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An Analysis Of Wilde's The Soul Of Man Under Socialism

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THE IMPLICATIONS OF “DEATH”
In the sight of Wilde, the predominant morality eulogized by most traditional fairy tales became a sort of burden or social repression in Victorian society since such hypocritical morality exacerbated the plight of the poor in reality. Through the unconventional application of “death”, for instance, the detailed suffering of characters and unfortunate endings, Wilde’s tales indict the burden such utilitarian moral instruction places on individuals through art works.

The Hypocrisy of Victorian Morality. Some scholars believed that Morality was established and often hypocritically applied by the upper class for the purpose of continuing their family line in Victorian society. For example, Bayley has suggested the hypocrisy of the upper class and the moral standards upheld by them: “the upper class intended to stay on top and wealthy… [They attempt to] …show more content…

In his essay “The Soul of Man under Socialism”, Wilde affirmed that the misguided humanitarian, promulgated by those on the upper rungs of the social ladder, exacerbated the plight of the poor: “the majority of people spoil their lives by an unhealthy and exaggerated altruism are forced, indeed, so to spoil them” (The Complete Works 1079). For the sake of a better society, Wilde strove for the freedom of every individual, especially the artists, from the rigid set of the “unhealthy and exaggerated altruism”. He stressed the necessity of breaking from the institutionalized moralism that was imposed on individuals by the society, or more accurately, by the hypocritical upper class “who would extol the virtues of charity and compassion for the less fortunate while establishing and supporting the class system responsible for their condition” (Jones

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Irish author Oscar Wilde claimed that disobedience is a valuable human trait, and that it promotes social progress; thus, without it, social progress would not be made. Civil disobedience is to social progress as hard work is to academic success. With hard work comes academic success, and with civil disobedience comes social progress. Though some see disobedience as a negative trait, it is what has promoted social progress in history by challenging social standards and requiring new social rules to be made. Civil disobedience challenges social standards by expanding views on the current guidelines.

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Wilde portrays the upper class’ attitudes towards the rest

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Oscar Wilde wrote his plays against the backdrop of the Victorian English society. It therefore helps to discuss the salient aspects of the Victorian society. Victorian England is known for many paradoxes -- glaring contrasts between the rich and the poor, insistence on morality on the one hand and the practice of cynicism on the other, blooming creativity pitted against blatant constriction, imperial grandeur since Britain was then ruling almost one fifth of the total surface of the earth and domestic squalor since the majority of people did not have decent means of livelihood, and finally collectivity dictated by tradition opposed to the rapidly developing individualism. The class system denied the talented members of the lower classes access to social and economic advancement. The upper classes alone had the privilege of working in the government, the armed forces, and the church, while trade was monopolized by the rising middle class.

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Wilde’s representation of the British upper class, its values and opinions, is presented most notably through Lady Augusta Bracknell. She is a dignified aristocratic residing fashionable London society circles. On the surface, she is very typical Victorian woman. As a mother to Gwendolen Fairfax, she has a great authority over her controlling her life. She has even a list of ”eligible young man” whom she is ready to interview in order to select a suitable partner for her daughter.

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