Oscar Wilde, the great drama of his life : how his tragedy reflected his personality / Ashley H. Robins.
2011
PR5823 .R63 2011 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
Oscar Wilde, the great drama of his life : how his tragedy reflected his personality / Ashley H. Robins.
Author
Robins, Ashley H.
ISBN
9781845194345 (alk. paper)
1845194349 (alk. paper)
1845194349 (alk. paper)
Imprint
Brighton [England] ; Portland, Or. : Sussex Academic Press, 2011.
Language
English
Description
xi, 264 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Call Number
PR5823 .R63 2011
Dewey Decimal Classification
828/.809 B
Summary
In the 1890s Oscar Wilde enjoyed one of the most high-profile reputations in Britain; yet, virtually overnight, he was plunged into disgrace and ruin. What were the reasons for this extraordinary reversal of fortune? Ashley Robins explores Wilde's motivation in prosecuting the Marquess of Queensberry, and elaborates on the precarious legal situation that effectively quashed any prospect of a withdrawal from the lawsuit without dire consequences. He examines the medical and psychiatric aspects of Wilde's two-year imprisonment and reveals---for the first time and based on the original Home Office records---the machinations among prison officials and doctors to cover up Wilde's state of health. Wilde's medical history is presented with an expert evaluation of his terminal illness, including a resolution of the syphilis controversy. Robins details Wilde's tangled matrimonial affairs during his imprisonment and goes on to disclose the manoeuvres adopted by friends to secure his early release, citing hitherto unpublished letters to show that bribery of prison personnel was seriously contemplated. The issue of homosexuality is discussed not only in relation to Oscar Wilde but from the broader historical, legal and biological perspectives. The author portrays Wilde's character and behaviour through the images he projected onto society, by the strong but mixed public reaction to him, and by the quality of his interpersonal relationships with his wife, family and close friends. Finally, Wilde's personality is assessed using internationally accepted diagnostic criteria; and, in an unusual and innovative experiment, a group of Wildean scholars completed a psychological questionnaire as if they were doing so for Oscar Wilde himself. Drawing on these findings and on his own extensive psychiatric experience, Ashley Robins concludes that Wilde had a disorder of personality that culminated in the final and tragic phase of his life.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Table of Contents
"Pursued by a pugilist of unsound mind"
In durance vile : Pentonville
Haldane and Morrison vs. the Home Secretary
The battle of Reading gaol
"Passing from one prison into another"
The vexatious domestic saga
The great syphilis debate
The precipitous road to homosexual law reform
Gay superstar but not martyr
Oscar as others saw him
Relationships with family and friends
Histrionic personality disorder
The last words.
In durance vile : Pentonville
Haldane and Morrison vs. the Home Secretary
The battle of Reading gaol
"Passing from one prison into another"
The vexatious domestic saga
The great syphilis debate
The precipitous road to homosexual law reform
Gay superstar but not martyr
Oscar as others saw him
Relationships with family and friends
Histrionic personality disorder
The last words.