A review by brnineworms
In Praise of Disobedience: The Soul of Man Under Socialism and Other Writings by Oscar Wilde

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

3.0

I bought this book because I was intrigued by “The Soul of Man Under Socialism.” I was rather disappointed. What started out as a strikingly ahead-of-its-time essay advocating fully automated luxury communism soon veered off into what was essentially a rant about how “the public” doesn’t appreciate good art. Both aspects of the essay are deeply rooted in classist rhetoric. I can’t tell whether this is representative of Wilde’s own perspective; perhaps he was trying to convince the rich to back socialist reform?

Bartlett, the editor of this collection of Wilde’s writings, has this to say: “What Wilde offers — or indeed, actively constructs — is a space of intimate but truly discomforting contact between the reader and his text. The essay is in essence a monologue, a firework display of opinion in the course of which the reader is stunned, offended, charmed — but never offered any evidence or strategy to support the text’s high-toned assertions. The effect — paradoxically, of course — is that Wilde’s particular way of expressing himself turns the monologue into a conversation. It makes response inevitable.” Personally, I think this interpretation is interesting but overly generous. Does it unveil the depth of Wilde’s genius, or simply reflect how deeply we want to elevate Wilde to this “genius” status? We want Wilde to be erudite and profound. It’s what we expect of him. He was (in)famous for his wit, but he was as capable as the rest of us of being inaccurate and inarticulate and dull, as this book demonstrates.

I don’t have much to say about the rest of the book. “Intentions” was similarly dry. I liked “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime,” though – a short story about mysticism and murder. That’s what saved the book for me, and bumped its rating up to three stars.

CONTENT WARNINGS: classism, murder, mentions of suicide and slavery