tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post8628410677203397387..comments2024-03-29T15:04:20.549+11:00Comments on ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly: Oscar Wilde in Paris: insensitive or nasty?Helshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-49242093642078692512016-06-07T18:51:48.653+10:002016-06-07T18:51:48.653+10:00I knew Wilde loved French literary movements and a...I knew Wilde loved French literary movements and authors but I didn't know (or I didn't remember) that he was equally fluent in English, Germany and French. You have to admire really talented linguists!Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-1404674727622446952016-06-06T17:43:43.140+10:002016-06-06T17:43:43.140+10:00When Wilde was released from his British gaol in 1...When Wilde was released from his British gaol in 1897, why did he flee to France?<br /><br />Oscar Wilde was educated at home, where a French and a German governess taught him their languages - he became fluent in both. As a young writer, Wilde drew a lot of inspiration from French literary movements and authors. He had already written a play in French entitled Salome' which was translated into English in 1894 and performed in Paris in 1896. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) was inspired by Gothic literature which Wilde coupled with elements from French decadent fiction. <br /><br />There was no other country in which he would have wanted to revive his career and be visited by loyal friends.<br /><br />Sophie Garner-RobertsFrance Magazinehttp://www.completefrance.com/holidays-in-france/holidays/april_2016_issue_of_france_magazine_out_now_1_4431111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-24909691176892150562013-03-26T10:53:43.960+11:002013-03-26T10:53:43.960+11:00This post started with Oscar Wilde's arrival i...This post started with Oscar Wilde's arrival in Paris in 1894. For an analysis of his earlier years at home in Britain, see the blog Willowbrook Park:<br />http://willowbrookpark.blogspot.com.au/2010/02/oscar-wilde-malmaison-and-french-empire.htmlHelshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-91251400095920861082012-01-28T10:52:13.432+11:002012-01-28T10:52:13.432+11:00STAG,
I don't agree with that sentiment in ge...STAG,<br /><br />I don't agree with that sentiment in general, but I particularly don't agree with it in Oscar Wilde's case. <br /><br />If Wilde had been a working journalist or had a role where he wanted to be at the centre of nasty right wing politics, I MIGHT understand. But he seemed to be provocative for its own sake.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-67851435183435771952012-01-28T01:43:50.460+11:002012-01-28T01:43:50.460+11:00Nice guys finish last.Nice guys finish last.STAGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06198646624631167489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-45295849364046958182012-01-23T09:10:24.352+11:002012-01-23T09:10:24.352+11:00Chris
agreed. It is extremely difficult to guess ...Chris<br /><br />agreed. It is extremely difficult to guess at anyone's motives, even people very close to us. Motives are often murky, contradictory and not thought out carefully. And they often seem quite primitive.<br /><br />You are quite right to point out his hideous experiences in Reading Gaol and his diminished circumstances in Paris. His wife and children were gone, and his passion for the awful Bosie was not returned. My motives might be a bit primitive in those circumstances as well.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-74250459907427360492012-01-23T08:17:54.026+11:002012-01-23T08:17:54.026+11:00Your post reminded me of something I've been t...Your post reminded me of something I've been thinking about for a long time and of a post I did a couple of years ago.<br /><br />I will post it tomorrow and link to you.ChrisJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13139508470517226199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-45446300549884969502012-01-23T07:27:55.745+11:002012-01-23T07:27:55.745+11:00Given Wilde's beliefs about life and Art, abou...Given Wilde's beliefs about life and Art, about lying and artificiality, and about the suppression of virtue, etc., it is extremely difficult to even guess at his motives.<br /><br />It's not that we shouldn't censure him for possible wrongs, just that trying to figure out his thoughts and motives, even in his diminished circumstances would seem to lead through an odd contrary maze.ChrisJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13139508470517226199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-63751311350429942332012-01-23T02:44:06.994+11:002012-01-23T02:44:06.994+11:00Kristin,
of course you loved Wilde's writing....Kristin,<br /><br />of course you loved Wilde's writing. Who does not? I did Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest as a student, and thought Wilde was the wittiest writer ever. I still do.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-27489775756231939722012-01-23T02:28:13.142+11:002012-01-23T02:28:13.142+11:00Interesting. A complete new perspective for me and...Interesting. A complete new perspective for me and I who love the book "Picture of Dorian Gray"Kristin Hhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13508574259676709949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-26392460483219414442012-01-22T11:43:10.659+11:002012-01-22T11:43:10.659+11:00Emm
you may well be correct. But I expect heroism...Emm<br /><br />you may well be correct. But I expect heroism from my heroes, not apathy and certainly not right wing reactionary behaviour. Wilde, of all people, should have known better. Look at the deeply shocking way the British justice system had treated him!Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-74241876264140785842012-01-22T08:08:47.553+11:002012-01-22T08:08:47.553+11:00What a great post, as always! I think perhaps we&#...What a great post, as always! I think perhaps we'll never know Wilde's own feelings but it seems to me he was rather apathetic, at best, which can often be the most damning conclusion. He would then join the long line of Europeans who stood by and allowed the on-going persecution of Jews, paving the way for disaster years later.Emmhttp://missus-emm.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-56820010087015910492012-01-22T01:39:59.309+11:002012-01-22T01:39:59.309+11:00ILoveParis,
The Guardian said (Nov 2011) that kiss...ILoveParis,<br />The Guardian said (Nov 2011) that kissing Oscar's tomb on the Paris tourist circuit has become a cult pastime, which is proving impossible to break. Even if one could catch someone in flagrante delicto, most perpetrators are probably tourists, so they would be home before the French authorities could bring them to court.<br /><br />So you are correct. But why are most of the admirers at Wilde's Paris tomb women?Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-37661617770696578822012-01-22T01:34:47.242+11:002012-01-22T01:34:47.242+11:00Hermes
agreed. But Paris was tearing itself apart...Hermes<br /><br />agreed. But Paris was tearing itself apart at the time of the Dreyfus trial. There was every possibility that the ongoing affair could bring the French government to its knees. As a very recently arrived outsider, Oscar Wilde was unwise to become so enmeshed in divisive, local politics.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-57297172812801729262012-01-22T01:02:03.736+11:002012-01-22T01:02:03.736+11:00Wilde only survived 3 years in France, yet his Par...Wilde only survived 3 years in France, yet his Paris tomb is always surrounded by flowers and respectful people. They seemed to have taken him into their hearts.ILoveParisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-59318940485266728732012-01-21T20:05:16.716+11:002012-01-21T20:05:16.716+11:00Fascinating which I must read carefully. I suspect...Fascinating which I must read carefully. I suspect Wilde reflected both upper class British attitudes of the time and his own pronounced self-interest. Some of the children's books of the time are truly disgusting with Jews presented as evil.Hermeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00968366076064269729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-3979111988163369292012-01-21T09:39:19.096+11:002012-01-21T09:39:19.096+11:00Jane and Lance
where does historical truth lie? U...Jane and Lance<br /><br />where does historical truth lie? Unless participants in an historical event write down their goals and tactics, later generations will never know the whole truth. And even written records have been known to lie!<br /><br />Count Ferdinand Esterhazy might have been a scumbag, but at least we understand his goals. Oscar Wilde's goals are much more confused, I think.Helshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02849907428208235392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3067098918914268503.post-79164784741708440322012-01-21T08:23:33.091+11:002012-01-21T08:23:33.091+11:00Hello Helen:
What webs of intrigue you reveal to u...Hello Helen:<br />What webs of intrigue you reveal to us here and where does the truth lie? Perhaps, however, the real interest is not in knowing the absolute rights or wrongs but in the contrasting of differing opinions and in surmising what could have been the case.Jane and Lance Hattatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16831890261259302647noreply@blogger.com