Chapter 7 (in The Life of Oscar Wilde )

MP3 Audio CD. Chapter 7 (in The Life of Oscar Wilde )

CHAPTER VII

"Believe me, child, all the gentleman's misfortunes arose
from his being educated at a public
school...."--FIELDING.


In England success is a plant of slow growth. The tone of good
society, though responsive to political talent, and openly, eagerly
sensitive to money-making talent, is contemptuous of genius and rates
the utmost brilliancy of the talker hardly higher than the feats of an
acrobat. Men are obstinate, slow, trusting a bank-balance rather than
brains; and giving way reluctantly to sharp-witted superiority. The
road up to power or influence in England is full of pitfalls and far
too arduous for those who have neither high birth nor wealth to help
them. The natural inequality of men instead of being mitigated by law
or custom is everywhere strengthened and increased by a thousand
effete social distinctions. Even in the best class where a certain
easy familiarity reigns there is circle above circle, and the summits
are isolated by heredity.

The conditions of English society being what they are, it is all but
impossible at first to account for the rapidity of Oscar Wilde's
social success; yet if we tell over his advantages and bring one or
two into the account which have not yet been reckoned, we shall find
almost every element that conduces to popularity. By talent and
conviction he was the natural pet of the aristocracy whose selfish
prejudices he defended and whose leisure he amused. The middle class,
as has been noted, disliked and despised him: but its social influence
is small and its papers, and especially Punch, made him notorious by
attacking him in and out of season. The comic weekly, indeed, helped
to build up his reputation by the almost inexplicable bitterness of
its invectiv