Public Outcry In Oscar Wilde's The Picture

The homosexual suggestions of The Picture incite criticisms, mostly of righteous anger and criticism. Throughout the Victorian Era movements for strong moral values dominated opposed to greed, exploitation and cynicism. Wilde’s the novel developed during this time. The 1890 date of publishing of The Picture implies that any kind of homoerotic relationships were very much forbidden. Therefore, the only novel of Oscar Wilde caused a public outcry in a pious Victorian England. The typical idealistic image of behavior and modesty inherent to old-time Victorian England was discredited in the novel. The radical ideas the novel contained evoked a conflict between moral rules of the Victorian society and new controversial concepts raised in the book.