Wilde's Subversion of Victorian Society

• Main Authors: Dean Liu, 劉名原
• Other Authors: McDermott
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2002
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/3fwdjs

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 外國語文學系碩博士班 === 90 === My thesis is about Oscar Wilde’s subversion of the system of Victorian morality. There are six chapters in my thesis. In Chapter One, I discuss Wilde’s background so as to lead to a better understanding for his behavior. In Chapter Two, I focus on the Victorian society and its culture. I explore the relationship between the age and its writer and the relationship between the age and his works. This will give us a better framework in understanding Wilde’s subversive attempts. In Chapter Three, I focus on the Victorian reception of Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and four plays: Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest. I compare and contrast the Victorian critics’ response to his works to those of latter critics’ response. This is the extension of the exploration of the relationship between Wilde’s works and his time. With this preparation, I proceed in Chapter Four to establish the motives for Wilde’s subversion, and his methods. In Chapter Five, I point out Wilde’s notable subversive attempts in his four plays and the novel. Chapter Six is my conclusion. My argument is that, in his works, Wilde’s subversion of Victorian morality often involves the transformation of the protagonists alone with the transvaluation of the moral values attributed to them so that the characters are no longer good or bad, and moral qualities are blown up and lose their significance.