In the preface to his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde states that ‘there is no such thing as a moral or immoral book’ which implies that the aestheticism of a piece of writing is more vital to its success than the skill of the author. This view is reflected in Victorian society where ingrained aestheticism was simply used as a facade to hide the truth, however, Wilde is actually making a deep societal criticism of this. Paradoxically, as an author he has a prerequisite to please his audience, in this case by demonstrating the triviality of Victorian society and the overvaluing of appearance within it, although this is partially concealed by a thin veil of humour. In contrast, as a modern author Waters is able to be more forthright
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When Algernon asks Lane to lay out ‘my dress clothes, my smoking jacket and all the Bunbury suits’ while the importance he is placing on his attire seems rather paradoxical given the serious situation, it serves to highlight the extent of the Victorian aestheticism that Algernon is struggling against which is further emphasised by Wilde’s use of commas for listing. The copious amount of clothes that Algernon is bringing with him, especially ‘all the Bunbury suits’ that seem to be greater in number than his own clothes, reiterates the paradoxical nature of his endeavor. Once again, Wilde is taking the opportunity to criticise Victorian aestheticism while cloaking his true feelings behind a facade of humour, just as the Victorians were expected to do. Similarly, Waters uses her position as a modern author to denounce this materialism when Gentleman is described as having ‘rings and the watch were snide and the jewel was a paste one’. Although, just as Wilde does, she uses copiousness and the repetition of the conjunction ‘and’ to emphasise the lavishness of his attire, this demonstration that his accessories are merely part of his disguise highlights the fact that for many Victorians their appearance was simply a veneer in order to fit into the narrow expectations of society and hide their true feelings and
When Algernon asks Lane to lay out ‘my dress clothes, my smoking jacket and all the Bunbury suits’ while the importance he is placing on his attire seems rather paradoxical given the serious situation, it serves to highlight the extent of the Victorian aestheticism that Algernon is struggling against which is further emphasised by Wilde’s use of commas for listing. The copious amount of clothes that Algernon is bringing with him, especially ‘all the Bunbury suits’ that seem to be greater in number than his own clothes, reiterates the paradoxical nature of his endeavor. Once again, Wilde is taking the opportunity to criticise Victorian aestheticism while cloaking his true feelings behind a facade of humour, just as the Victorians were expected to do. Similarly, Waters uses her position as a modern author to denounce this materialism when Gentleman is described as having ‘rings and the watch were snide and the jewel was a paste one’. Although, just as Wilde does, she uses copiousness and the repetition of the conjunction ‘and’ to emphasise the lavishness of his attire, this demonstration that his accessories are merely part of his disguise highlights the fact that for many Victorians their appearance was simply a veneer in order to fit into the narrow expectations of society and hide their true feelings and