Scan barcode
Reviews
In Praise of Disobedience: The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Other Writings by Oscar Wilde
brnineworms's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I bought this book because I was intrigued by “The Soul of Man Under Socialism.” I was rather disappointed. What started out as a strikingly ahead-of-its-time essay advocating fully automated luxury communism soon veered off into what was essentially a rant about how “the public” doesn’t appreciate good art. Both aspects of the essay are deeply rooted in classist rhetoric. I can’t tell whether this is representative of Wilde’s own perspective; perhaps he was trying to convince the rich to back socialist reform?
Bartlett, the editor of this collection of Wilde’s writings, has this to say: “What Wilde offers — or indeed, actively constructs — is a space of intimate but truly discomforting contact between the reader and his text. The essay is in essence a monologue, a firework display of opinion in the course of which the reader is stunned, offended, charmed — but never offered any evidence or strategy to support the text’s high-toned assertions. The effect — paradoxically, of course — is that Wilde’s particular way of expressing himself turns the monologue into a conversation. It makes response inevitable.” Personally, I think this interpretation is interesting but overly generous. Does it unveil the depth of Wilde’s genius, or simply reflect how deeply we want to elevate Wilde to this “genius” status? We want Wilde to be erudite and profound. It’s what we expect of him. He was (in)famous for his wit, but he was as capable as the rest of us of being inaccurate and inarticulate and dull, as this book demonstrates.
I don’t have much to say about the rest of the book. “Intentions” was similarly dry. I liked “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime,” though – a short story about mysticism and murder. That’s what saved the book for me, and bumped its rating up to three stars.
CONTENT WARNINGS: classism, murder, mentions of suicide and slavery
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3343412.html
Yes, Oscar Wilde as political philosopher; it is not forgotten in Ireland that his mother was literally a revolutionary, and he was consciously subversive through his own art.
This is a collection of his political works, mostly from 1891, starting with "The Soul of Man Under Socialism", an essay which forcefully argues that the abolition of property will be good for culture and happiness. Here we see his wit directed against, well, capitalism:
"What is said by great employers of labour against agitators is unquestionably true. Agitators are a set of interfering, meddling people, who come down to some perfectly contented class of the community, and sow the seeds of discontent amongst them. That is the reason why agitators are so absolutely necessary. Without them, in our incomplete state, there would be no advance towards civilisation."
The essay "Pen, Pencil, And Poison", about the writer and murderer Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, is an absolute thrill. I had never heard of this chap, who moved in the highest artistic circles, but was sentenced to transportation to Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) for forging financial documents from one of his victims (and never actually prosecuted for the murders).
"From Newgate he was brought to the hulks at Portsmouth, and sent from there in the Susan to Van Diemen's Land along with three hundred other convicts. The voyage seems to have been most distasteful to him, and in a letter written to a friend he spoke bitterly about the ignominy of 'the companion of poets and artists' being compelled to associate with 'country bumpkins.' The phrase that he applies to his companions need not surprise us. Crime in England is rarely the result of sin. It is nearly always the result of starvation."
There are also some out-takes from The Picture of Dorian Gray, which I found fascinating, and some aesthetic dialogues which I found less effective. But all in all, this was a really interesting set of essays.
Yes, Oscar Wilde as political philosopher; it is not forgotten in Ireland that his mother was literally a revolutionary, and he was consciously subversive through his own art.
This is a collection of his political works, mostly from 1891, starting with "The Soul of Man Under Socialism", an essay which forcefully argues that the abolition of property will be good for culture and happiness. Here we see his wit directed against, well, capitalism:
"What is said by great employers of labour against agitators is unquestionably true. Agitators are a set of interfering, meddling people, who come down to some perfectly contented class of the community, and sow the seeds of discontent amongst them. That is the reason why agitators are so absolutely necessary. Without them, in our incomplete state, there would be no advance towards civilisation."
The essay "Pen, Pencil, And Poison", about the writer and murderer Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, is an absolute thrill. I had never heard of this chap, who moved in the highest artistic circles, but was sentenced to transportation to Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) for forging financial documents from one of his victims (and never actually prosecuted for the murders).
"From Newgate he was brought to the hulks at Portsmouth, and sent from there in the Susan to Van Diemen's Land along with three hundred other convicts. The voyage seems to have been most distasteful to him, and in a letter written to a friend he spoke bitterly about the ignominy of 'the companion of poets and artists' being compelled to associate with 'country bumpkins.' The phrase that he applies to his companions need not surprise us. Crime in England is rarely the result of sin. It is nearly always the result of starvation."
There are also some out-takes from The Picture of Dorian Gray, which I found fascinating, and some aesthetic dialogues which I found less effective. But all in all, this was a really interesting set of essays.
More...