Decadence and Regeneration: Oscar Wilde’s Fairy Tales as a Tool for Social Change

Abstract

Aunt Augusta, Lady Windermere, or Dorian Gray are all names that have become part of British culture and immediately trigger recognition; they are literary landmarks, classic characters that have become familiar thanks to countless stage representations or adaptations for the silver screen. However, relatively few remember the stories of the little dwarf, the lovesick fisherman, or the Star-Child. Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales, although not as famous as his plays, are beautiful texts, divided into two considerably different collections.¹ The Happy Prince and Other Tales appeared in 1888 and was clearly inspired by Hans Christian Andersen.² It is a collection that can be read to children, even though they are not intended to be the sole recipients. However, in 1891, Wilde published A House of Pomegranates, a beautifully wrought collection of radically aesthetic tales, full of color, sin, and stories of ill-fated love.³ Unmasking his society’s quirks was doubtless Wilde’s favorite endeavor each time he sat down to write and, as an artist who was determined to subvert Victorian society’s dominant message of submission to codes and appearances, he sought to use the genre of the fairy tale to infuse the world of the marvelous with certain elements characteristic of the Victorian era. 1891 was a fecund year for Oscar Wilde, who also published The Picture of Dorian Gray, Intentions, and The Soul of Man under Socialism.