Wilde's Autobiography (Illustrated Collector's Edition)

Author: Oscar Wilde
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: A century after Wilde's comedies, they still bring roaring laughter to London audiences. His witty sayings are still frequently quoted, evoking a knowing smile and never seeming dated. For decades, his biographies have led curious readers from Dublin to Oxford, from London to Paris, retracing the real and illusory world of this Irish genius. — Yu Guangzhong
Wilde's De Profundis is a long letter written to his homosexual partner, Douglas. It was composed in the last few months of Wilde's imprisonment, and he was only allowed to use paper and pen near the end of his sentence, but only once a piece of blue prison paper the size of a half-sheet. The letter is filled with Wilde's complex emotions toward Douglas, as well as his artistic and philosophical views. For Wilde, prison was not the beginning of a new life, nor was it a place of repentance to seek social forgiveness. Prison was merely a testament to the poet being completely abandoned by life. The former rebel had now become a desperate figure struggling in the mire of sorrow. Completely isolated, Wilde longed to reestablish his connection with the world, and the only thing that could do so was sorrow. Sorrow brought him another leap in artistic understanding, becoming a new extreme way for him to grasp life. Sorrow fulfilled his value as a "man." He believed that the great meaning of life lay hidden in sorrow, and that people could find joy in sorrow. Thus, he sang the praises of "enjoying life in sorrow."
As a representative of aestheticism in late 19th-century Britain, Wilde's life was marked by both the glory of his extraordinary talent, which made him the center of attention, and the tragic downfall into a spiritual hell due to his unrestrained and infamous behavior. In moments of happiness, he was a carefree bird freely feasting on the fruits of joy in the heavens and earth. In moments of indulgence, he was a Satan diving into the depths of hell to seize a reputation. In moments of sorrow, he was a saint weeping all day, heartbroken and grief-stricken. Wilde was such a contradictory being. To dissect this complex duality is to gain profound insight into the personality of a genius and to understand the "personality" of the era in which he lived.
Born into an illustrious family in Dublin, Wilde was the second son, with the full name Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde. His father, Sir William Wilde, was a surgeon, and his mother was a poet and writer. Wilde was an excellent student and won a scholarship to Trinity College, Dublin. In 1874, he entered Magdalen College, Oxford. At Oxford, Wilde was influenced by the aesthetics of Walter Pater and John Ruskin, and he encountered the philosophy of the New Hegelians, Darwin's theory of evolution, and the works of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which set the direction for his later career as a pioneer of aestheticism. Although young Wilde had not yet won a literary award, his striking attire, witty remarks, and eccentric personality had already made him a small celebrity in society, with some magazines even publishing satirical articles about him. In 1882, Wilde gave a brilliant lecture tour in the United States. Two years later, he married Constance Lloyd, and their sons, Cyril and Vyvyan, were born in 1885 and 1886, respectively. In 1887, Wilde became the editor-in-chief of a women's magazine, where he published some of his novels, essays, and poems.
Wilde's works were renowned for their exquisite language, original ideas, and clear perspectives. His novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, published in 1891, and his essay The Soul of Man Under Socialism, also from 1891, were both highly successful. However, it was his plays that truly brought Wilde fame. It can be said that every one of his plays was warmly received, with a period when three of his works were simultaneously performed on London stages. The upper-class British society of Queen Victoria's era was corrupt and decadent, with intense conflicts between old and new trends. Wilde's free-spirited and bold political views quickly made him a victim of this conflict. In 1895, the Marquess of Queensberry, upon learning of his son Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas's association with Wilde, publicly accused Wilde of being a "somdomite." Enraged, Bosie demanded Wilde sue the Marquess for libel, but Wilde not only failed to win the lawsuit but was also charged with "committing acts of gross indecency." Under the harsh criminal laws of the time, Wilde was convicted and served two years of hard labor in Reading and Belvoir prisons. During these two years, Wilde ceased his playwriting and instead conceived of The Ballad of Reading Gaol and his confessional De Profundis, in which the influence of aestheticism was no longer discernible.
While Wilde was imprisoned, Constance and the two children changed their surname to Holland and moved to Italy, while most of his friends avoided him, with only a few, such as the playwright George Bernard Shaw, standing up for him. Upon his release in 1897, Wilde immediately left Britain, utterly disillusioned and with no desire to return. Later, he attempted to reunite with Constance for the sake of the children, but Bosie also expressed a desire to reconcile with Wilde. Ultimately, Wilde abandoned the two children and chose to be with Bosie. During his time in France under a pseudonym, Wilde completed and published The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Afterward, he traveled with Bosie through Italy, but the two separated again after a few months. In 1900, Wilde finally converted to Catholicism with the help of his friend Robert "Robbie" Ross. He died on November 30, 1900, in the H?tel d’Alsace in Paris, at the age of 46, accompanied only by Robbie and another friend.
[Editor] Representative Works
MissingimageWildfilm.jpgWildfilm
[Editor] Novels
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)
The Soul of Man Under Socialism (1891)
De Profundis (1897. Originally a long letter written to Douglas, published in 1905 after Wilde's death)
[Editor] Collections of Fairy Tales
The Happy Prince and Other Tales (1888)
A House of Pomegranates (1891)
[Editor] Poetry
Poems (1881)
Sphinx (1894)
The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898. Wilde's poetry is filled with exaggerated metaphors, ancient literary language, and the rhythms of folk songs, with subtle descriptions of sensuality and desire, reflecting the characteristics of aesthetic poetry)
[Editor] Plays
Vera (1880)
Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)
The Duchess of Padua (1893)
Salomé (1893. Written in French)
A Woman of No Importance (1892. Premiered at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1893)
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895)
An Ideal Husband (1895)
[Editor] The Dissemination of Wilde's Works in China
Architect Wang Daliang translated The Picture of Dorian Gray into Du Liankui, with the setting changed to Taipei at the time.