Oscar Wilde Versus the Church
Wilde's Homosexuality and Catholicism
Mar 10, 2008 Dulcinea Norton-Smith
The centenary of Wilde's death was celebrated by gay organisations worldwide. Yet his blatant exhibitionism of his sexuality led to him courting the wrath of the court and the church.
The Life of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854 to a Protestant family. At age 20 Wilde started Oxford University and began to develop what was to be a lifelong fascination with Catholicism. He also attended Mass regularly. Wilde did not, however, convert to Catholicism until on his deathbed, as throughout his life his fascination for the Catholic church was mixed with a heavy dose of fear of it. He in fact seemed to be in constant inner turmoil about religion as he was enthralled with Catholic ritual yet called himself a “violent Papist”. His books regularly courted the scorn of religious critics. His book The Picture of Dorian Gray was seen as full of sin and degradation as were many of his other works. Another work which saw him criticised was his book Salome, which retold the tale of the death of John the Baptist but was seen by its critics as being too dark and morbid. His life spiralled out of control when he began to frequent opium dens and the world of male prostitutes. The nail in the coffin was the greatest love and addiction of his life, Lord Alfred Douglas.
The Downfall of Oscar Wilde
Wilde met and began a passionate affair with Lord Alfred Douglas, a beautiful poet and son of the Eighth Marquess of Queensbury. The Marquess despised his son's sexuality and despised Wilde even more. On one occasion he left a calling card addressed to Wilde naming him as a sodomite. Wilde decided to sue him for libel. The worst choice he could have made. At the height of his career Wilde committed proffessional suicide by bringing his sexuality to a court of law.
The trial lasted for two days during which a veritable wealth of evidence against Wilde was produced. On the third day Wilde's lawyer withdrew the claim for libel. Unfortunately Wilde had already given the Marquess evidence to build a fire and light it under him and a warrant was issued for Wilde's arrest.
The first trial ended with no verdict and so Wilde was released on bail. The second trial, in 1895, brought back a verdict of guilty of sodomy. He was sentenced to two years of hard labour at Reading Gaol. His career, by this time, lay in tatters and four months later he declared bankruptcy.
Wilde's Meditation on Catholicism
It was during his time in jail, by now a ruined man and surrounded by the evidence of sin and penance, that Wilde returned to his meditations on Catholicism and God. Having always had a romantic obsession and fear of Catholicism he now began to look at the faith more seriously. Wilde's poetic soul made him easy prey for the emotional torment of seeing suffering and the dehumanising effects of sin all around him. He was on the verge of finding his spiritual self and this was reflected in his works written from and immediately after jail, but on his release he was refused spiritual retreat at the Jesuits of Farm Street and so his slip back into his previous life and away from Catholicism was inevitable. For awhile Oscar and Alfred returned to their former lifestyle, however poverty and family threats of estrangement forced them to end their relationship for the final time. Shortly after one of his works written in prison was published, The Ballard of Reading Gaol, and there was a change in tone from morbid and mocking to compassionate and with obvious religious lessons of hope and forgiveness.
Wilde then travelled Europe, even spending time in Rome attending Mass and receiving a blessing, and yet he still did not convert to Catholicism. As his drinking worsened he became less and less well and Wilde died aged 46. On his deathbed he converted to Catholicism, perhaps something he had wanted to do since the age of 20, but his possible fear of being hypocritical in embracing a religion that condemned his lifestyle had prevented him from doing so.
Reference:
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