Comments:
6
Great review! Dorian was the first of Wilde's books that I read and I still have fond memories of it. The portrayal of women is interesting because, yes it works for the time it was written, but if you look at the comedies of The Importance of Being Earnest, Lady Windermere's Fan, or GB Shaw's works, much of the comedy is derived from exactly this presentation of "perceived" otherness of the sexes. So, I'm wondering whether Wilde (and Shaw) were reinforcing the perception of women as a different "species" or whether they were mocking it. I know too little about Wilde and Shaw to say.
Oh I thought this was his only book! (I did know he had written other things but I thought they were just short stories), interesting theory! I think Wilde really thought about it that way because he really uses his character Lord Henry for it, but on the other hand, Basil en Gray thought about it in a different way but they didn't speak about it very often.
Both are plays. I don't know if you make a distinction for the purpose of reading (I don't). If you haven't come across The Importance of Being Earnest - it is a hoot.
Hoot? Oh okay! I'm not going to read them I think, but maybe I will!
They both have serious social criticism in them, but it's rolled up in comedy.
Oh okay :)
Log in:
register:
or comment as guest: