DAILYSTAGE
  • Movies & Series
  • Music & Podcasts
  • Books & Stories
  • Arts & Hobbies
  • Movies & Series
  • Music & Podcasts
  • Books & Stories
  • Arts & Hobbies
No Result
View All Result
DAILYSTAGE
No Result
View All Result
Home Books & Stories

The Life and Loves of Oscar Wilde

The Life and Loves of Oscar Wilde
Share on FacebookShare on Pinterest

Oscar Wilde paid a hard price for being himself. His brilliant intellect and personal magnetism brought him fame and fortune; his passionate loves brought him pain and poverty. In his Victorian era life, he was the equivalent of tabloid fodder, complete with the requisite money, success, larger-than-life romances, scandal, and tragic ending.

Unconventional Parents

Oscar was born to Lady Jane and Sir William Wilde in October, 1854. His mother was a well-known Irish poet and outspoken nationalist. She was also an avid, earthy socialite, and she didn’t host polite Victorian tea parties. Instead, she gathered a myriad of characters into her salon for infamous parties. Liquor, stories, debates, and ‘scandalous’ conversation ruled the day.

Little Oscar loved these gatherings. He would sit quietly and listen to everything being discussed. He would watch the carefree behaviors that defied rigid social norms. As he grew, he delighted in working the room, perfectly comfortable in this bohemian atmosphere.

Sir William Wilde also had a reputation for living life on his own terms. He as a successful eye and ear surgeon, but his interests went far beyond his medical practice. He studied archeology and delved into Irish folklore.

Besides his intellectual pursuits, he loved liquor and women. As a bachelor he was a ladies’ man, fathering a number of illegitimate kids. Tragically they all died young, so they didn’t figure in Oscar’s life.

Source: Wikipedia

Lady Loves

Among the glittering guests at his mother’s parties was the beautiful socialite Florence Balcombe. Oscar fell hard for the lovely young woman. Many gossips predicted the two would wed soon. But another writer usurped Oscar’s place. Bram Stoker, most famous for writing Dracula, wooed Florence and stole her heart.

The love triangle became titillating fodder for Victorians in search of a good scandal. Not for the last time Oscar’s love life would be held up to public display and judgment. When he found out about Stoker, he wrote Florence a long letter.

Among other things he said he was leaving Ireland forever because of her. He spent the rest of his life apart from his Emerald Isle except for a few quick visits.

Oscar did find another lady love, Constance Lloyd. They married and had two children. Oscar delighted in being a dad, but he copied his father’s pattern of many lovers and a fondness for liquor. Constance was not his last love by any means.

The Time of His Life

At the pinnacle of his success, Oscar was toasted wherever he went. His successful writing like The Importance of Being Ernest and The Portrait of Dorian Gray earned him literary respect, fame, and wealth.

He entertained like his mother had. A lover of fashion and interior design, his drawing room boast a bright blue ceiling adorned with painted dragons and plastic walls inlaid with vibrant peacock feathers.

Oscar had the ability to win people over effortlessly. People adored his witty conversation, good looks, confidence, and charm. Lovers abounded, both male and female.

But it was this living life on his own terms that would eventually end his life tragically soon.

Source: George Charles Beresford
by George Charles Beresford, sepia-toned platinotype, 1903

The Scandal of the Decade

The greatest love of Oscar’s life was the young and handsome Lord Alfred Douglas, affectionately nicknamed “Bosie.” Begun in 1891, their passionate relationship was stormy and barely hidden. Bosie’s father, the Marquess of Queensberry, vehemently disapproved of the affair.

He forbade his son to see Oscar and embarked on a smear campaign, accusing Wilde of homosexuality. Against the advice of his friends, Oscar fought back and sued the Marquess for libel. He eventually dropped the charges to prevent Bosie from having to testify against his father.

But the ongoing court battles became the scandalous sensation of the decade.

The Marquess produced intimate letters Oscar had written to Bosie. Wilde was promptly arrested for homosexuality and 25 counts of gross indecency. The public followed every salacious detail of the trial, condemning Oscar as vehemently as they had praised him.

Jail and After

Oscar was sentenced to two years hard labor. When he was released, he lived in virtual poverty, subsisting on a small allowance from his ex-wife and a few donations from close friends. He moved from cheap hotel to cheaper hotel.

He died in one of these hotels in Paris on November 30, 1900 from complications of meningitis. Bosie paid for his funeral expenses.

Conclusions

His lavish gravestone features a sphinx like creature inspired by his poem “Sphinx.” The statue includes male anatomical parts, which probably would have delighted Wilde. In an odd tribute, fans who visited his grave kissed the stone with bright lipstick, another tribute he would have appreciated.

His descendants eventually cleaned the gravestone in 2011 and had a glass barrier erected to prevent future smooches.

Today Wilde is remembered as a brilliant author and tragic victim of a homophobic era, living true to himself in a society that could not accept him as he was.

Previous Post

Throwback Thursday: Top 10 Hits from the 80’s

Next Post

5 Artists That Have Changed the Way We Look at Art

Related Posts

Book series
Books & Stories

15 Best Book Series You Should Start Reading

October 31, 2020
classic literature
Books & Stories

Classic Books You Read as a Student That You Should Read Again as an Adult

September 5, 2020
feral children
Books & Stories

Stories of Feral Children: 5 Kids that Grew Up in Extreme Isolation

August 11, 2020
covid-19
Books & Stories

How I’m Coping With COVID-19

July 26, 2020
travel story
Books & Stories

10 Books That Will Take You On a Trip Across the World

July 12, 2020
Man Saves Beagle From Euthanasia in Shelter, Dog Shows Infinite Gratitude to his Savior
Books & Stories

Man Saves Beagle From Euthanasia in Shelter, Dog Shows Infinite Gratitude to his Savior

July 12, 2020
Next Post
5 Artists That Have Changed the Way We Look at Art

5 Artists That Have Changed the Way We Look at Art

Recommended

Want to Write Your Own Book? Here’s How To Go About It

Want to Write Your Own Book? Here’s How To Go About It

10 months ago
The 10 Best BingeWorthy Shows on Netflix

The 10 Best BingeWorthy Shows on Netflix

10 months ago
sidewalk chalk art

Sidewalk Chalk Art: Places with IG-Worthy Chalk Art

5 months ago
5 Daily Vocal Exercises For Aspiring Singers

5 Daily Vocal Exercises For Aspiring Singers

10 months ago

Advertisement

No Result
View All Result

Highlights

25 Things You Didn’t Know About “Clueless”

Macramé Decor: Guide to Basic Macrame Knots for Beginners

Video Streaming Services: How to Choose the Right One for You

15 Best Book Series You Should Start Reading

Creative Ways Teachers are Making Social Distancing Fun in the Classroom

Sidewalk Chalk Art: Places with IG-Worthy Chalk Art

Trending

tips for busy people
Arts & Hobbies

12 Tips For Busy People

by domains-admin
January 3, 2021
0

When you're busy and overwhelmed by stress it's easy to blame yourself when things go wrong. However,...

stress management

4 Practical Ways to Address Stress

December 5, 2020
Vocal Exercises to Improve Your Singing Skills

Vocal Exercises to Improve Your Singing Skills

October 31, 2020
Clueless Movie

25 Things You Didn’t Know About “Clueless”

October 30, 2020
Macramé

Macramé Decor: Guide to Basic Macrame Knots for Beginners

October 30, 2020
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Disclaimer
© Dailystage All Rights Reserved
No Result
View All Result
  • Categories
    • Movies & Series
    • Music & Podcasts
    • Books & Stories
    • Arts & Hobbies
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Disclaimer