The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Selected Critical Prose

by Oscar Wilde, Linda Dowling (Editor)

Illuminating essays on philsophy, literature, soceity, and art by one of Ireland's greatest wits

Oscar Wilde--witty raconteur, flamboyant hedonist, and self-destructive lover--is most familiar as the author of brilliant comedies, including The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, and the decadent novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. This selection of critical writings reveals a different side of the great writer--the deep and serious reader of literature and philosophy, and the eloquent and original thinker about society and art. This illuminating collection includes "The Portrait of Mr. W. H.," "In Defense of Dorian Gray," reviews, and the writings from Intentions (1891), including "The Decay of Lying," "Pen, Pencil, Poison," and "The Critic as Artist."

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, Essays, Philosophy, Politics, 19th Century, Literature

432 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2001

About the author

Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.

Reviews

[Aric Cushing]

A man so ahead of his time it's shocking. He even predicts robots in the book's title essay. Don't miss this one.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilde turns Ayn Rand on her head by arguing only through Socialism can man be free enough to become creative and useful, whereby in Capitialism man spends too much time putting out the fires it causes and on which it thrives.
He seeks a non-authoritarian world whereby both government and corporations are not excessive. The power rests in guilds and not institutions.
As Fran Lebowitz writes: Capitalism came to Russia and destroyed Communism. Capitalism came to America and destroyed Democracy.
Wilde's book includes other essays which are witty and well tempered.

[Darlabatiasmith Asterbuckleyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creo que me acabo de leer TODO lo que NADIE lee de Oscar, lo cual me convierte oficialmente en su pana. ¿Soy yo una pedante intelectualista de la filosofía del arte y la estética? No, yo solo me quería leer un artículo (El espíritu del Hombre bajo el Socialismo) y acabé leyendo quinientas páginas de conceptos estéticos y referencias a muchos autores cuya nota a pie de página era “ver p. ### arriba”. Lado malo: no era mi plan. Mi plan era leer algo cortito. Lado bueno: ahora el Oscar y yo somos panas.
Digamos que he aprendido qué es la estética. Quizá no coincida con mi amigo W en la importancia de esta, o en la superioridad del crítico sobre todas las cosas, incluida la obra que critica, pero tengo que admitir que, en lo que se refiere a la opinión de W en estos temas, la tengo muy clara. Creo que podría redactar sendos artículos de opinión sobre qué diría W de cualquier cosa sin siquiera tener una opinión formada yo, ese es el nivel.
Es que el amigo tiene muchos argumentos.
Obviando la primera parte, reseñas de obras que no he leído, el resto del libro ha sido cuanto menos interesante,
(Si te interesa la estética, o si eres capaz de sacar interés de bajo las piedras, como yo)
Y he disfrutado mucho con la pluma del amigo. Oscar tiene una habilidad de esgrimir argumentos que parece que esgrime espadas, y muchas pullas o comentarios que suelta me hacían gracia aunque fuera solo por el nivel de sarcasmo o ironía que conseguía elaborar (me he reído hasta en los comentarios que necesitaban una nota aclaratoria porque el chiste era una referencia a un comentario en griego antiguo basado en la opinión de un todólogo francés olvidado por la historia pero relevante en su época SOY ESE TIPO DE PERSONA). Me gusta sobretodo cómo Oscar tiene que hacerse sus propios diálogos para elaborar sobre temas de calibre extremadamente intelectual (guiño a los filósofos griegos, si algo le gusta al amigo son los franceses y los griegos) para luego metértela del revés con algún punto pelota del palo “y los que opinen lo contrario son idiotas.” Pero con estilo. Jojojo, el regocijo de leer eso. Me daban ganas de servirme una copita de vino.
(Creo que estos libros solo se podrían leer con una copita de vino, pero no bebo vino, así que yo los leo Lúcida).
En fin, podría divagar largo y tendido pero como es harto improbable que nadie lea esta reseña, creo que con esto ya queda todo dicho.
Es broma. Falta por decir. Hablemos de estética. Es increíble la poca importancia que le he dado en mi vida a la estética y al arte de la contemplación, teniendo en cuenta que soy artista. Pues bien, aquí Oscar me ha hecho entender la importancia del arte en la vida, la originalidad y la creación (y la crítica a la creación), desde ángulos tan diferentes que seguramente no los encontraría en ningún sitio (o quizá sí, ya ha quedado claro que yo no sé nada de estética). La estética como algo estático, la estética como razón para el socialismo, la estética como ciencia en acción… Hablo en serio, este libro es un filón para meterse en este mundo. Wilde puede resultar extremadamente pedante, y un poco clasista, y cualquiera diría que no salía de la biblioteca, pero para introducirte a temas y bajar al pozo de la elucubración y el filosofismo, no encontraréis a nadie mejor. Cubo tras cubo de profundidad sobre la estética y el arte y Shakespeare hasta agotar todo el agua del pozo. Igual que en el Retrato de W.H., Oscar se dedica precisamente a eso: escoge la tumba, empieza a cavar, llega al ataúd, lo aparta de una patada, y sigue cavando. Hay más abajo, hay más por ver. Te lo va a enseñar. Madre mía, he visto las siete caras de un cubo, y solo tiene seis. ¿Y cómo salgo ahora de este agujero, Oscar? ¿Oscar? ¿Oscaaaar?
Y así en todos los ensayos. Maravilla.
Por supuesto, recomendadísimo.

[mae]

admittedly only read 3 or 4 essays but I think I'm starting to enjoy Wilde more. maybe I need to spend less time trying to understand him and just let it be

[kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm not exaggerating when i say that this man was so immensely ahead of his time. while some ideas in the soul of man under socialism could be articulated better, the general premise of the piece is absolutely incredible. i'm so pleasantly surprised by the sheer radicalism of oscar wilde, and i genuinely continue to enormously admire him as a writer and thinker :')

[alli · Rating 4 out of 5]

by oh boy does oscar have some things to say

[Justine Buhl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G

[Truman Denisovitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for the titular essay. I also loved in defence of Dorian Gray which reminded me of how great a story The Picture of Dorian Gray was... I skimmed through the rest (largely critiques of classical literature) because I am a bit of a philistine and the points were lost on me

Re: The Soul of Man Under Socialism, I get why everyone says it was ahead of its time... The points on a) the seed of crime being a punitive justice system rather than sin; and b) the ineffectiveness of charity landed particularly well with me

I don't get how people misinterpret and hate on him for this essay. It was written post-Marx/Engels but pre-Lenin/Stalin/Mao and it was hardly meant to be a political handbook (I genuinely reckon he wrote the whole thing to discuss individualism only because of its influence on art xD). He also acknowledges at the outset that he is not a proponent of authoritarian socialism/industrial tyranny

There are two quotes I loved, one about Utopia and one about selfishness & roses but i cbf finding them. Also, despite how well written the essays were I still miss the sassy dialogue of his plays and novels uwu

[E. G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction
Note on the Text

Eight Reviews (1885-90)
--1. Mr Whistler's Ten o'Clock
--2. The Relation of Dress to Art
--3. A Sentimental Journey through Literature
--4. Mr Pater's Imaginary Portraits
--5. [The Actor as Critic]
--6. Poetical Socialists
--7. Mr Swinburne's Last Volume
--8. Mr Pater's Last Volume

--The Portrait of Mr W. H. (expanded version 1889)

--In Defence of Dorian Gray (1890-91)

--The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891)

Intentions (1891)
--1. The Decay of Lying
--2. Pen, Pencil and Poison
--3. The Critic as Artist -- Part I
--The Critic as Artist -- Part II
--4. The Truth of Masks

Notes
Further Reading

[Liam Pilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was particularly fascinated by his views on crime and punishment and loved the rest of the book as well- even though I think there are parts with which I disagree (e.g. his views on nature). Also, the book is around 50% references to other works of art. I can see how this might be discouraging for some readers. I had to look most of them up (or glossed over them) but to me this was still very enlightening and I’m looking forward to rereading this in 25 years with more knowledge about basically everything.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:

‘Criticism will annihilate race-prejudices, by insisting upon the unity of the human mind in the variety of its forms.’ (p. 276)

‘EARNEST: Must we go, then, to Art for everything?
GILBERT: For everything. Because Art does not hurt us. The tears that we shed at a play are a type of exquisite sterile emotions that it is the function of Art to awaken. We weep but we are not wounded. (...)’ (p. 251)

‘When they say a work is grossly unintelligible, they mean that the artist has said or made a beautiful thing that is new; when they describe a work as grossly immoral, they mean that the artist has said or made a beautiful thing that is true.’ (p. 144)

‘It obviously follows that the more punishment is inflicted the more crime is produced, and most modern legislation has clearly recognized this (...)’ (p. 139)

‘It is clear, then, that no Authoritarian Socialism will do.’ (p. 131)

‘Disobedience, in the eyes of any one who has read history, is man’s original virtue.’ (p. 130)

‘It is only about things that do not interest one, that one can give a really unbiased opinion (...)’ (p. 24)

[William Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oscar Wilde's genius is in full force in this book. The Soul of Man Under Socialism is written so beautifully and is incredibly compelling. An incredibly entertaining read. The responses to the criticism of the picture of dorian gray are rather hilarious and highly revealing. Ultimately, however, the critic as an artist, the truth of mask and pen, pencil and poison really are incredibly unappreciated. All profound reflections on life, philosophy, history, art and done in such a pleasing manner.

"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. Through the parted curtains of the window I see the moon like a clipped piece of silver. Like gilded bees the stars cluster round her. The sky is a hard hollow sapphire. Let us go out into the night. Thought is wonderful, but adventure is more wonderful still. Who knows but we may meet Prince Florizel of Bohemia, and hear the fair Cuban tell us that she is not what she seems?" - The Critic As An Artist.

"The true perfection of man lies not in what man has, but in what man is.” - The Soul of Man Under Socialism.

[Jack McRavey · Rating 5 out of 5]

great collection of some of wilde's most important texts. the titular essay isn't a particularly insightful or rigorous work of dialectical materialism or anything, but is a very enlightening and affecting source for learning about the mood of oscar wilde's time regarding socialism. you can also find in this book the hilarious late 19th century equivalent of a youtube comments flame war wilde once had with a literary paper that criticised dorian gray. the dialogues 'decay of lying' and 'critic as artist' are fantastic works of aesthetic philosophy and literary theory. they totally changed the way i read and understood his fiction after reading them.

[Lutz Barz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The genius who declared himself at customs when entering the United States. His bon mots per line almost have left my copy in three glorious texture underlined passages. One can open any page and get impressed by his insight that flows so melodiously onto the page. As a philosopher he is highly recommended because of his devastating brevity. Unlike those who claim the title and swamp us under a deluge of strung out words forming somewhat belated coherent sentences which eventually aim to arrive at a logical conclusion whence one wonders how their minds manage to misconstrue life so audaciously in such a wanton fandango of associations to fill the gaps of their intelligence instead of aiding ours. The blight of academia whence Mr Wilde survived though deplored quite rightly the Passmen. As for the hopes he had for Socialism that too was swamped under a deluge of propaganda that promised much and delivered disproportionately less as time went on. Scientific it was not. Perhaps because as he wrote: 'Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval. When man is happy, he is in harmony with himself and his environment. The new Individualism, for whose service Socialism, whether it wills it or not, is working, will be perfect harmony.' p 160. Marx had considered something similar that after an eight hour day the worker had time to pursue their true interests. Except of course in practice when legislators devise laws for the imagination the result became totalitarianism.

[Issa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mainly read this for the titular essay and was a little bit disappointed at all the claims Wilde makes that are anecdotal, stretched out interpretations of Biblical scripture, and overall not as structured as most other philosophical texts. He does not lay out groundwork for these claims which make him hard to believe. Still, some of the points he makes are interesting.

[Linda]

Oscar Wilde class:
"In Defence of Dorian Gray"
"The Soul of Man under Socialism"

[Ainsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for HST 272

[Taj Martin-Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Oscar Wilde! Won't be my last.

[Aleja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oscar Wilde pudo haber escrito Das Kapital pero Karl Marx jamás podría haber escrito The soul of man under socialism

[Ines]

aesthetic philosophy is hard as fuck but the socialism essay slapped!

[Zuzanna W · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a long ride, but at last I'm done.

[Kujan Koju · Rating 5 out of 5]

most people exist, that is all

[Savannah Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Do not trust my review, I just love Oscar Wilde)

[Sjonni]

"The Soul of Man Under Socialism" is not a reactionary political essay about socialism. Published in 1891, well before anyone anywhere had attempted bringing about a socialist regime (the Paris Commune being a possible exception but it is wholly ignored here), the essay is uniquely concerned with the potential freedom of reflection artists might gain if private poverty and its evils were abolished. Wilde is occupied primarily with the meaningfulness and scope of art and supposes that socialism, as it is understood at the time, might create a renewed hellenism by empowering the individual.
Interestingly, Wilde makes a few prescient comments about authoritarian socialism has it eventually materialized.

The volume contains further critical works by Wilde, all of them extremely worthwhile, and concerned with the validity of art criticism (The Critc as Artist) and the precedence of logos over reality (The Decay of Lying).

"Scientifically speaking, the basis of life - the energy of life, as Aristotle would call it - is simply the desire for expression, and Art is always presenting various forms through which this expression can be attained. Life seizes on them and uses them, even if they be to her own hurt. Young men [...] have died by their own hand because by his own hand Werther died."

"Action! What is action? It dies at the moment of its energy. It is a base concession to fact. The world is made by the singer for the dreamer."

[Coral · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...for the recognition of private property has really harmed individualism, and obscured it, by confusing a man with what he possesses. It has led individualism entirely astray. It has made gain not growth its aim. So that man thought that the important thing was to have, and it did not know that the important thing is to be... With the abolition of private property, then, we shall have true beautiful, healthy individualism. Nobody will waste his life in accumulating things and the symbols for things. One will live. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

It can´t be read too many times.

[Sharrien Ingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing set of ideas. Very perceptive and able to put these ideas in such a way that is easy to understand, comprehend and adopt. It isn't long, so if you haven't already..I recommend everyone give this a read.

[Haeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The coquetry with which Wilde writes is absolutely irresistible. The especial delight of this work, is that it is not only Wildely entertaining, but it renders a number of poignant and well-worked theories in regards to potential liberality of socialism

[Tara Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's so much that could be said or written about Wilde's completely irreverent writing style. Even in his essays, there's a "thumbing your nose" quality that's hard to resist.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

I've finished more than half this book, but have put it aside for a while before I tackle the last 4 essays in here.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Soul of Man Under Socialism"
"The Decay of Lying"
"The Critic as Artist"
"Portrait of Mr. W.H."

[Jihan Ayesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

sublime thoughts have always been attributed to Oscar!