THE DISCIPLE By Oscar Wilde
When Narcissus died the pool of his
pleasure changed from a cup of sweet waters into a cup of salt tears, and the
Oreads came weeping through the woodland that they might sing to the pool and
give it comfort.
And when they saw that the pool had
changed from a cup of sweet waters into a cup of salt tears, they loosened the
green tresses of their hair and cried to the pool and said, `We do not wonder
that you should mourn in this manner for Narcissus, so beautiful was he.'
`But was Narcissus beautiful?' said the
pool.
`Who should know that better than you?'
answered the Oreads. `Us did he ever pass by, but you he sought for, and would
lie on your banks and look down at you, and in the mirror of your waters he
would mirror his own beauty.'
And the pool answered, `But I loved
Narcissus because, as he lay on my banks and looked down at me, in the mirror
of his eyes I saw ever my own beauty mirrored.'
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
GUEST BLOG / By Americanliterature.com--Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde
(1854 - 1900); a difficult name for a complicated man that led a difficult life
filled with hope, triumph, but visited by peril and beset with despair.
A couple of Wilde's indicative
quotes:
"I am not young enough to
know everything."
"The difference between
journalism and literature is that journalism is unreadable and literature is
not read."
[Remarkable sentence follows--ed.]This Irish author was born at the
wrong time, with personal proclivities that were anathema to his time and
place. A gifted and prolific writer with a quick wit, Wilde could succeed
writing in any form he chose and excelled as a conversationalist, journalist,
novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He ultimately distinguished himself
further as the preeminent playwright of his day. Nobody's life is easy,
however, and at the height of his success, Wilde was plucked from his literary
throne and imprisoned for two years.
The Picture of Dorian Gray,
published in 1890, was Wilde's only novel. It was a literary success and
society scandal. The editor of the magazine where it appeared thought it
indecent, bordering on obscene for its "moral decadence." He even
expunged five hundred words without permission from the author. Critics
attacked Wilde.
He defended himself and his novel
and his view of art but did temper some of the writing when the full-length
version of the book appeared the following year. The trouble was that rather
than circle the old maypole of moral virtue and good deeds, The Picture of
Dorian Gray incorporated decadence, depravity, duplicity, and shallow beauty.
Wilde seemed to prevail and emerged from the scuffle determined to inject his
ideas into dramatic plays which would also allow him to launch his social
commentary.
Oscar Wilde started with a
biblical play, which was prohibited in England but performed in France, then
after several comedic plays, he produced the opus for which he is still
revered, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895). While the play was dominating
the stage, Wilde managed to find court and disaster at the very height of his
success. The great playwright was a attracted to men, rather than women, and
that was a very difficult complication at that point in history. In fact, a
crime punishable by imprisonment. The Marquess of Queensbury was out to
discredit Wilde, in an effort to separate him from Lord Alfred Douglas, the
Marquess's son and Wilde's lover. Wilde responded to the slander by charging
the Marquess with libel, an affront punishable by up to two years in prison.
Difficulty found our friend Wilde
when evidence of his "depravity" was unearthed during the Marquess's
trial, and he soon found himself the prosecuted rather than the prosecutor. He
was found guilty of gross indecency with men and sentenced to two years in
prison.
While in prison, he wrote a
lengthy letter, De Profundis. The letter -- written in 1897 but withheld from
publication until 1905 -- describes his trials, journey, and despair, and marks
a flection point where he turns away from a pleasure-filled and hedonistic
style of living and toward a more reflective, purposeful, and spiritual course.
Evidence of this new perspective
surfaces in his superlative 1888 collection of allegorical fairy tales
appropriate for all ages, which includes: The Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant,
The Nightingale and the Rose, The Devoted Friend, and The Remarkable Rocket.
When released from prison, Wilde
left England for France, never to return. Like too many other great writers and
artists, he died destitute. And young. He was only 46 years of age. It is
somewhat of a cliche to describe someone's writing as being laden with aching
beauty, but that is exactly what I find when I read his later works, like the
simple but sublime story, The Selfish Giant. It is one of our Favorite Fairy
Tales.
Enjoy his wonderful canon, but
reflect too, as you read through it, on the journey of the man and on the
sometimes tragic judgments that are part of our history and culture . . . But
note too, that we are always moving forward in Western Civilization, even if
imperfectly. And we should learn from him too. At the point in time when he
could have been most bitter, he wrote stories with great and enduring beauty. I
don't think Wilde would ever want us to overlook the beauty in the world. You
can feel it in his later writing. So always remember that too.
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