Double Standards In Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband

In Caitlin Flanagan’s Is There Hope for the American Marriage, she establishes the foundation for what the American Marriage means in today’s world by arguing that marriages are likely to collapse over time. With this being said, Flanagan goes on to depict the fragility of marriage during times of adversity, and how susceptible the couples can be when searching for alternative bonds from people other than their own partner, even if it means making moral sacrifices. Through a series of anecdotes from sources like herself to politicians, she further expands on this idea that the ideal marriage is nothing but a hoax for the likelihood of publicity. Flanagan includes sources from sociologists, such as Andrew J. Cherlin and Maria Kefalas, both whom

Stephen Medvic, In Defense of Politicians, discusses why Americans feel that politicians are dishonest. In 2007, a Gallup poll about honesty and ethical standards for occupations, showed that only 12 and 9 percent of people felt that Congressmen and State office holders held high standards, (Medvic p. 2). In addition, Americans tend to like their representatives more than the members of Congress because they view them as actual people. Americans view Congress as a group of politicians who are greedy and not representing their interests, (Medvic p. 4).

Applied anthropology is a concentration within the anthropology discipline. Applied anthropologist strive to learn about specific cultures, solve collective issues, and influence human social conditions. Through the application of data, theories, and methods they help better understand many social problems. Within each subdisiciplines of anthropology, there are applied anthropologist who help to better understand and directly deal the people of the culture or group. They use their practical knowledge and incorporate it to whatever environment they may be in. In specific, applied anthropologist in cultural anthropology observe the culture and their practices, listen to what the community wants, and supports them using their own professional skills.

Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which Wilde’s claims are valid.

Accepting one’s shame inevitably generates a sense of expiation and even plants the seeds for the nurturing of newfound self-regard and self-esteem. That is why he right away bids Elizabeth to tell him “what would” she “have” him “do”, as well as appeals to her to have her “forgiveness”. The latter request denotes John’s urgent need to alleviate his own guilt and be able to believe again in and act pursuant his reaffirmed “goodness”, his identity as John Proctor. Moreover, John’s obvious concern about his soul’s fate in this act testifies to the definitive passing of his nihilistic crisis (e.g. “it is a vanity that will not blind God” he says when referring to the potential hazards of choosing not to confess), while his preoccupation with his posthumous reputation (“my name I cannot sign” he says when he decides to confess but realizes that his name will be forever maligned owing to his false confession being publicly known) shows a man who is looking ahead, to the future, not someone who has lost all hope and has withdrawn from

Most people are taught from a young age what is right, and what is wrong. These teachings set up the basis for later discovering one’s personal values. In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, these same principles are applied and challenged by Wilde. Not only does he question morality and human nature, but also the ideas of the Aesthetic movement- which influenced the ideals and behavior of Dorian Gray. Through Dorian’s morally ambiguous character, Wilde asserts that one is not purely good or evil, but a mixture of the two; Wilde establishes this theme when Dorian breaks up with Sibyl Vane, murders Basil Hallward, and stabs his decaying portrait.

At the time he delivered his lecture on Chatterton, Oscar Wilde’s career was transforming. He was transitioning from the performances he had honed during four solid years of addressing countless audiences and was developing, with greater energy than ever before, his profile as an accomplished author, critic, and editor. His discovery of Chatterton stands at the center of these changes. Paying close attention to Chatterton enabled Wilde to understand that the astonishing inventiveness of the Rowley forgeries evinced the imaginative impulse that inspired the finest forms of imaginative literature. Exploiting the links between imagination, authenticity, and truth, Chatterton’s artistic originality arose in fabrications that conjured a literary past that historically never existed.

The playwriter Oscar Wilde sexual philosophies are reinforced throughout his play, The Importance of Being Ernest. Wilde’s characters and choices of stage direction evoke a tone of sexuality and deviance. The characters’ social belief’s and identities are in parallel with the Literary Queer Theory on many key points.

    In spite of the novel's heterosexual text, many critics agree that it has various homosexual elements in its characters, in the dialogues, and even in the portrait itself. One of the critics, Richard Dellamora, mentions this feature of the text, and comments that "By definition this context is heterosexual. Wotton is married and pursues actresses. Basil himself is a graduate of Oxford, a well-established artist, and respectable to a fault" (28). However, he also remarks the intensity of male friendships, and referring to Basil, he continues "Later, he repeatedly enjoins Dorian to conformity. Both older men live in a network of male friendships that ramify through the novel "

While those of the Victorian upper class were usually the most refined and intelligent, Wilde portrays them as ignorant and dense. One of the most well described ladies, Miss Prism, is shown to be the least aware. “The most cultivated of ladies, and the very picture of respectability”(63). She is ultimately the most absent minded and leaves baby Jack in a handbag in a cloak room of a major railway station. Through Miss Prism, Wilde is able to propagandize the intelligence the aristocrats usually embody. In addition to this, Wilde refutes the morality of the Victorian elite. The main two characters, Jack and Algernon, are deceptive and are rarely seen to have any morals. Reviewing this play with a sociological/Marxist perspective provides insight on how Wilde wants others to perceive the elite of

Wilde uses satire especially with the idea of marriage. In the society that he lived in, marriage is seen as a business arrangement. When Lady Bracknell questioned Jack to determine if he is suitable for her daughter, she

In chapter 20 of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian reflects on his past crimes and wonders whether he will ever change and retrieve his innocence again. Throughout the final chapter of the novel, the elements of Gothic novel that Wilde explores conveys the idea of the pursuit of individualism. Dorian’s wild, racing emotions clearly show how much he is driven by his readiness to fulfill his desires under any circumstance. Through this, the use of specific words and punctuation markings highlight Dorian’s personal yearning of removing himself from his past.

The genre of comedy, throughout the history of dramatic art has always served to not only entertain audiences, but to make them aware of their own individual flaws, or flaws that exist in society. (Weitz, E.) Comedy has no precise definition, and its boundaries are broad. One function of comedy however has remained the same - to hold up a mirror to the society of the time but through pleasure, inviting audiences to reflect and also providing amusement. Set in the late nineteenth century, the play An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (1895) epitomises comedy, as both a literary and dramatic genre. Wilde was masterful in his ability to combine aspects of evolved comedic traditions and dramatic conventions to critique Victorian society. Drawing on characteristics of Greek and Roman tragicomedy, the choices in the play’s plot involves elements of tragedy as well as scenes that serve as comic relief and give the audience a sense of finality through a happy resolution. (Bureman, L) Focussing on the upper class stratum, Wilde employs a comedy of manners Molière style, of the Restoration Period in the seventeenth century in the play by combining forms of comedy with aspects of realist drama. The portrayal of archetypal figures such as Lady Chiltern and Lord Goring satirize rigid moral value of the time and expose their hypocrisies, through dialogue involving irony, wit and humour. Elements of farce and disguises characterized by ‘commedia dell’arte’, a form of comedy first developed in

Hedonism is the “pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle” (Dictionary.com). In Oscar Wilde’s, the Picture of Dorian Gray, the story revolves around a young lad named, Dorian Gray. Throughout the story, three recurring characters appear which are Basil, Dorian, and Lord Henry. The three begin a discourse on philosophy whilst Basil refutes Lord Henry’s hedonistic philosophies. Gray damns the picture, stating that whatever ailments of age may affect him may be put onto the picture. Basil pleads Dorian not to be influenced by the figure Lord Henry, yet Dorian is so infatuated by his ideals that he cannot resist the temptation. Later on, Gray begins to act more and more selfishly, committing many atrocities such as, leading young men away from diligence, slaining an actress, and murdering the artist of the picture, Basil. Guilt consumes Gray as his actions alter the picture into a horror. Planning to end it all, Gray gives the picture one last stab, unknowingly reversing the curse the picture held and unleashing his own knife upon himself. In Wilde’s, the Picture of Dorian Gray, hedonism is an attribute that inevitably precipitates consequence and is proved through literary devices, epigrams, and themes to ultimately discourage the audience from succumbing to fleshly desire.

    "I turned half way around and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself" (7). During the Victorian era, this was a dangerous quote. The Victorian era was about progress. It was an attempt aimed at cleaning up the society and setting a moral standard. The Victorian era was a time of relative peace and economic stability (Marshall 783). Victorians did not want anything "unclean" or "unacceptable" to interfere with their idea of perfection. Therefore, this quote, taken from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray,