Gender Roles In The Works Of Oscar Wilde

A frequent theme in Wilde’s works was that of homosexuality. This is probably because he himself was a homosexual. Many homosexuals seem to appear in Wilde’s works. The dandy is one character with an ambiguous sexuality, although it is very likely that this person is in fact gay. Homosexual relationships were part of the reason that Wilde was so opposed to the standards of society. If every relationship needed a woman to work in the house and a man to interact in social affairs, then how could a gay partnership work? Male-male relationships at the time got no support. For these reasons Wilde believed that roles should be determined by the individuals in the specific situations. Now two relationships are the same and therefore no two relationships should have exactly the same structure. Wilde believed that this is especially the case because the frame of the standard relationship cannot match that of a gay couple. Family ideals were also now imperfect because of these preconceived gender roles in Wilde’s eyes. These beliefs of his are portrayed in An Ideal Husband. Wilde was later arrested for gross indecency. He was sentenced to two years in prison from …show more content…
Symbolism allowed him to indirectly substitute actual figures for their literary ideas. In “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime,” Sybil represents an art that is untouched by the outside, corrupt world. Podgers, on the other hand, is to symbolize the complete opposite. This character has everything to do with the world that is affected by humans and corrupt. He is on the side of the spectrum that cannot run away from his past, for the damage has already been done. This is a prime example of symbolism because two literary characters are being utilized to represent two opposite ideas and what affects human society has on them. This fall from humanity is also a theme used in Wilde’s “The Fisherman and His Soul” (Nassaar