The Faiths of Oscar Wilde : Catholicism, Folklore and Ireland

An original and energetic examination of the relationship between theology, faith, religious history and national politics in the works of Oscar Wilde, which focuses in particular on his life-long attraction to Catholicism. Wilde's Protestant heritage is also scrutinised, and its continued influence on him, as well as his antagonism towards it, is related to the narrative modes he chose and the philosophical positions he adopted. "This energetic and original book examines in detail the relationship between faith, theology, religious history and national politics in the major writings of Oscar Wilde. It focuses in particular on Wilde's lifelong attraction to Catholicism, an attraction originating in his time spent as a boy in the west of Ireland. Killeen also closely examines the influence of Wilde's Protestant heritage on his work: his antagonism towards this heritage is closely related to the narrative modes he chose to work in, and the aesthetic philosophy he espoused. Overall, the book demonstrates how Wilde combined his religious leanings with a reconfiguration of Nationalism, while an Irish 'exile' in London. For Wilde, Catholicism and Irish Nationalism were interdependent projects that operated as the fields of force energising his writing. Providing an entirely fresh critical perspective on his writing (including The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest), this new study will be of interest to all students and scholars of Wilde."--Jacket This energetic and original book examines in detail the relationship between faith, theology, religious history and national politics in the major writings of Oscar Wilde. It focuses in particular on Wilde's lifelong attraction to Catholicism, an attraction originating in his time spent as a boy, in the West of Ireland. Killeen also closely examines the influence of Wilde's Protestant heritage on his work: his antagonism towards this heritage is closely related to the narrative modes he chose to work in, and the aesthetic philosophy he espoused. Overall, the book demonstrates how Wilde combined his religious leanings with a reconfiguration of Nationalism, while an Irish 'exile' in London. For Wilde, Catholicism and Irish Nationalism were inter-dependent projects that operated as the fields of force energising his writing. Providing an entirely fresh critical perspective on his writing, (including The Picture of Dorian Grey, The Importance of Being Earnest), this new study will be of interest to all students and scholars of Wilde "Fairy Tales, Natural History and Victorian Culture deals with the way in which natural history was connected to the world of fairies and highlights how shifts in the understanding of natural history, especially after 1859, had a significant impact on fairy stories and Victorian experiments with the literary fairy tale. By exploring the interaction between scientific and literary fields, this book shows the ways in which natural knowledge was shaped and disseminated in Victorian culture and illuminates cultural practices through which new representations of nature and the natural world were popularised. This original approach to Victorian culture, blending studies of fictional and non-fictional narratives, examines therefore a part of the history of the mediation of knowledge about nature in the Victorian period and points out how the mediation of this new knowledge contributed to the Victorians' awareness of environmental issues"-- Provided by publisher "Colonial Girlhood in Literature, Culture and History, 1840-1950 explores a range of real and fictional colonial girlhood experiences from Jamaica, Mauritius, South Africa, India, New Zealand, Australia, England, Ireland, and Canada to reflect on the transitional state of girlhood between childhood and adulthood. The interconnected themes of colonialism, empire, gender, race, and class show how colonial girls occupy ambivalent positions in British and settler societies between 1840 and 1950. Although girlhood is often linked to freedom, independence, novelty, and modernity, it may also represent an idea that needs to be contained and controlled to serve the needs of the nation. Across national boundaries, the malleability of colonial girlhoods is evident. Drawing on a range of approaches including history, anthropology, and literary and cultural studies, this book reflects on the complexities of girlhood during the colonial era."-- Provided by publisher Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-24 Child and Man: the Development of a Catholic Mind....Pages 25-43 Faith and Reason: the Bible, the Catholic Church and Wilde’s Scandalous Writings....Pages 44-78 Body and Soul: Nature, the Host and Folklore in The Picture of Dorian Gray....Pages 79-108 Religion and Politics: Wilde’s Social Philosophy....Pages 109-137 Art and Life: the Politics of Ritualism in The Importance of Being Earnest....Pages 138-161 Realism and Romance: Between Protestantism and Catholicism in Wilde’s Final Writings....Pages 162-185 Conclusion....Pages 186-189 Back Matter....Pages 190-228