Aestheticism Through the Lens of Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde born October 16, 1854, was a prominent literary figure in late Victorian England. Not long after he graduated from the elite Oxford University, he became a follower of the aestheticism movement. Although Wilde was an author who lived through the late Victorian era, his views would often contradict those of Victorian society thus he would often be found mocking these values in his plays as the principles of aestheticism were quite different than those of the Victorian ones. 

The Victorian era was known to be a paradoxical time in England's history for there was such a big gap between the two ends of the spectrum. While industrialisation was very much on the move to become the next big thing and support the ever-growing economy of England even further; on the other side poor people were subject to numerous shortcomings and suffered the loss of many necessities as even with prostitution and crime rates skyrocketing, it was not enough to support their families. The roles of each class were assigned from the moment they took their first breath, and they were expected to live according to these strict policies no matter what. 

Morality was a dire need in the Victorian world alongside class but it was a value impossible to reach as all social classes were deteriorating to acquire what it takes to present as a perfect figure to the outside world. With many trying but failing at reaching the perfect state of morality, hypocrisy became a prevalent issue in the everyday lives of Victorian people. If they could not be perfect, they would simply act as if they were and make a pretense persona to fit in. Many playwrights and poets of the time were found mocking these vices and values in their work, Oscar Wilde was also one of those people. 

As Wilde was not fond of the pressure Victorian society had put on the people, he was taken with the idea of doing art merely for the sake of art. 

“There is no such a thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well-written or badly written. That is all.”  

It can be seen in this quote by Oscar Wilde that he valued art above morality.

Aestheticism was defined as the French term “end of the century” which refers to the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. Late Victorian England was when the ideals of the Victorian world were losing popularity and leaving their place to more Aesthetic figures. England was simultaneously losing its political and economic status, as the reign of Victorian England was coming to an end, there was a new wave of thought that vigorously opposed these Victorian values. Aestheticism was also closely associated with the doctrines of the Decadent Movement which took place in the late 19th century. The Decadent Movement was a fall to a lower or a worse level of morality, civilization, or art from a higher level. It could also be defined as a state of having low standards of behavior or morality. This movement is considered to have ended with Oscar Wilde’s trials but it also marked a start in the literary world which would then help the spreading of Modernism in the upcoming centuries.  

There was a shift from Latin to Greek in the Victorian era. This shift gravely affected society as the Greek studies were adamant about strictly staying true to morality. However, the followers of the Aestheticism movement took the Greek study of hedonism, which was the pursuit of beauty and pleasure, and turned it into an everyday study. With Hedonism becoming a daily practice in the lives of aesthetes, the Christian values that were put upon society were demolished in their field. During the time most Victorian people spent trying to live up to these Christian beliefs, Aesthetes were instead following the philosophes created by the pagan Greeks. Aesthetes showed great commitment to these values unlike Victorian standards and it became a way of life for them. 

This brought about a shift in the appearance of aesthetes as well. The idea of dandyism, which was to pay close attention to the way one was dressing up, had always existed. Aesthetes welcomed dandyism into their daily lives as it was a great way to present themselves as eccentric and elegant people. Oscar Wilde was also known to be a great devotee of dandyism as he had adapted this way of elevated outlook into his life which was also present in his plays.

We can see in the third act of the play The Importance of Being Earnest that Gwendolen is obsessed with appearance over sincerity. This artificial way of beauty is present throughout the whole play as Jack is also taken with the idea of being Ernest. If being Ernest is beauty and being Jack is sincerity, Jack would pick beauty over the truth of the matter. This exemplifies that art is for the sake of art rather than being moral or truthful. 

Quite similarly Algernon also creates a false identity in the name of beauty. His three personas; Algernon, Bunbury, and Ernest act as a way for him to acquire what he desires. This is also a case mocking the ideals of the Victorian world because these gentlemen realize, they could never get what they want merely as themselves. But as these characters slowly start to fall for the beauty of being Ernest, it turns into something completely different. It all starts as a way to achieve their desired outcome quite like the Victorian society has endorsed, but they fall for the beauty of Ernest and stray even further from the truth resulting in all of their lies becoming the truth in the end. Here Wilde presents a dichotomy between beauty and truth. But these two contradicting concepts become one in the end. Wilde’s aesthetic literary theory of art’s purpose becomes evident in this play as art should not be truthful but instead beautiful while life imitates the beauty of art.