Oscar Wilde's Dandyism in His Comedies

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  • SASAI Kei
    Faculty of Home Economics, Japan Women's University

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  • オスカー・ワイルドの喜劇にみるダンディズム
  • オスカー ワイルド ノ キゲキ ニ ミル ダンディズム

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Abstract

In this essay, I will explain dandyism represented in Oscar Wilde's comedies, examining the lines and photos of dandy characters and comparing three characters in his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde says in his letter, ‘Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks to me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.’ In his comedies, there are many dandies: they show ‘narcissism,’ ‘revolt against the society and moral,’ ‘pursuit of modernism,’ ‘aesthetics of decadence’ and ‘voluntary spirit.’ Lord Darington in The Lady Windermere's Fan and Lord Illingworth in A Woman of No Importance are decadents who revolt against society. They resemble Lord Henry. Lord Goring in An Ideal Husband is narcissist but he saves his friend voluntarily. He is the same as Basil who is conscious about real life. Jack and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest pursue pleasure in an imaginary life which resembles the fantastic life of eternal beauty in Dorian. As a result, Wilde wants to show his dandyism to describe many types of dandies in his comedies. These dandies, narcissists, create fashion with perfect attire. The most important dandy attire are the necktie and the buttonhole. In those days, the necktie was necessary for any man of society. The buttonhole was made of natural flowers, and was changed two or three times during the evening. Because they are so fragile, they symbolized the dandyism of Wilde.

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