Oscar Wilde Research Paper

Oscar Wilde and His Dandies ——Taking The Importance of Being Earnest as example

Abstract: Oscar Wilde (1854---1900) was the outstanding playwright, novelist, essayist, and poet at the end of 19th century. He devoted himself to the “Art for Art’s Sake” movement, and had influenced the British literary field for the whole century. One of his most distinguishing writing features is dandies in his works. This article here, divided into three parts, introduces and analyzes the truth of the Wildean dandies in his most famous play The Importance of Being Earnest and explores his understandings of his age.
Key words: dandies; double-life; Narcissism; Nihilism
Body:
Oscar Fingal O`Flahertie
Historically, especially in late 18th and early 19th century Britain, a dandy, who was self-made, often strove to imitate an upper-class lifestyle despite coming from a middle-class background.
Dandies, in fact, indicate those "people with spirits" ` rebels against traditional aristocracy and vulgarity. They are intellectuals in artistic life who do not want to associate with new uprising bourgeoisies. They have very distinctive qualities like elegance, self-mastery, aplomb, independence, wit, self-mocking, dignity, caprice and discriminating taste. All of these qualities make them seemingly perfect both in physical appearance and inner world to fight against those traditional values, a bit like nowadays hippies.
1.2 Social
I have invented an invaluable permanent invalid called Bunbury, in order that I may be able to go down into the country whenever I choose. Bunbury is perfectly invaluable. If it wasn’t for Bunbury’s extraordinary bad health, for instance, I wouldn’t be able to dine with you at Willis’s to-night, for I have been really engaged to Aunt Augusta for more than a week.
In fact, this mask-wearing life is a reflection of Epicureanism. These dandies just want to have fun and enjoy their life all the time which is a strong contrast with puritanism at Victorian Age.
2.2. The Narcissism of Wildean dandies
Narcissism describes the trait of excessive self-love based on self-image or ego. The famous psychologist Sigmund Freud believed that narcissism is an essential part of all of us from birth and was the first to use the term in the reference to psychology.
In fact, narcissism is not a harmful sin to dandies and Wilde always uses it wisely for amusement and profound epigrams. At the beginning of The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon was playing the piano and ask Lane about his playing.
Algernon: I’m sorry for that, for your sake. I don’t play accurately—any one can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for