Oscar Wilde - a biography

by Read Listen Learn

Oscar Wilde died in poverty in a cheap Paris hotel room on 30th November, 1900, hated by many people who had crowded theatres to watch his comic plays only five years before. In that short period of time, he had lost his reputation and wealth; his two sons and his home; he was bankrupt; his mother and wife had both died and he had spent two years in prison. He was only 46 years old. Nowadays, more than a century after his death, Oscar Wilde is regarded as an Irish national hero and a master of English literature, although he wrote only a few short stories, one novel and five plays.

Perhaps, though, Oscar Wilde is better known for what he said even than for his most popular play, 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. This would have pleased him, as he once told a friend,

"I have put my talent into writing, my genius I have saved for living."

Perhaps too, the fact that Wilde's reputation and career were destroyed by his homosexuality has made him a modern gay icon, a symbol of artistic talent ruined by prejudice.

Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. His father was a wealthy doctor and his mother was known for being unconventional: she openly supported Irish independence from Britain and invited many artists and intellectuals to the family home, where young Oscar was introduced to them. She seldom got up before midday and, as she got older, was careful to sit in poorly-lit rooms, her ageing beauty protected by shadows. She took great care to make sure that her son became fluent in French and German and was very proud of his ability in Ancient Greek and Latin, first at Trinity College Dublin and then at the University of Oxford.

However, at Oxford, Wilde was already building a reputation for himself based as much on his behaviour as on his studies. He dressed in clothes that deliberately attracted attention to him, refused to show interest in any sport and got deeper and deeper into debt. However, when he was attacked by a group of students who wanted to teach him a lesson, he managed to beat them all single-handedly. He also studied very hard in secret (after a lazy first term), while pretending never to open a book. Yet, Wilde was truly interested in art and believed that the beauty of a picture or a poem was more important than its content:

"It is better to be beautiful than to be good... But it is better to be good than to be ugly."

While some admired him, others thought his comments empty and that they were made not because he believed in their truth but simply to make an impression.

At the end of his time at Oxford, he passed his exams with flying colours, but had no idea what to do as a profession. He spent his time getting to know important people, often writing them letters, inviting them to dinner and living far beyond his income. Even though he had actually done nothing except publish a few (not very good) poems, his strategy was beginning to succeed: he was often mentioned in the newspapers. Although the comments in the press were often very critical, this did not concern him enough to make him change his habits:

"There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

As his father was (almost certainly wrongly) accused of improper behaviour to a young lady patient in Dublin and lost much of his reputation as a result, Oscar could really not afford the lifestyle he chose.

Soon, however, it seemed as if Oscar's chance had come. He was invited to America for a series of talks and attempted to get a play he had written produced and performed. Unfortunately, he spent a great deal more money trying than he earnt from it and today it is completely forgotten. When he returned to London, he married a wealthy young lady called Constance and fathered two sons with her. His delightful short stories, perhaps written with his children in mind, however, were financially disappointing and Wilde continued to spend far more than his income - or, to be more accurate, Constance's income. And yet his only serious attempt to do a job - as editor of a women's magazine - soon bored him and he went to the office less and less often.

To make matters worse, Wilde's first and only novel was seen by many people as immoral. It is about a young man whose portrait becomes uglier as his personality and behaviour become more repugnant, leaving him as handsome and youthful as he was when it was painted. His wife complained that, because of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', none of their friends would speak to them. It also did not make as much money as Wilde had expected. The publication of the novel had a far more serious effect though: it made the attractive Lord Alfred Douglas (nicknamed Bosie) interested in the author and want to be introduced to him.

Wilde had already begun to have affairs with young men, although he was married to Constance and thought the world of his first son (while not seeming to care much about his younger one). This was, of course, very dangerous as homosexuality was criminal in England at that time. Yet, Wilde's relationship with Bosie was disastrous because of the young man's relationship with his father, the Marquis of Queensbury.

The Marquis of Queensbury was an insensitive, even sadistic, father. Given his conservative views, he was unfortunate in having two sons, Bosie and his elder brother, who were both interested in men. When Bosie's brother committed suicide - probably over a relationship he was having with the man who was soon to become prime minister - their father was determined to get revenge. Although Wilde and Bosie were sleeping together and with rent boys in London hotels, the young man seemed to think himself above the law and did not try to hide what they were doing. Everybody was talking.

In the meantime, Wilde had at last found the literary genre that best displayed his talents. His first play was a huge success and, if its themes were a little risky, it was protected by the good opinion of Queen Victoria's eldest son, the Prince of Wales, who loved it. Wilde typically congratulated the audience on their good taste in enjoying the play almost as much as he did. His second play, 'A Woman of No Importance', which followed soon afterwards, was even more successful, although once again the themes were unconventional. Still, Wilde was working well and quickly in an extraordinary flowering of his talents. When a third and a fourth play followed, totalling four in as many years, it seemed as if Wilde could do no wrong. He was at his most successful, with each new play more admired than the last.

However, Wilde's success went hand in hand with his growing notoriety. He seldom visited his home and the local shopkeepers were refusing to deliver to the house until their bills were paid. Wilde still spent extravagantly on Bosie and many other young men. But, more importantly, Bosie's father, the Marquis of Queensbury, was now certain that Wilde was sleeping with his younger son and decided to throw rotten vegetables at the dramatist at the end of his new (and, as it turned out, his final) play, 'The Importance of Being Earnest'. Wilde learnt of his plan and the police prevented Queensbury from entering the theatre. He then left a card for Wilde at his club, accusing him of acting in a way that made people think he was gay.

Although Wilde's first lover and best friend, Robbie Ross, advised him to head straight for France and wait until the situation had calmed down, his mother and Bosie insisted that he stay to fight a legal case against Queensbury to protect his reputation. And that is what he did.

At first things seemed to go well for Wilde. He was entertaining in court and the jury and public seemed to be on his side, but he became too confident and, when asked if he had ever kissed a young servant in a friend's house, Wilde joked that the boy was too ugly for that. The lawyers knew he had made a fatal mistake and kept on asking how a boy could be kissed, even if he were not ugly. Wilde lost the case and knew that he would soon be arrested and tried himself. Bosie's name was not mentioned in court, nor did he attend the trial, but Queensbury's lawyers had produced enough witnesses to show that he had affairs with many young men, usually for money.

And that is what happened. Wilde went to prison for two years. When he came out, he was a broken man. He headed immediately for France, where he survived on a small income and often had to beg people he had known in his better days for money. His wife died of complications from back surgery and he was not allowed to see his sons. His mother had passed away while he was in prison and most of his friends no longer wanted to know him. Nobody could produce his plays in England (although in a few years they were as popular as ever). But, most importantly, Wilde's health was broken. The harsh physical regime in prison had been too much for him.

Wilde produced 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol', a long poem about the hanging of a young prisoner for the murder of his wife that had taken place while Wilde was in the same prison. He also corrected his last two plays. Although he was encouraged to pen more works, he simply said:

"I can write, but I have lost the joy of writing."

He spent most of his time drinking cheap alcohol. As he had said himself at the height of his success, turning a well-known saying ("Drink is the curse of the working classes") around:

"Work is the curse of the drinking classes."

Although he met Bosie again in Italy, their relationship was short-lived.

Wilde died complaining about the wallpaper in his hotel room:

"My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go."

He is buried in Paris.