UNIT 1

THE DISCOURSE BETWEEN OR THE NEED TO “MAKE

IT NEW”: LITERATURE IN AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD
(NMN: Unit 1, The Discourse Between or the Need to “Make It New”: Literature in an Ever-
changing World)

1. I Introduction
1. II The Crisis of Victorian Positivism
1. III The Interpretation of an Ever-changing World
1. IV What Does Woman Want: The Rise of the New Woman
1. V The Dystopian Earnestness to Break Free.
Compulsory Reading: Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest
Due date: October 29th

1.1. ¿Qué vas a aprender?

Learning outcomes
Aims and Objectives:
 This Unit sets out to establish the historical and theoretical background behind the
need felt by many writers and artists during the first half of the twentieth century to
find a new mode of expression.
 The many changes that took full form in this period had been emerging during the
latter half of the nineteenth century, when a general disillusionment with the self
assertive optimism of Victorian positivism provoked a crisis that had its artistic
manifestation in the different avant garde movements of the twentieth century.
 This crisis was particularly intense for those Victorians living at the turn of the
century who were, however, unable to explore it with the required perspective, and
passed it on to the generation coming to maturity in the years following the First
World War.
 The First World War, or Great War, as it was called at the time, was, in many ways,
the expression of this crisis in its most terrible, extreme and incomprehensible form.
 Whilst the course subject for study this year is generally devoted to literature and
the interconnection between literary discourse and other discourses present in the
social milieu, it is the aim of this Unit to make students aware that literature and
literary creativity are not isolated entities but, as critic Terry Eagleton suggests,
form part of the social and political concerns of the period in which the literary work
is produced.
 In this sense, literature not only reflects the world but contributes to the debates
that surround its participants, and helps produce thought. In order to achieve this
aim, we shall study Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest as a literary
example of a text that takes part in the debates of the period.
  The main aim of this Unit is to make students not only aware of, but also to
participate in, the various discourses that informed the consciousness of the people
inhabiting Great Britain in the first half of the twentieth century.

Study Guidelines:
 Perhaps the most immediate issue that will be encountered when studying this
chapter is that the student will confront fields of knowledge such as political and
philosophical thought, psychology and psychoanalysis, anthropology, and scientific
or medical discoveries that may seem unfamiliar and off-putting. It has to be said
that although this Unit is dealing with complex issues, it is not expected that the
student should have a profound knowledge of these subjects. Yet it is important to
become familiar with the social and intellectual background that surrounds the
literary scene of the first half of the twentieth century. Ideally, the best way fully to
understand the many issues raised here is to go to the sources and read some of
the treatises and manifestos mentioned. In so doing the student will realise that,
apart from the struggle to understand the theoretical and critical ideas presented in
these writings, there is also pleasure to be gained by reading them. In many cases,
as for example in the cases of the works of Darwin or Freud works, the narratorial
component of these writings helps to demystify the complexity of later explanations.
It is too challenging to try to collate the multiple sources that would be needed to
approach this subject. The Norton Anthology provides a selection of texts dealing
with some of the issues discussed here. A good source of background material not
only for this Unit but for the course at large is Modernisms: An Anthology of
Sources and Documents (2000) edited by Vassiliki Kolocotroni et al.
 Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest (Norton 2000: 1761-1805)
constitutes the compulsory reading for this Unit.
 It is important to read The Importance of Being Earnest after the theoretical
sections of this Unit have been read and understood, and before undertaking the
study of section 1.v ‘The Earnestness to Break Free’. During their reading, students
should write down any connections they see between what has been discussed up
to that point and what happens in Wilde’s play. They then should compare their
notes with the discussion that follows.
 The best way to approach the contents of this Unit is by trying to enter into the
frame of mind of the ordinary citizen of the period. In this manner, students should
analyze their own responses to the different topics explored. It is a good idea to
write down these impressions and to draw imaginatively a general picture of the
many changes that the people of the era went through. The questions at the end of
the Unit will help students to pin down the most important ideas and help them to
understand the relationship between these and the literature of the time.

1.2. Introducción.

‘What is New in the "Modern Era"?’: It is important to notice that this textbook does
not deal solely with Modernism, but it also explores other forms of writing and avant-garde
movements that were present in the artistic scene between the 1880s and the Second
World War. If a word could summarise the period it would be ‘change’. This change was
brought about by a compulsion felt in all fields of knowledge to "make it new", to use Ezra
Pound's words.

1.3. Desarrollo de contenidos.

The 1851 Great Exhibition: The 1851 Great Exhibition at the brilliant, impressive and
magnificent Crystal Palace in London served to display the progress of a nation who had
achieved a leading role in the international sphere. Look for The Crystal Palace, or The
Great Exhibition of 1851: An Overview at:
http://www.victorianweb.org/victorian/history/1851/1851ov.html
The Liberals had been on the rise from 1830 to 1886. In 1868-74, after the second
Reform Act, Gladstone was Prime Minister of the reforming government. From 1874 to
1880 we see a Tory majority government under Disraeli. Gladstone governed again between
1880 and 1886 in what it were his second and third terms but was sunk by the Irish issue.
The turn of the century (1886-1906) is governed by the Tories, now known as the
‘Unionists’. This is also the period of the advent of Marxism and Britain entered into
competition with other countries, Germany and United States most prominently.

The policies of Liberal thinking included concern with issues such as:
1. The notion of Utilitarianism (put forward by Jeremy Bentham who advocated that
‘morals and legislation’ should aim at achieving ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’).
2. The notions of liberty and individualism (as expressed by John Stuart Mill in On
Liberty).
3. And a proposal for social reform (suggested by Edwin Chadwick) that entailed
economical policies of ‘retrenchment’, that is, minimal state expense and efficiency in
government finances.
4. Regarding economics the policies were those of free trade, anti-protection or laissez-
faire.
5. Some of the most important political reforms have to do with the People's Charter (he
Acts for the Representation of the People were debated at the turn of the century and gave,
in 1918, universal suffrage to men over twenty-one and limited female suffrage to some
women over thirty. Te Ballot Act of 1872 made voting a private affair for the first time.
Reforms to increase education and to improve working conditions and health.
At this time the most common form of entertainment was reading aloud. Writers like
Dickens, Tennyson, or Trollope were widely read and discussed. The advent of universal
compulsory education after 1870 meant that there was now a much larger audience for
literature. The emergence of an unsophisticated reading public meant that literature was
divided between ‘high art’ and ‘low art’ the latter meeting the demands of much of this new
readership.

The 'Irish Question': The question being whether or not the Irish should be allowed to
rule themselves. Gladstone was a constant activist for increased Irish autonomy, but his
views were not widely supported, and Irish extremists began a campaign of terrorism, the
fruits of which are still with us today. For an analysis of the Irish question check the
Victorian Web where you will find the following entries:

* Britain and Ireland 1789-1801: In 1789 the French Revolution began, and in 1793
France declared war against Britain. The ideas of the French Revolution — liberty, equality,
fraternity and democracy — plus the religious link, were favoured by the Irish, and Ireland
traditionally had been the back door to England. The Irish could see that religious
inequality had been abolished in France and that a democratic government had been set
up. Irish Roman Catholics wanted equality; Irish Protestants wanted parliamentary reform.
Both groups wanted economic reform.
Many moderate Irish politicians wanted Catholic Emancipation and parliamentary
reform, but thought that Ireland should support England in the crisis and wanted to
preserve the link with Britain. However, there were others who were more extreme in their
views. Among these were Theobald Wolfe Tone and Lord Edward Fitzgerald who formed the
United Irishmen in 1792 which aimed at "breaking the connection with England, asserting
the independence of our country, uniting all Irishmen in place of the denominations of
Protestants and Catholics." The organisation tried to unite Dissenters and Catholics
against Anglican rule, and it grew rapidly. Pitt moved equally quickly. In 1793 the Irish
parliament was persuaded to pass the Catholic Relief Act which gave Catholics the right to
vote. Voters still had to be 40/- freeholders, and Roman Catholics, although they could
stand as candidates, were not allowed to take a seat in parliament. Catholic voters could
realistically only vote for Protestants. Pitt's 1793 Act was only a part-solution.
In 1795 Earl Fitzwilliam was made Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He was a Whig and an
Irish absentee landowner who believed that Roman Catholics should have complete
political equality. This he announced as a policy which raised hopes in Ireland, but
Fitzwilliam was recalled within three months on the King's orders and in disgrace.
After 1795 there were increasing incidents of sectarian violence in Ireland, exacerbated
by the attempts of the United Irishmen to enlist French help in their struggle to free Ireland
from English control. The Protestants in Ireland formed the Orange to safeguard
Protestantism in Ireland which merely escalated the problem.
In May 1798 an Irish rising occurred with the avowed aim of Catholic Emancipation
and parliamentary reform. Many peasants joined because they wanted tithes to be
abolished; some educated men wanted independence. Pitt believed that Ireland could not
be allowed the luxury of an independent parliament, because the Irish might decide on an
independent nation and make Ireland a base for England's enemies. Pitt therefore decided
on an Act of Union which would totally tie Ireland to Great Britain
The 1801 Act of Union
In 1800 the Act of Union was passed by both the Irish and British parliaments despite
much opposition. It was signed by George III in August 1800 to become effective on 1
January 1801. Pitt intended to follow the Act of Union with other, more far reaching
reforms, including Catholic Emancipation, but was thwarted by George III, who refused to
break his Coronation Oath to uphold the Anglican Church. The 1801 Act of Union said that
* Ireland was to be joined to Great Britain into a single kingdom, the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland.
* the Dublin parliament was abolished. Ireland was to be represented at Westminster by
100 MPs, 4 Lords Spiritual and 28 Lords Temporal (all were Anglicans).
* the Anglican Church was to be recognised as the official Church of Ireland.
* there was to be free trade between Ireland and Britain.
* Ireland was to keep a separate Exchequer and was to be responsible for two-seventeenths
of the general expense of the United Kingdom.
* Ireland kept its own Courts of Justice and civil service.
* no Catholics were to be allowed to hold public office.
* there was to be no Catholic Emancipation.
Ruling Ireland direct from Westminster solved nothing. The union was a political
expedient in wartime, solving none of the grievances in Ireland over land, religion or
politics. It had no social dimension at all. Ireland's economic problems were also ignored.
The Act did increase the sense of grievance in Ireland however.
Pitt did not see the Act of Union as a solution to the Irish problem. He knew that social
and economic reforms were essential, as was Catholic Emancipation. George III refused to
allow full emancipation so Pitt resigned in protest because he had intended to follow the
Act of Union with reforms.
The Act became a liability rather than an asset. Peers holding Irish estates opposed
concessions to Roman Catholics, as did the King, because of vested interests and religious
bigotry. The threat to the status quo and potential violence together with patriotic zeal
against Catholics stopped full Catholic Emancipation and ended all Pitt's intended reforms.

* Another View: Why Ireland Wasn't a Colony: You have Ireland down as a colony on
your list in the British Empire section. This is incorrect. Ireland was one of the three
kingdoms of James I of England, VI of Scotland (the others being England and Scotland —
England including Wales at the time). He was king of Ireland, it was part of his realm, not a
foreign colony. Ireland has never been a British colony.
It has been invaded from the island of Great Britain (nearly as many times as people
from the island of Ireland have invaded Great Britain. Just ask St. Patrick, a Welshman
taken in slavery by the Irish) but it became part of the kingdom. This occured way before
the 1800 Act of Union.
 [It is always incorrect to speak of England as the name of the country, since] it is the
United Kingdom, or Britain, for short. That's the name of the country and has been since,
at the latest, 1707. To say England is to accept this view that England colonised Ireland
and Scotland (with Wales you may have a point). In fact a Scots king came to rule England,
James the first of England and Sixth of Scotland. So please don't say England did this and
England did that. As a scholar of the colonial period, I am sure you are well aware of the
disproportionately large amount of the Empire founded by Scots and Irish, especially in
India.
So it was Britain that did things. All of it. Yes people were treated badly in Ireland, but
no worse than in any other part of the country. Luddite rioters were shot in mill country in
the north of England. Parts of Cheshire had a famine at the same time as the Great
Famine. Only difference was the government didn't even bother to send a Trevelyan to
withold corn, they just let it run its course.

* The Irish Famine: 1845-49: The 'Great Hunger' was one of many famines in Ireland
during the first half of the nineteenth century, but the size of the disaster dwarfed those
that preceded it. A contemporary comment was that "God sent the blight, but the English
made the famine: and to some extent this was true because the governments of both Peel
and Lord John Russell did little to help the Irish population.
The Irish population had exploded in the first half of the nineteenth century, reaching
about 8.5 million by 1845. The peasants were almost totally dependent on the potato as a
source of food because this crop produced more food per acre than wheat and could also be
sold as a source of income. Because of the widespread practise of conacre, the peasants
needed to produce the biggest crop possible and so the type of potato most favoured was
the "Aran Banner," a large variety. Unfortunately, this particular strain was highly
susceptive to the fungus, Phytophthora infestans, commonly known as blight, which had
spread from North America to Europe. The blight destroyed the potato crop of 1845 and by
the early autumn of that year it was clear that famine was imminent in Ireland. Peel's
government was slow to react. Peel said that the Irish had a habit of exaggerating reports of
distress; since he had been Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1812 and 1818, his
experience might have told him that there might have had some truth in his comment, but
in 1816 he had produced a contingency plan for the government in case economic disaster
ever struck Ireland. Consequently his lack of action is difficult to explain.
During the winter of 1845-1846 Peel's government spent £100,000 on American maize
which was sold to the destitute. The Irish called the maize 'Peel's brimstone'. Eventually the
government also initiated relief schemes such as canal-building and road building to
provide employment. The workers were paid at the end of the week and often men had died
of starvation before their wages arrived. Even worse, many of the schemes were of little
used: men filled in valleys and flattened hills just so the government could justify the cash
payments. The Irish crisis was used as an excuse by Peel in order for him to the repeal the
Corn Laws in 1846, but their removal brought Ireland little benefit. The major problem was
not that there was no food in Ireland — there was plenty of wheat, meat and dairy produce,
much of which was being exported to England — but that the Irish peasants had no money
with which to buy the food. The repeal of the Corn Laws had no effect on Ireland because
however cheap grain was, without money the Irish peasants could not buy it.
Peel was replaced in office in June 1846 by Lord John Russell and a Whig
administration dedicated to a laissez-faire policy. Russell's administration believed that
Irish wealth should relieve Irish poverty, and rejected the policy of direct state intervention
or aid. However, neither Irish landlords nor the Poor Law unions could deal with the
burden of a huge starving population. In January 1847 Russell's administration modified
its non-interventionist policy and made money available on loan for relief, and soup
kitchens were established. The potato crop did not fail in 1847, but the yield was low.
Then, as hundreds of thousands of starving people poured into the towns and cities for
relief, epidemics of typhoid fever, cholera, and dysentery broke out, and claimed more lives
than starvation itself.
 In September 1847 Russell's government ended what little relief it had made available
and demanded that the Poor Law rate be collected before any further money be made
available by the Treasury. The collection of these rates in a period of considerable hardship
was accompanied by widespread unrest and violence. Some 16,000 extra troops were sent
to Ireland and troubled parts of the country were put under martial law. The potato crop
failed once more in 1848, and this was accompanied by Asiatic cholera
The 1841 census recorded an Irish population of 8.2 million. By 1851 this figure had
been reduced to 6.5 million. These statistics give some indication of the scale of the
disaster, but since many of those affected by the famine lived in remote and inaccessible
places, it is more than possible that far more people died that has ever been thought. It has
been estimated that at least one million people died from starvation and its attendant
diseases, with the balance seeking emigration to Britain and North America

* Anti-Irish Prejudice: During the nineteenth century theories of race were advanced both
by the scientific community and in the popular daily and periodical press. Even before
Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, the old concept of the great
chain of being, marking the gradations of mankind, was being subjected to a new scientific
racism. The "science "of phrenology purported to demonstrate that the structure of the
skull, especially the jaw formation and facial angles, revealed the position of various races
on the evolutionary scale, and a debate raged on whether there had been one creation for
all mankind (monogenism) or several (polygenism). "To a large extent, the story of racial
science in Britain between 1800 and 1850," Nancy Stepan writes "is the story of desperate
efforts to rebut polygenism and the eventual acceptance of popular quasi-polygenist
prejudices in the language of science" (30). Polygenists stressed the unequal nature of the
various creations and this theory mingled with general evolutionary theories and concepts
of arrested development to create an atmosphere congenial to racial stereotyping.
In much of the pseudo-scientific literature of the day the Irish were held to be inferior,
an example of a lower evolutionary form, closer to the apes than their "superiors", the
Anglo-Saxons . Cartoons in Punch portrayed the Irish as having bestial, ape-like or
demonic features and the Irishman, (especially the political radical) was invariably given a
long or prognathous jaw, the stigmata to the phrenologists of a lower evolutionary order,
degeneracy, or criminality. Thus John Beddoe, who later became the President of the
Anthropological Institute (1889-1891), wrote in his Races of Britain (1862) that all men of
genius were orthognathous (less prominent jaw bones) while the Irish and the Welsh were
prognathous and that the Celt was closely related to Cromagnon man, who, in turn, was
linked, according to Beddoe, to the "Africanoid". The position of the Celt in Beddoe's "Index
of Nigrescence" was very different from that of the Anglo-Saxon. These ideas were not
confined to a lunatic fringe of the scientific community, for although they never won over
the mainstream of British scientists they were disseminated broadly and it was even hinted
that the Irish might be the elusive missing link! Certainly the "ape-like" Celt became
something of an malevolent cliche of Victorian racism. Thus Charles Kingsley could write
I am haunted by the human chimpanzees I saw [in Ireland] . . . I don't believe they are
our fault. . . . But to see white chimpanzees is dreadful; if they were black, one would not
feel it so much. . . ." (Charles Kingsley in a letter to his wife, quoted in L.P. Curtis, Anglo-
Saxons and Celts, p.84).
Even seemingly complimentary generalizations about the Irish national character could,
in the Victorian context, be damaging to the Celt. Thus, following the work of Ernest
Renan's La Poésie des Races Celtiques (1854), it was broadly argued that the Celt was
poetic, light-hearted and imaginative, highly emotional, playful, passionate, and
sentimental. But these were characteristics the Victorians also associated with children.
Thus the Irish were "immature" and in need of guidance by others, more highly developed
than themselves. Irish "emotion" was contrasted, unfavorably, with English "reason", Irish
"femininity" with English "masculine" virtues, Irish "poetic" attributes with English
"pragmatism". These were all arguments which conveniently supported British rule in
Ireland.
 The Empire: British Empire in 1914. In red British Terrory, in blue, coaling stations:

Britain took control of key ports and islands around world, for example St Helena,
Malacca, St Lucia or Singapore. These ports and islands became the base for later
expansion into the rest of the territory (for example in Malaysia). The British Empire was
still expanding well into the twentieth century through protectorates (as in Lebanon or
Palestine).
The British Empire was the largest empire ever, consisting of over 25% of the world's
population and area. It included India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa,
Rhodesia, Hong Kong, Gibraltar, several islands in the West Indies and various colonies on
the African coast. In 1750 the population of Britain was 4 million. By 1851 it was 21
million. By 1900, Queen Victoria reigned over 410 million people. British Victorians were
excited by geographical exploration, by the opening up of Africa and Asia to the West, yet
were troubled by the intractable Irish situation and humiliated by the failures of the Boer
War.

The scramble for Africa: The scramble for Africa was fierce by 1884 as France, Britain,
Germany and Portugal had all staked claims on African territory within the previous five
years. From 15 November 1884 to 20 January 1885, the Berlin Conference, under the
chairmanship of Bismark, was convened to set up the rules of the scramble. On 26
February 1885, the decision had been made:
 Any sovereign power which wanted to claim any territory should inform the
other powers ‘in order to ... make good any claim of their own.’
 Any such annexation should be validated by effective occupation.
 Treaties with African rulers were to be considered a valid title to sovereignty.
There was no precedent in world history to justify one continent boldly talking about
the distribution and occupation of the territory of another continent:
A new sense of racial superiority had emerged in which the Europeans’ perception that
they had the right to do what they liked with Africa was only one manifestation. it is
worthwhile mentioning at this point Rudyard Kipling's poem, ‘The White Man's Burden’
(Kipling, 1895). Published in McClure's Magazine in February 1899, the poem appeared at
a critical moment in the debate about imperialism.
Find more at: http://www.cusd.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/scramble/

Queen Victoria Empress of India: In 1876, through a ‘Royal Title Act’, Queen Victoria
was declared Empress of India The British Empire was constantly being expanded. India,
known for its riches as ‘the Jewel of the Crown’, was thoroughly exploited.
 Industrial Revolution:
1. technological innovations in the production of textiles, iron and coal of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
2. a previous agricultural revolution had made Britain able to feed a larger population
creating a greater demand for manufactured goods.
3. the innovations in transport (canals, railways, ships) helped spread economic
development to more remote regions.
4. This gave rise to the notion of ‘leisure’ and encouraged the creation of ‘seaside
resorts’.
At the turn of the century artists, writers and playwrights were very critical about
Victorian achievements and beliefs. They mocked and challenged middle-class values such
as convention, respectability and the very notion of art. Artists felt alienated from the ruling
culture and expressed their disdain for what they saw as a ‘philistine’ public and moral
tastes. Wilde followed the Art for Art’s Sake doctrine: pursue fleeting beauty and pleasure
as ends in themselves. Polished, impressionistic images that appealed to the senses and a
desire to shock and challenge Victorian values dominated the arts. It is at this time when
the figure of the dandy and the effeminate man appear.

1.4. Autoevaluación.

I. Read the following definition and answer the question:

 How closely does Earnest fit this description?

II. Read Act III and answer the following five questions

1. How does the beginning of Act III set up the events of the last act?
2. The next scene involves all the major characters in the play. How does the scene
build up to a climax? What are some of the turning points of their conversation,
and why are hey important?
3. Prism and Chasuble’s return: what function does this serve? And how does this
entrance relate to their two previous ones?
4. How does the play end? Do you think it effectively resolves the action of the play,
or are there any loose ends?
1.5. Actividades para reforzar el conocimiento.

I. Answer in one page one of the following two questions:

I.1 “How is the concept of marriage treated in The Importance of Being Earnest?”
I.2 Find out what effect Oscar Wilde had on English culture, society and literature.

Help with the answer: Should include items like the following: Oscar Wilde lived from
1854 until 1900. He was well known as a playwright, novelist, essayist and general wit.
Wilde's studies led him to be a follower of the aesthetic movement. This movement believed
in "Art for Art's sake" as opposed to the Victorian view that art should be useful and moral.
Members of the aesthetic movement were not afraid to shock. Wilde's key works include:
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) Lady Windermere's Fan (1893) An Ideal Husband (1893)
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
When Wilde was prosecuted and imprisoned for homosexual acts in 1895 he famously
write The Ballad of Reading Gaol in 1898 as a reaction to his imprisonment. Wilde died in
France. Wilde could be said to have reached his artistic peak with The Importance of Being
Earnest. In this play, Wilde brilliantly uses wit and satire to project the dialogue of the
upper classes in society as hollow, all style and no substance.

1.6. Propuesta de ampliación de conocimientos.

 Reading Wilde, Querying Spaces: An Exhibition Commemorating the 100th

Anniversary of the Trials of Oscar Wilde - An exhibition and catalogue of essays
featuring first editions, autograph letters, photographs, periodicals, and ephemera
from the Fales Collection of English and American Fiction. The exhibit is grouped
according to ten themes of interest in the life and work of Oscar Wilde. (New York
University).
 Oscar Wilde: An Overview - A Wilde biography, a listing of on-line Wilde works, and
explorations of the themes, settings and philosophy of the Aesthetic and Decadent
movement(s) of late 19th century England are provided by the invaluable Victorian
Web. (Brown University).
 The Wild Wilde Web - A handy guide to Wilde and his works, this site contains a
biography, a collection of Wilde wit, a very comprehensive bibliography of works about
Wilde, a listing of works by Wilde, and a short but entertaining collection of comments
on Wilde.
 Wilde - The motion picture of the life of Oscar Wilde. A beautifully designed site that
includes readings of Wilde's works by actor Stephen Fry, a Wilde quiz, and insights
from the film's producers, screenwriter, director, and cast.
 Oscar Wilde "The Modern Messiah" - An account of Wilde's visit to San Francisco in
1882 that includes a nasty cartoon from the San Francisco Wasp. Be sure to read the
San Francisco Chronicle's review of Wilde's lecture on "Art Decoration" and local
humorist Ambrose Bierce's denunciation of Wilde (Museum of the City of San
Francisco).
 Oscar Wilde: The Spectacle of Criticism - Cornell University English professor Sandra
F. Siegel examines and compares public perceptions of the Wilde "legend" with the
facts. (Arts & Sciences Newsletter, Spring 1996 Vol. 17 No. 2)
 Oscar Wilde's 1895 Martyrdom - An examination of the events leading up to Wilde's
self-destructive libel suit and the trials, sentencing and imprisonment that followed.
 Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) - A biography of Oscar Wilde with a photograph of his
tombstone in Cimetière du Père Lachaise, located in the eastern arrondissement (civil
district) 20 of Paris. (WorldWide Cemetery).
 The Transfer of Oscar Wilde's Remains - Another view of Wilde's tomb with an account
of the transfer of his remains from his first interment in Bagneaux Cemetery to Père
Lachaise. (The Page of the Dead).
  Monty Python's Oscar Wilde Sketch - A classic! Oscar would have approved.
 Oscar Wilde Magazine - Details about subscriptions and contributions to Where the
Bluebird Sings, a privately printed, privately distributed, bimonthly magazine
dedicated to celebrating Oscar Wilde and his world. (H-Albion posting, Oct. 11, 1995)

1.7. Propuesta de trabajo individual o de grupo.

1. What do you think the author satirizes? (A few likely answers: upperclass society,
shallowness, idleness, social climbing, contempt for the lower classes.)
2. A theme that runs through this work is "dishonesty" on several levels: society
("masks") individual (Algernon, Jack) Do you agree? How is this theme
expressed?

1.8. Propuesta de discusión para foro y chat.

Does the play address the issues of social standing and class? For example, how does
Wilde's portrayal of Lady Bracknell differ from that of Miss Prism?
How are the interests of the women in this play different from those of the men?