Lady Windermere's Fan (1892)

Author: Oscar Wilde  |  Page Count: 152*

"In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."

The events in Oscar's play about a 'Good Woman’ occur over a twenty-four hour period in Victorian London. It's a short work, divided into four Acts: the time spent by Lady Windermere and her husband before a coming of age birthday ball hosted by the couple; the party itself; the aftermath; and the resolutions of the following morning/afternoon. That's ample time for drama and scandal to erupt.

The ball is attended by a select gentry, but strip away the mannered social standings and tailored suits and it's like every party everywhere, filled with two-faced gossip, hypocrisy, nonchalance, indignation and unwarranted observations by caustic people who would chide a speaker for doing the same. The self-indulgent concerns of rich-folks could've been a real bore if not for Oscar's piercing wit to spice it up; he made the verbal meanderings of dull people seem exciting. Under attack are the conventions of marriage, among other things.

The juxtapositions and sarcasms that Wilde enjoys so much aren't just decorative flair, they serve a deeper function whereby reversals act as commentary on the characters from which they originate, and as a singularly reflective study of a particular stratum of society as a whole. It highlights that quite often judgements designed to protect us are secretly used to elevate us in status. Within that is also the notion that impressions can (and often do) be wrong.

His skill at both staging and critiquing his own content evolved in later works, but there's no denying that LWF is an excellent piece when viewed in isolation.

It's been said by some critics that in many of his works the 'voice' of the author overshadows all other concerns, and in LWF it's so obvious that you'll spot it without needing any help. Personally, I don't have a problem with it happening.

3½ late lessons out of 5

*Kindle ebook edition, but page count will vary greatly depending on the publisher.  I've seen editions for sale with as little as 52 pages.  As long as you have all four Acts of the play then you're golden.

De Profundis (Written 1897. Published 1905)

Author: Oscar Wilde| Page Count: 72

"We have forgotten that water can cleanse, and fire purify, and that the Earth is mother to us all. As a consequence our art is of the moon and plays with shadows..."

De Profundis is an epistle written by Oscar during his imprisonment in Reading Gaol (that be ye olde spelling of jail, the big house, the hoosegow etc).  The work was for the eyes of Lord Alfred Douglas, although he isn't mentioned by name.  It’s a piece of writing which at times seems almost pitiful, full of both profound realisations and what seems to me to be obvious attempts at self-delusion.  It’s also both self-effacing and at times supremely arrogant (although if arrogance was to ever be perceived as a kind of misunderstood virtue there is no one more deserving of it than Wilde).  In short, it’s a monologue about the beauty of suffering and about the need for it in order to be born anew.

The religious tones get very heavy at times and it occasionally feels like he is clutching at illusory straws with which to weave himself a basket that he might sail away from the very real hardships into a world of literary flagellation, overseen by Christ as poet, offering salvation through escapism.  Two years of eating black bread and scrubbing stone floors would do that to even the sturdiest individual.  It offers a very real insight into his mindset during those last years but is perhaps much too gloomy to be of interest to anyone other than Wilde fans.

3½ fruits of experience grow on trees in shadow out of 5