The Duality In Oscar Wilde’s Social Comedies

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), an Irish-born English playwright, essayist, novelist andpoet. He is regarded as one of the most representative proponents for the Movementof Aestheticism. Wilde’s whole life was spent in the mid and late Victorian Age of theEngland, it was a period which multiple contradiction has reached the highest level.Under such social background, Wilde found a stage to express his duality andcontradictions, that is his literary creations. At the same time he seeks the union of thetwo sides. His four social comedies: Lady Windermere’s Fun (1892), A Woman of NoImportance（1893），An Ideal Husband（1895），The Importance of Being Earnest（1895）reflects his dual attitude to the Victorian age properly. Wilde accepts them ina criticism way, such duality subverted the traditional moral value and adds a specialsignificance to his literary works, he also uses his unique way to interpret thecontradictions and the inner duality.This thesis aims to discuss the duality embodied in his four social comedies fromthree aspects: the characters, themes, and language. Combining with the Victorian age,The author will try to discover the duality in his four social comedies. The first part isthe introduction which deals with the author’s life, social background and thecomments on him and his works by both domestic and overseas scholars. Then it isthe chiefly introduction of the four comedies.Chapter one studies the duality in characters. It mainly discusses two aspects: thefirst part discusses the dandies in comedies. They are amongst the most attractive ofWilde’s characters. The dandies are cynical, absurd on the surface, but in their innermind they possess many precious qualities. The second part is about the femaleimages. In Wilde’s comedies, females are fallen, money worshiping, snobbish andselfish. But at the crucial moment, they shows readers they are the smart, brave,independent women.Chapter two analyzes the duality in themes. Firstly, it deals with the comparisonbetween art and reality. Wilde has long been considered as a paradoxical figure because of the contradictions of his works. On one hand, Wilde insists on his claimthat art is useless. On the other hand, his four comedies are all centers around socialreality. The second part discusses the comparison between the surface immorality andthe inner morality. Wilde also insists that there are no such things as moral or immoral,but the characters he creates are all concerns with moral problems.Chapter three explores the duality in language. Wilde has long been considered bymany critics as a language genius. His paradoxes and epigrams are especially funny,absurd and humorous, but behind the surface they are full of truth of life and some ofthem are still used by the modern readers.The conclusion points out that the embodiment of the duality in Wilde’s foursocial comedies and analysis of the comedies comprehensively. Finally is thedescription of Wilde’s contribution to the history of English literature.