4 Stars
Wilde's name came up in conversation when a dear friend mentioned they found a 1946 copy of his collected works in a used bookstore and was using that as reading material for their bus ride to and from work. After finishing At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails they needed something new and stumbled upon it while perusing and 5 quid was a perfect price.
So, this is the roundabout way that I found myself reading Wilde again so quickly. Where De Profundis was bleak, poignant, and filled with determination to pull oneself out of a hole--the dark side of the street--this was absurd, pointed, and optimistic in its frivolity. The bright side of the street was not filled without its critique and this is what I enjoy about Wilde's works that I've read. That laugh that has a bit of a slap in it.
And this quote is always funny:
The silliness surrounding the falsities and switched identities is amusing while the commentary about what is valued in society is the needle. Position, money and names--quite literally the importance of a name, drawn out ridiculously.
So, this is the roundabout way that I found myself reading Wilde again so quickly. Where De Profundis was bleak, poignant, and filled with determination to pull oneself out of a hole--the dark side of the street--this was absurd, pointed, and optimistic in its frivolity. The bright side of the street was not filled without its critique and this is what I enjoy about Wilde's works that I've read. That laugh that has a bit of a slap in it.
Algernon: I really don't see anything romantic in proposing, It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact.
Jack: I have no doubt about that, dear Algy. The Divorce Court was specially invented for people whose memories are so curiously constituted.
And this quote is always funny:
Lady Bracknell: To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
The silliness surrounding the falsities and switched identities is amusing while the commentary about what is valued in society is the needle. Position, money and names--quite literally the importance of a name, drawn out ridiculously.
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