Was dorian grey gay

Appeared in: the November-December 2014 edition.

The writer of this work, who departed in 2011, had, for many years, contributed numerous pieces to this journal, among which was this extensive appraisal of a volume bearing the rather provocative designation, The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde (2005), authored by Neil McKenna. Even though Hattersley refrains from explicitly tackling the inquiry regarding The Picture of Dorian Gray's leading position as a work of homosexual literature, he nonetheless posits that it stood as, "though circumspect, inherently queer"—particularly for the discerning individuals who possessed the insight to perceive its underlying cues.

         The inherent ambiguity is precisely the factor that renders the standing of Dorian Gray within the queer literary tradition highly contentious. The narrative's extreme reticence concerning erotic attraction between individuals of the same gender, coupled with its reluctance to articulate explicitly "that specific affection," ultimately precludes its undeniable recognition as the inaugural homosexual novel in the English language. Naturally, blame cannot be ascribed to Wilde (even though certain highly allusive phrases were removed by his editor): Victorian-era society, in its latter stages, simply would not countenance a more overt examination of the affection that dared not be named, let alone its elevation to a pivotal position within a work of fiction. Consequently, Dorian's romantic entanglements are exclusively with females, commencing with the performer Sibyl Vane, to whom he declares his eternal devotion—which, however, rapidly dissipates; following which, he embarks upon a succession of liaisons, each of diminishing longevity and with women of progressively lower repute.

         Nevertheless, Dorian possesses an undeniable quality. His aesthetic appeal, overtly lauded by Basil and Lord Harry in the initial chapter, the luxuriant descriptors employed to portray it, along with Dorian's fervent desire for perpetual youth—our intuition for queer subtext is continually activated. Furthermore, numerous ambiguous allusions exist concerning moral decay, Hedonism, and illicit nocturnal pursuits, which ultimately elicit disapproval from his former companions. (One might also consider these associates, whose sophisticated dialogues on aesthetics and deportment, while perhaps not overtly homosexual, undeniably embody a heightened sense of theatricality?) The character of Dorian could arguably be considered as openly queer as was feasible for any literary character during that epoch, thereby positioning Wilde's literary creation as the most overtly homosexual written up to that period.

         An expanded rendition of the subsequent text was initially featured in the November-December 2005 edition.                       — RS

OSCAR WILDE IS ARGUABLY RECOGNIZED as the pioneering significant contemporary figure whose renown stemmed primarily from his celebrity status, long before he created any substantial output apart from captivating discourse. He deliberately embodied "decadence" even during his time at Oxford University, and, not long after earning his degree, was notably lampooned as the quintessential dandy in Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Patience. Given the immense popularity of the production across the United States, theatre manager D'Oyly Carte arranged for Wilde to undertake an American speaking engagement which would turn out to be extraordinarily triumphant: Wilde adopted the persona of the aesthete, donned extravagant attire, assumed indolent postures for portraitists, and garnered particular admiration from cowboys and prospectors in the American West. His triumph was cemented by the initial remark he made to American border officials, a statement extensively covered by New York journalists: 'I have nothing to declare but my genius.'

No significant literary output was released by Wilde for almost ten years following this initial success. As he neared the end of his third decade of life, his notoriety spanned two continents for scarcely more than his distinctive demeanor. He entered into matrimony with a female, yet he unremittingly and effectively sought out young males, predominantly from the less privileged strata of society; while maintaining a prominent public profile via lecture circuits replete with memorable maxims and controversial appearances within London's high society. Subsequently, beginning in his mid-thirties, he generated an astonishing surge of creative output in English letters, unseen since Keats completed his complete oeuvre within the six-year span prior to his demise at the age of twenty-five. Between the years of 1890 and 1895, Wilde released or staged The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, The Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, in addition to a substantial collection of verse and critical essays. Neil McKenna extracts parallels to Wilde's biography from these creations and incisively details their connection to the prevailing political and societal climate of the era; however, his objective does not encompass an examination of Wilde's profound influence upon Occidental literature and civilization.

Wilde unexpectedly flooded the latter Victorian era with a conspicuously homoerotic literary corpus; thus, a repercussion was inevitable. Dorian Gray, despite its prudence, carried an inherent homosexual subtext, and his immensely popular theatrical works incorporated veiled allusions discernible to those in the know. His poetic works and public pronouncements frequently exhibited greater explicitness. He masterminded audacious and perilous displays, for instance, arranging for his homosexual companions and disciples to attend theatre premieres, resplendent in overt attire and adorning fabricated verdant carnations. As Neil McKenna observes in his recent [2005] volume, The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde: 'Oscar lived in an age when the only intellectual and historical justification for love and sex between men was the tradition of Greek paiderastia. But the trouble with Greek love was its emphasis upon love rather than sex. Sex was a conditional, subsidiary part of love. This was not enough for Oscar. He was interested in the shadow, not the song, in the body, not the soul, in lust and sex, not love.' McKenna illustrates how the active pursuit and subsequent acquisition of attractive young men—to employ Wilde's own phrasing, the act of "possessing" them, rather than cherishing and fostering them—constituted a core element of Wilde's modus operandi, and ultimately led to his significant difficulties. Although he did, over time, develop genuine romantic affection for Lord Alfred Douglas, known as 'Bosie,' their liaison centered less upon reciprocal intimacy than upon the persistent quest for youthful males, who were frequently exchanged between themselves or with other homosexual acquaintances. As detailed by McKenna, 'As they played out their drama of great love, both Oscar and Bosie were having as much sex as they could with boys and young men.'

Upon being confronted regarding the homoerotic themes within his oeuvre, Wilde possessed a prompt retort: 'It is only when we realize the influence of neo-Platonism on the Renaissance that we can understand the true meaning of the amatory phrases and words with which friends were wont, at this time, to address each other. There was a kind of mystic transference of the expressions of the physical world to a sphere that was spiritual.' Such a notion held validity concerning Plato's philosophical doctrines, bore partial truth with respect to Renaissance-era same-sex relationships, yet was entirely unreflective of Wilde's actual conduct. As he subsequently articulated, 'I used to be totally reckless of young lives. &8230; I used to take up a boy, love him ‘passionately' and then grow bored with him and take no notice of him. That is what I regret in my past life.' Despite his remorse, he was not deterred from resuming this identical behavior and continuing it without cessation.

Predictably, Bosie's father, who was both unhinged yet astute, the Marquis of Queensberry, expressed strong disapproval of his son's fervent and openly acknowledged liaison with Oscar Wilde. Remarkably, the Marquis concurrently ascertained that his elder son and designated successor, Viscount Drumlanrig, was routinely engaged in sodomy with Lord Rosebery, then the incumbent Prime Minister of England. Shortly after being elevated to the peerage by Rosebery, and having seemingly discovered that the Prime Minister was in receipt of menacing correspondence from his own father, Drumlanrig tragically took his own life during a purportedly accidental fox-hunting incident. Queensberry journeyed to Germany, to the locale where the Prime Minister was holidaying, and attempted to provoke him into a pugilistic encounter; however, at the behest of the British administration, local officials promptly escorted the Marquis away from the vicinity. Subsequently, he redirected his animosity towards Wilde, depositing a missive at Wilde's club, which charged him with 'posing as a somdomite [sic].' Incited by Bosie and other family members, all of whom despised Queensberry, Wilde initiated legal proceedings for defamation.

Alfred Douglas, still in his youth, was highly skilled at orchestrating fits of pique and had, for a considerable time, understood how to manipulate Oscar into fulfilling his desires by creating a commotion and subsequently disappearing. During a certain phase of his incarceration, Oscar acrimoniously censured Bosie for implicating him in the very scandal that had annihilated his reputation. Imposing such an undue onus upon a youthful individual, whose animosity towards his paternal figure was widely known, seemed unjust. During the entirety of this era, Alfred Douglas exhibited merciless self-interest and predatory tendencies, going so far as to seduce the adolescent offspring of familial acquaintances even as the controversies were coming to light. During a shared holiday, Bosie articulated to Oscar, at a time when the latter was gravely unwell, that he was unable to attend to his needs, as it would impinge upon his personal gratification.

Following a succession of male prostitutes and bribed associates providing testimony detrimental to his defense, Wilde was defeated in his litigation against Queensberry. Foreseeing the inevitable outcome, he was promptly apprehended and arraigned for 'indecent acts.' It is evident that the state could have pursued a prosecution against him on the graver accusation of sodomy—as Queensberry had amassed abundant proof, including sheets marked by grease, semen, and excrement. McKenna presents the most compelling argument to date that, confronted by Queensberry's leverage over both the Prime Minister and other prominent personalities within the Liberal Party, the already unstable administration opted to make Wilde a scapegoat, yet sought to circumvent sentencing him to lifelong imprisonment. The British upper classes readily condoned homosexuality within public school environments, however, a boundary existed, which Wilde had unequivocally transgressed.

The incriminating material presented against Wilde during the initial hearing proved insurmountable, and he significantly undermined his own position by casually informing Queensberry's legal counsel that he had abstained from kissing a specific boy on account of his being 'very ugly.' Nevertheless, he regained his composure when the barrister requested clarification on a verse from one of Bosie's poetic works regarding 'The love that dare not speak its name.' Wilde declared:

Within this era, it represents a profound fondness, observed between an older individual and a younger one, akin to that shared by David and Jonathan, the very foundation of Platonic philosophy, and akin to the sentiment discoverable within the sonnets of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. It is this profound, ethereal devotion which is characterized by both its purity and its flawlessness. It both influences and permeates significant artistic creations such as those authored by Shakespeare and Michelangelo. &8230; In the current age, it remains misconstrued, to such an extent that it might be labeled as 'Love that dare not speak its name,' and it is due to this very fact that my current predicament exists. This affection is intrinsically beautiful, truly commendable, and it embodies the most elevated manifestation of fondness. No aspect of it is contrary to nature. It is an intellectual bond, and it frequently manifests between an older and a younger male, wherein the elder possesses sagacity and the junior embodies the entirety of life's joy, optimism, and allure. The world fails to comprehend its very nature. Society often derides it and occasionally subjects individuals to public disgrace on its account.

Such pronouncements were eloquent, and partially reflected Oscar's sentiments towards Bosie. Numerous paramount accomplishments within Western civilization originated from Plato's concept of 'Heavenly Eros.' However, it is conceivable that Wilde never grasped the notion that, in Plato's philosophy, the youthful male served as a conduit to the ideal, rather than the ideal being subservient to the male. Likely owing to this powerful address, the initial legal proceeding concluded with a deadlocked jury. Nonetheless, during the subsequent trial, held without delay, Wilde was swiftly found guilty and condemned to a two-year period of rigorous incarceration.

Soon thereafter, Queensberry passed away, Rosebery's administration collapsed, and the ex-Prime Minister withdrew indefinitely to Naples, where he spent the remainder of his existence engaged in numerous homosexual relationships. Wilde had multiple opportunities to escape England throughout the legal proceedings and was persistently encouraged to depart, yet, in a manner reminiscent of Socrates—and possibly in deliberate emulation—he elected to face his demise.

Wilde endured appalling conditions, marked by squalor and ill-treatment, throughout his initial year of incarceration. He sought to mend his relationship with his spouse, vowed to abandon his 'diseased and debased passions,' and engaged in self-gratification to such an extent that the prison chaplain became concerned for his mental well-being. He appealed to high-ranking functionaries within the nascent Conservative administration, requesting clemency and therapeutic intervention for 'erotomania.' His requests were granted; a new prison governor was assigned, and Wilde received improved living circumstances, literary materials, and instruments for composition. This led to the creation of De Profundis, a lengthy epistle, comprising fifty thousand words, addressed to Bosie, which transitions from acrimonious indictment to an avowal of eternal, non-physical affection. Without Wilde's knowledge, Bosie, then in exile, worked tirelessly to establish communication and provide assistance to him.

Upon his liberation, Wilde was dispatched to France, a place where he composed his final potent literary creation, The Ballad of Reading Gaol, a piece that chronicled his penal torment and advocated for a fresh solidarity with the marginalized of society. He and Bosie reignited their passionate, albeit intermittent, liaison; while Wilde predominantly remained in Paris in a state of inebriation, imploring for funds, and engaging 'boulevardier' youths. Wilde's choice to hazard a conviction in judicial proceedings conferred no immediate benefit upon the burgeoning homosexual culture. Homosexuality had been decriminalized in France by Napoleon a full century prior to this time, and initial proponents of gay emancipation in America, Britain, and Germany had achieved certain advancements. The outcomes of Wilde's legal proceedings—coupled with the scandalous sexual behaviors brought to light by them—halted the incremental progression towards increased acceptance, rendering any advancement in the legislative sphere politically unfeasible.

The Picture of Dorian Gray had foreshadowed these developments entirely and established the prevailing character for homosexual literature throughout a significant portion of the subsequent century. One is inclined to ponder if an individual possessing Wilde's intellectual brilliance and societal stature might not have navigated this predicament in a manner that would have propelled forward, instead of hindering, the liberation of gay and lesbian individuals. Conversely, being the initial openly homosexual figure since the classical antiquity, he provided humanity with a model for overt homosexual identity. He endowed the broader cultural landscape with what would later be termed a 'gay sensibility' or 'camp' style. During an epoch permeated by suppressed societal stratification and personal detachment, his profound insight recognized the supreme benefit of ridiculing dissimulation. Towards the end of his life, he conveyed to his long-standing acquaintance George Ives: 'I have no doubt we shall win, but the road is long, and red with monstrous martyrdoms.' In this instance, much like various other affairs, Wilde's foresight would be confirmed.

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