cultural heritage and beauty. These travels have the most spiritualizing influence on him. At Oxford, he also received the prestigious Newdigate Prize for the poem "Ravenna" - a monetary prize approved in the 18th century by Sir Roger Newdigate for students at Oxford University who won the annual competition of poems that did not allow dramatic form and were limited to the number of lines - no more than 300 (this John Ruskin also received the prize at one time).

London period

After graduating from university in 1878, Oscar Wilde moved to London.

He makes the “most necessary” revolution for English society - a revolution in fashion. The costume in which Wilde appeared in London and attracted everyone's attention looked like this: “a short velvet jacket trimmed with braid, the finest silk shirt with a wide turn-down collar, a soft green tie, knee-length satin trousers, black stockings and patent leather shoes with buckles.” ..., a beret, sometimes a free-flowing cloak, a sunflower or a lily in his hand”[8]. An indispensable accessory was a carnation in the buttonhole, painted green. Wilde's subtle artistic taste allowed him to “combine the incongruous.” Carnations, sunflowers and lilies were considered the most perfect flowers by Pre-Raphaelite artists.

Oscar Wilde. Photograph of Napoleon Saroni (circa 1882)

Thanks to his talent, wit and ability to attract attention, Wilde quickly joined the social life of London. They began to “treat” visitors to salons with Wilde: “Be sure to come, this Irish wit will be there today.”

The flourishing of creativity and the peak of fame

In 1881, his first poetry collection, Poems,

(
Poems
), written in the spirit of the "Pre-Raphaelite Brothers". It went through five reprints of 250 copies each during the year. All expenses for the publication were covered by Wilde himself[9]. His early poems are marked by the influence of impressionism, they express immediate individual impressions, they are incredibly picturesque.

The collection opens with the italicized poem Hélas!

, which expresses the author’s credo[10].
The first section is called Eleutheria
, which means "freedom" in Greek.
This section includes sonnets and other poems dedicated to political themes - “Sonnet to Freedom”, “Milton”, Theoretikos
and others[11].
The section Rosa Mystica ("Mystical Rose") consists mainly of poems inspired by trips to Italy and often associated with the Catholic Church, with a visit to the Vatican (for example, "Easter", where the pomp of the solemn ceremony with the participation of the Pope is contrasted with the Gospel allusion)[ 12]. The section “Flowers in the Wind”, the poems in which are devoted mainly to England[13], is contrasted with the section “Golden Flowers”, which includes poems dealing mainly with themes of art (“Keats’s Grave”, “Shelley’s Grave”, etc.)[14] . Adjacent to this section are Impressions de Théâtre
- poems about the theater (Phaedra, dedicated to Sarah Bernhardt, a cycle of two poems Written at the Lyceum Theater, dedicated to Ellen Terry)[15].
The collection ends with the “Fourth Variation” section, which includes the sonnet Tædium Vitæ
, which caused a scandal in the Oxford Debating Society[16].

American Journey

At the very beginning of 1882, Wilde got off the ship in the port of New York, where he said to the reporters who came upon him, in Wilde’s style: “Gentlemen, the ocean has disappointed me, it is not at all as majestic as I thought.” While going through customs procedures, when asked if he had anything to declare, he, according to one version, replied: “I have nothing to declare except my genius.”

From now on, the entire press follows the actions of the British esthete in America. His first lecture, which was entitled “ The Renaissance of English Art”

“(
The English Renaissance of Art
), he concluded with the words: “We all waste our days in search of the meaning of life. Know, this meaning is in Art.” The listeners applauded warmly.

At his lecture in Boston, just before Wilde’s appearance, a group of local dandies (60 students from Harvard University) appeared in the hall in short breeches with open calves and tuxedos, with sunflowers in their hands - quite Wilde-style. Their goal was to discourage the lecturer. Entering the stage, Wilde simply began his lecture and, as if by chance looking around at the fantastic figures, exclaimed with a smile: “For the first time I ask the Almighty to rid me of my followers!”

One young man wrote to his mother at this time, impressed by Wilde’s visit to the college where he studied: “He has excellent diction, and his ability to express his thoughts is worthy of the highest praise. The phrases he pronounces are euphonious and every now and then flash with gems of beauty. ... His speech is very pleasant - easy, beautiful, entertaining.” In Chicago, Wilde, when asked how he liked San Francisco, replied: “It’s Italy, but without its art.” His entire tour of America was a study in courage and grace, as well as inappropriateness and self-promotion. In a letter from Ottawa to his longtime acquaintance James McNeill Whistler, Wilde jokingly boasted: “I have already civilized America—only heaven remains!”

Paris trip

After spending a year in America, Wilde returned to London in excellent spirits. And he immediately went to Paris. There he meets the brightest figures of world literature (Paul Verlaine, Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, Stéphane Mallarmé, Anatole France, etc.) and wins their sympathy without much difficulty.

Marriage

Returns to his homeland. Meets Constance Lloyd and falls in love. At the age of 29 he becomes a family man. They have two sons (Cyril and Vivian), for whom Wilde composes fairy tales. A little later, he wrote them down on paper and published 2 collections of fairy tales - “The Happy Prince” and other fairy tales.”

(
The Happy Prince and Other Stories
; 1888) and
“

The House of Pomegranates
( 1891).

Literary creativity and journalism

Everyone in London knew Wilde. He was the most desirable guest in any salon. But at the same time, a barrage of criticism falls upon him, which he easily, in a very Wildean way, throws away. They draw caricatures of him and wait for a reaction. And Wilde plunges into creativity. At this time he made his living from journalism. From 1887 to 1889 he worked as editor of the magazine Women's World.[17] Bernard Shaw spoke highly of Wilde's journalism.

In 1887 he published the stories "The Canterville Ghost"

,
“The Crime of Lord Arthur Savile”
,
“The Sphinx Without a Riddle”
,
“The Millionaire Model”
,
“Portrait of Mr. W.H.”
, which compiled a collection of his stories. However, Wilde did not like to write down everything that came to his mind; many of the stories with which he charmed his listeners remained unwritten.

In 1890, his only novel was published, which finally brought Wilde stunning success - The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. But critics accused the novel of immorality. In response to 216 printed responses to The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde wrote more than 10 open letters to the editors of British newspapers and magazines, explaining that art does not depend on morality. Moreover, he wrote, those who did not notice the morality in the novel are complete hypocrites, since the only moral is that one cannot kill one’s conscience with impunity. In 1891, the novel with significant additions was published as a separate book, and Wilde accompanies his masterpiece with a special preface, which now becomes a manifesto for aestheticism - the direction and religion that he created.

Monument to Oscar Wilde in the center of Dublin

1891-1895 - Wilde's years of dizzying glory. In 1891, a collection of theoretical articles “Plans”

(
Intensions
), where Wilde expounds to readers his creed - his aesthetic doctrine.
The pathos of the book is in the glorification of Art - the greatest shrine, the supreme deity, of which Wilde was a fanatical priest. Also in 1891, he wrote a treatise, “

The Soul of Man
” which rejected marriage, family and private property. Wilde argues that “man was created for a better purpose than digging in the dirt.” He dreams of a time when “there will be no more people living in stinking dens, dressed in stinking rags... When hundreds of thousands of unemployed, reduced to the most outrageous poverty, will no longer trample the streets... when every member of society will be a participant in the general well-being and well-being"...

Of particular note is the one-act drama written in French at this time on a biblical story - “ Salome”

"(
Salome
; 1891). According to Wilde, it was specially written for Sarah Bernhardt, “that snake of the ancient Nile.” However, its production in London was prevented by censorship: theatrical performances based on biblical subjects were prohibited in Great Britain. The play was published in 1893, and in 1894 its translation into English with illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley was published. The play was first staged in Paris in 1896. “Salome” is based on the episode of the death of the biblical prophet John the Baptist (he appears in the play under the name Jokanaan), which is reflected in the New Testament (Matthew 14:1-12, etc.), but the version proposed in the play by Wilde is by no means canonical.

In 1892, the first comedy of the “brilliant Oscar” was written and staged, Lady Windermere’s Fan, the success of which made Wilde the most popular person in London. Another of Wilde’s aesthetic acts is known, connected with the premiere of the comedy. Coming onto the stage at the end of the performance, Oscar took a drag on his cigarette, after which he began: “Ladies and gentlemen! It’s probably not very polite of me to smoke while standing in front of you, but... it’s equally impolite to bother me while I’m smoking.” In 1893, his next comedy, “A Woman Not Worth Attention,”

(
The Woman of No Importance
), in which the title itself is based on a paradox - before that, the “apostle of Beauty” felt this technique as familiar.

1895 becomes a critical year creatively. Wilde wrote and staged two plays - “An Ideal Husband”

(
An Ideal Husband
) and
“
of
Being Earnest
. In the comedies, Wilde's art as a witty interlocutor was revealed in all its brilliance: his dialogues are magnificent. Newspapers called him “the best of modern playwrights,” noting his intelligence, originality, and perfection of style. The sharpness of thoughts and the precision of paradoxes are so delightful that the reader is stupefied by them throughout the entire duration of the play. He knows how to subordinate everything to the game; often the game of the mind captivates Wilde so much that it turns into an end in itself, then the impression of significance and brightness is created truly out of nowhere. And each of them has its own Oscar Wilde, throwing out portions of brilliant paradoxes.

Relationship with Alfred Douglas and trial

Alfred Douglas, 1903
In 1891, Wilde met Lord Alfred Douglas, son of the 9th Marquess of Queensberry. Douglas (his family and friends called him Bosie) was 16 years younger, was looking for this acquaintance and knew how to win him over. Soon Wilde, who always lived beyond his means, could not refuse anything to Douglas, who was constantly in need of money for his whims. With the arrival of this “golden-haired boy,” as he was called at Oxford University, Wilde switches from the services of female prostitutes to male prostitutes. In 1892, Bosie, not for the first time drawn into blackmail (his frank letter to another lover was stolen), turns to Wilde, and he gives money for the extortionists. Periodic disappearances and exorbitant expenses worried Wilde’s wife, Constance, but she did not question her husband’s explanations that he needed all this in order to write. Douglas was not going to hide his connection with the “brilliant Oscar” and from time to time demanded not only secret meetings, but also in plain sight. Wilde, like Douglas, becomes a constant target for London blackmailers.

In 1893, Bosie dropped out of Oxford and was again blackmailed into making his homosexuality public. His father, the Marquess of Queensberry, also known for his habit of spending a lot on his own pleasures, through a lawyer gives money to the blackmailers in order to hush up the scandal. After which Douglas’s father and mother decide to end their son’s indecent relationship not only with Wilde, but also with other men: the mother asks Wilde to influence Bosie, and the father first leaves his son without an annual allowance, and then threatens to shoot Wilde. On June 30, 1894, Queensberry, defending the honor of the family, comes to Wilde’s house on Tite Street and demands that he stop meeting with his son - in fact, the lord offers a deal: on the one hand, there is evidence against Wilde and he suffers from blackmail, on the other hand, Queensberry, by explaining why he called Wilde “acting like a sodomite,” made it clear that he did not seek to make him accused in a public trial (how Wilde entertains himself is Wilde’s private matter). But Wilde and Douglas arrange joint trips abroad. In his letters to his father, with whom, according to contemporaries, he was similar in character and behavior, Douglas threatens that if he does not stop “telling him how to behave,” he will either shoot him in self-defense, or Wilde will send him to prison for slander.

On February 18, 1895, Queensberry writes a note to Wilde, a member of the club, at the Albemarle Club, with the address: “To Oscar Wilde, posing with m

Domita”—the Marquis, intentionally or not, misspelled the insult. In addition, by using the word “pose”, Lord Queensberry formally protected himself by not directly accusing. On February 28, Wilde receives this note, his friends point out the trick, advise him to ignore the insult and leave the country again for a while. But Alfred Douglas, who hated his father and was looking for a reason to limit his use of the family's money, insists that Wilde sue Queensberry for libel. The next day, March 1, Wilde accuses the Marquis of libel and he is arrested. In response, Queensberry, through lawyers, presents witnesses to Wilde's obscene relationships and a selection of quotes from the plaintiff's works and correspondence. To this, Wilde, confident in the power of his eloquence, decides to defend his art himself and speak in court. The hearing of the case began on April 3. There were no empty seats in the courtroom, but due to the immorality of the evidence being considered, only men were present. Wilde persistently denied the sexual nature of his relationship with Douglas and consistently separated life and literature in his testimony.

For example, the lawyer of the Marquess of Queensberry, Edward Carson, and in fact the prosecutor, asked Wilde the question: “Might not the attachment and love of an artist for Dorian Gray lead an ordinary person to the idea that the artist experiences a certain kind of attraction to him?” And Wilde replied: “The thoughts of ordinary people are unknown to me.” “Has it ever happened that you yourself madly admired a young man?” Carson continued. Wilde replied: “Crazy - never.” I prefer love - it’s a higher feeling.” Or, for example, trying to identify hints of “unnatural” relationships in his works, Carson read a passage from one of Wilde’s stories and asked: “I assume you wrote this too?” Wilde deliberately waited for deathly silence and answered in the quietest voice: “No, no, Mr. Carson. These lines belong to Shakespeare." Carson turned purple. He pulled out another piece of poetry from his papers. “This is probably Shakespeare too, Mr. Wilde?” “There’s not much left of him in your reading, Mr. Carson,” said Oscar. The spectators laughed, and the judge threatened to order the hall cleared.

These and other witty responses were, however, counterproductive in a legal sense. After the court included part of the evidence against Wilde in the case, he withdrew his lawsuit, and on April 5 the libel case was dismissed. This circumstance provided the basis for the accusation against Wilde to restore the reputation of the Marquis. Queensberry writes a note to Wilde advising him to flee England. On April 6, a warrant was issued for Wilde's arrest and he was taken to prison. On April 7, the court charged Wilde with sodomy as a violation of public morality. On April 26-29, the first trial in Wilde’s case took place, which again began with Wilde’s explanations on the next selection of quotes from his and Douglas’s works. So, the prosecutor asked for clarification of what the phrase “love that hides its name”, expressed by Douglas in his sonnet, means, to which Wilde said the following:

“Love that hides its name” is in our century the same majestic affection of an older man for a younger one, which Jonathan felt for David, which Plato based his philosophy, which we find in the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is still the same deep spiritual passion, characterized by purity and perfection. Great works like the sonnets of Shakespeare and Michelangelo, as well as my two letters that were read to you, were dictated by it, filled with it. In our century this love is misunderstood, so misunderstood that truly it is now forced to conceal its name. It was she, this love, that brought me to where I am now. She is bright, she is beautiful, her nobility surpasses all other forms of human affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. She is intellectual, and time after time she flares up between the older and younger men, of whom the older has a developed mind, and the younger is filled with joy, anticipation and the magic of the life that lies ahead. This is how it should be, but the world does not understand this. The world mocks this attachment and sometimes puts a person in the pillory for it. ( translated by L. Motyleva
)

The prosecutor thanked Wilde with undisguised pleasure for such an answer. But on May 1, the jury disagrees regarding Wilde's guilt (10 are for guilt, and two are against) and a second hearing is scheduled in a new court composition. Wilde's lawyer, Sir Edward Clarke, is seeking permission from the judge to allow Wilde to be released on bail pending a new trial.[18] The priest Stuart Headlam, who did not know Wilde but was dissatisfied with the trial and the persecution of Wilde in the newspapers, contributed most of the unprecedented sum of £5,000. Wilde is offered to flee England, as his friends have already done, but he refuses.

The final trial took place May 21-25, presided over by Judge Alfred Wills. The judge assessed all eight counts against Wilde as either unproven or insufficiently proven, “pointing out to the jury the unreliability of the material collected in the form of testimony.”[19] The jury in its decision was guided by the confessions of the “brilliant Oscar” given to him during the hearings, which served as the basis for the opinion that Wilde “condemned” himself[20]. On May 25, 1895, Wilde was found guilty of "gross indecency" with male persons,[21] under the Labouchere Amendment, and sentenced to two years' hard labor. The judge in his closing speech noted that there is no doubt that “Wilde was a center of corruption for young people”[19], and concluded the hearing with the words: “This is the worst case in which I have participated.” Wilde's response "And me?" drowned in cries of “Shame!” in the courtroom[22].

The case was resonant not only because Wilde transferred his passion from private life to public life, aestheticizing obscene relationships in poems, stories, plays, novels and statements in court. The key point was that Wilde went to court with an unfounded accusation of libel. As a result, Wilde was convicted, but Douglas was not brought to trial.

Imprisonment

The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
Rice. M. Durnova (1904) Wilde served his sentence first in Pentonville and Wandsworth, prisons intended for those who had committed particularly serious crimes and repeat offenders, and then, on November 20, 1895, he was transferred to prison in Reading, where he remained for a year and a half.

Prison completely broke him. Poor nutrition, physical labor and harsh conditions greatly weakened his health. He suffered from hunger, insomnia and illness.

Most of his friends turned their backs on him. However, at Pentonville he was visited by R. B. Haldane, a liberal lawyer and philosopher, who through his channels arranged for Wilde to have access to religious and historical books.

At Wandsworth, Wilde fell in the chapel and damaged the eardrum of his right ear (which years later led to chronic illness and death of the writer). He spent two months in the infirmary. Friends arranged for him to be transferred to another section of the prison, where he was assigned lighter duties and was allowed to read (but not write). Depressed, he was unable to fulfill even these duties. Colonel Isaacson, a stern prison guard who did not like Wilde, began to impose severe punishments on him for minor offenses, and failure to comply with these requirements led to new punishments.

Alfred Douglas, to whom Wilde was so strongly attached, never came to see him (he lived abroad, pawning things given by Wilde), and in one of his letters there were the following words: “When you are not on a pedestal, no one is interested in you.” ..."[23].

Wilde's wife, Constance, despite the demands of her relatives, refuses a divorce and visits her husband twice in prison: the first time to report the death of his beloved mother, and the second to sign papers that he entrusts her with the care of the children. Then Konstanz changes his surname to Holland for himself and their sons Cyril and Vivian (this is the surname of Konstanz’s brother, Otto).

In prison, Wilde wrote a confession in the form of a letter to Douglas, which he calls “Epistola: In Carcere et Vinculis.”

(Latin: “Message: in prison and chains”).

The letter was written towards the end of Wilde's prison term, from January to March 1897, after a change in the prison governor. The new boss, Major Nelson, who was more liberal and friendly than Isaacson, allowed this text to be written “for medical purposes,” that is, to distract the prisoner from difficult personal experiences. Each page of text was removed after it was written. Sending this letter from prison was also prohibited. Nelson returned Wilde's text only before his release on May 18, 1897.

Wilde handed the manuscript to journalist Robert Ross (another of his former lovers, a rival of “Bosie”). Ross published the letter in 1905, five years after Wilde's death, calling it "De Profundis"

(Latin: “From the depths”; this is how Psalm 129 begins).

Move to France and death

After his release on May 19, 1897, Wilde moved to France, where he regularly received letters and money from his wife, but Constance refused to meet with him. But Douglas is looking for a meeting and achieving his goal, which Wilde will later say with regret:

He imagined that I was able to get money for both of us. I actually got 120 pounds. Bozi lived on them without any worries. But when I demanded his share from him, he immediately became terrible, angry, base and stingy in everything that did not concern his own pleasures, and when my money ran out, he left.”[23]

Their breakup was also facilitated by the fact that, on the one hand, Constance threatened that if he did not break up with Douglas, she would deprive her husband of his maintenance, and on the other hand, the Marquis of Queensberry promised to pay all his son’s considerable debts if his relationship with Wilde ended.

In France, Wilde changed his name to Sebastian Melmoth. The surname Melmoth was borrowed from a Gothic novel by the famous 18th-century English writer Charles Maturin, Wilde's great-uncle, author of Melmoth the Wanderer. Wilde avoided meeting those who might recognize him, but to his misfortune this happened, and he moved from place to place, as if justifying his new name. In France, Wilde wrote the famous poem "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"

(
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
; 1898), signed by him with the pseudonym C.3.3. - this was Oscar’s prison number (cell no. 3, 3rd floor, block C[24]). The hero of the ballad, who has perceived himself as special all his life, suddenly realizes that he is one of many sinners, nothing more. His vice, which he interprets as chosenness, is not unique, since there are many sins. But repentance and compassion are what unites everyone. All people are united by a common feeling of guilt before their neighbor - for failing to protect, for failing to help, for using others like themselves for the sake of lust or profit. The unity of the human race is achieved through a common feeling, and not through unique passions - this is an important thought of the esthete Wilde, who devoted all his early work to the unique ability to see differently from his neighbor[25]. The Ballad was published in an edition of eight hundred copies, printed on Japanese vellum paper[26]. In addition, Wilde published several articles with proposals for improving the living conditions of prisoners. In 1898, the House of Commons passed the Prisons Act, which reflected many of Wilde's proposals[27].

Shortly before his death, he said about himself: “I will not survive the 19th century. The British will not tolerate my continued presence." Oscar Wilde died in exile in France on November 30, 1900, from acute meningitis caused by an ear infection. Wilde's death was painful. A few days before her arrival, he lost the power of speech and could only communicate with gestures. The agony began on November 30 at 5:30 a.m. and did not stop until his death at 1:50 p.m.[28].

He was buried in Paris at the Bagno cemetery, from where later, 10 years later, his grave was moved to the Père Lachaise cemetery (Paris). On the grave is a winged sphinx made of stone by Jacob Epstein (in honor of the work “The Sphinx”). Over time, the writer's grave became covered with lipstick marks from kisses, as an urban legend appeared - whoever kisses the Sphinx will find love and never lose it. Later, concerns began to be expressed that the lipstick could destroy the monument. On November 30, 2011, on the 111th anniversary of the death of Oscar Wilde, it was decided to enclose the Sphinx with a protective glass fence. In this way, the authors of the project from the Irish Cultural Center hope to protect it from the harmful effects of lipstick[29].

Family

On May 29, 1884, Oscar Wilde married Constance Mary Lloyd (01/2/1859 - 04/7/1898). They had two sons: Cyril (06/5/1885 - 05/09/1915) and Vivian (11/3/1886 - 10/10/1967).

After Oscar Wilde was convicted, Constance decided to take the children away from Great Britain, sending her sons with a governess to Paris. She herself remained in the country. But after the Wildes’ house on Tite Street was visited by bailiffs and the sale of property began, she was forced to leave the UK. Constance died on April 7, 1898 in Genoa, 5 days after an unsuccessful surgical operation. She was buried in the Staglieno cemetery in Genoa.

Merlin Holland [en] (b. 1945, London) - grandson of Oscar Wilde and heir to all his works, believes that his family suffered from homophobia [30].

Betrayal, trial, death

The Marquis of Douglas had a narcissistic character. He constantly sought to dominate others, caring only about his own pleasures. Because of his connection with him, Oscar was persecuted by Douglas's father. One day he gave Wilde a note in which he accused the poet of debauchery. Oscar became very angry and sued Father Douglas.

Thanks to his connections and careful preparation, Marquis Sr. won the libel case. The charges against him were dropped. In turn, he himself sued Oscar. There he was able to prove that Wilde had homosexual relationships. The writer received the maximum sentence, which at that time was equal to two years of hard labor.

As soon as the poet was imprisoned, his friend Alfred immediately left him and again began to live for his own pleasure. His wife also turned away from Oscar. She visited him only a few times to sign papers concerning the children.

Due to public disgrace, Wilde's wife had to change her surname and leave England with her children. The woman moved to live in Italy, where she died after unsuccessful medical intervention.

In 1897, Oscar Wilde was released. He left Britain for France, where he lived on the support that his wife, who was still alive at that time, sent him. Oscar again made the same mistake by resuming his relationship with Douglas. Only the reunion did not last long. He abandoned the writer again when he ran out of money.

Imprisonment and hard hard labor broke the man, took away his will to live and hope for the best. Despite this, Wilde finds the strength to write the ballad “Reading Gaol”. He publishes it under the pseudonym Melmoth, since the writer’s own name is tarnished with shame.

In 1900, the poet and playwright contracted an ear infection. It develops into meningitis. That same year, on November 30, Oscar Wilde passed away due to brain inflammation.

The writer's burial was initially located in a small Parisian cemetery. His remains were then moved to the famous Père Lachaise cemetery.

Wilde's grave was decorated with a sculpture of a sphinx. Later, this monument had to be surrounded by a glass fence. Many women believed that if you kiss this sphinx, you will certainly meet your true love. The entire monument was smeared with lipstick, which spoiled the material and appearance of the burial.

Interesting facts about Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was an interesting and slightly eccentric man. In his short life, he experienced true ups and downs. Let's look at the most interesting facts about this outstanding poet and writer:

In England, Wilde was voted the wittiest man of all time;
The novel written by the author about Dorian Gray has been filmed more than 25 times;
Even while in prison, Oscar strived to do something good for people. There he drew up an act “on prisons”, in which he proposed improving the lives of prisoners. UK legislators took the petition into account;
Good manners were so inherent in the poet that he always changed his suit for a fresh one before dinner;
There is evidence that as a child, Oscar was forced to wear girls' dresses because his mother wanted a girl instead of a boy.

The Irish and the English are equally proud that it was their land that raised the world-famous author and poet. In his worldview, Wilde was ahead of his time. If he had been born today, his fate could have turned out completely differently. The trials that befell the writer could have broken anyone, but he found the strength to finish his last work, albeit under a new name, since he could not use his own due to public condemnation. The poet's children grew up under a completely different surname and hardly saw their father until his death.

Oscar Wilde's family

Oscar's father, William Wilde, was the most famous otolaryngologist and ophthalmologist in Ireland. For his excellent work over many years, he was awarded a knighthood. Over the years, Mr. Wilde was able to use his own money to open a free medical service for the poor of Dublin. In his free time, he wrote books about Irish culture.

The beloved mother of the future writer, Jane Wilde, was also no stranger to literature. During her turbulent youth, this heroic woman was a member of the revolutionary Young Irish movement and at one time wrote patriotic poetry for them.

Jane doted on her sons William and Oscar and devoted all her time to raising them. She tried to instill in the boys a love of Irish literature. Mrs. Wilde also introduced her children to the literature and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome.

In addition to his older brother, Oscar also had a younger sister, Izola. However, this baby had a very short biography. Oscar Wilde later dedicated one of his poems, Requiescat, to her memory, since she died at the age of ten.