Oscar Wilde, poet, writer, dramatist, and essayist, was not exactly the ideal litterateur to look up to in the community at the time. Wilde's peculiarities irritated his contemporaries, since he had a predilection for criticizing social gatherings and traditions.
“I am one of those who are made for exceptions, not for laws.” ― Oscar Wilde, De Profundis.
Shortly after his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest came out, a play where the protagonists assume secret identities to avoid social responsibilities, Oscar Wilde was indicted for acts of "gross indecency" with Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas in 1895, son of the Marquess of Queensberry. When accusations were in the air, Wilde who never accepted it nor was particularly discreet had the opportunity to escape to France where homosexuality was legal but worried about his image and encouraged by his lover, Wilde made the mistake of suing Bosie’s father who really just had to prove his allegations of homosexuality. And so he did, ultimately setting off the trials that made Wilde the talk of the continent.
In no way a gay rights campaigner, Wilde is seen nonetheless as an icon evermore. Present in his works are undertones of homosexuality which are a topic of controversy in the literary world. Even in his fairy tales which were considered to be aimed at an adult audience, Wilde portrayed a king kissing the statue of a male slave (The Young King) in The Happy Prince, a kiss between the Prince and the male Swallow.
“The little bird became colder. He did not leave the prince, because he loved him too much. But he was dying. ‘Goodbye, dear prince!’ he said.’ Can I kiss you?’ ‘I am glad that you are going to Egypt,’ said the prince. ‘You have stayed too long. Kiss me, because I love you.’
There are some debates about whether the playwright would’ve identified as bisexual if he were here today. Oscar Wilde was lovingly married to Constance Lloyd with two children before he began the double life after the extra-marital affair with Lord Alfred Douglas. His affection for the same sex however was never a secret. There are connections made surrounding his intense admiration for poet Walt Whitman (whose sexuality is a matter of debate as well) too during his time in America. However, the most prominent of Wilde’s love interests was of course Bosie.
Bosie was the one who introduced Wilde to the world of male prostitutes. And after all that ensued in the exaggerated and tragic life of Oscar Wilde, Bosie was the loyal lover then as one could expect of having who did not abandon Wilde during his downfall. Visiting every day when in remand at Holloway, he was forced to leave for France due to Wilde’s lawyers and brothers’ insistence. He even went to write an account dedicated to their love for a French journal which was left unpublished for obvious reasons. After Wilde was released from prison, Bosie helped him financially as well.
A phrase from Bosie’s poem 'Two Loves,' "The love that dare not speak its name." was mentioned at the trial as evidence for homosexuality in the form of a euphemism. And Oscar Wilde’s great love tremendously failed to defend Wilde during the lawsuit and afterward spent the remainder of his life trying to bring Wilde down. "De Profundis”, the famous prison love letter written by Wilde did not cast Bosie in good light and he proved many of those unkind words true too.
As the dramatic world would have wanted it, it was publicized for long that Wilde died of syphilis, “the disease of the decadents” but it was actually meningitis and an ear infection, often thought a result of his years in prison that got the playwright, impoverished and lonesome, his encounter with death.
“The final mystery is oneself. When one has weighed the sun in the balance, and measured the steps of the moon, and mapped out the seven heavens star by star, there still remains oneself. Who can calculate the orbit of his own soul?” ― Oscar Wilde, De Profundis.
Forevermore, it stays unclear whether his disinclination turned public trials paved the way for gay rights in any way but Wilde's name stays forever etched as a milestone nonetheless for he was the reason homosexuality was a topic of conversation in every social, political, and moral sphere across two continents in a time when it was abhorrent to bring up the word let alone a discussion.
