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Lady Windermere's Fan

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A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard , fingerprint , RFID card, security token or coin), by supplying secret information (such as a number or letter permutation or password ), by a combination thereof, or it may only be able to be opened from one side, such as a door chain.

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129-799: Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde , first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is having an affair with another woman; she confronts him with it. Although he denies it, he invites the other woman, Mrs Erlynne, to his wife's birthday ball. Angered by her husband's supposed unfaithfulness, Lady Windermere decides to leave her husband for Lord Darlington, who has recently confessed his love for her. After discovering what has transpired, Mrs Erlynne follows Lady Windermere and attempts to persuade her to return to her husband and in

258-455: A Mrs Erlynne , and possibly giving her large sums of money. These rumours have been gossip among London society for quite a while, though seemingly this is the first Lady Windermere has heard about it. Following the departure of the Duchess, Lady Windermere decides to check her husband's bank book . She finds the book in a desk and sees that nothing appears amiss, though on returning she discovers

387-459: A charming rendering of a delightful play, and your appreciation has been most intelligent. I congratulate you on the great success of your performance, which persuades me that you think almost as highly of the play as I do myself. Mrs Erlynne was originated by Marion Terry , and Lady Windermere by Lily Hanbury , who was succeeded after a few performances by Winifred Emery . The play's Broadway première on 5 February 1893 at Palmer's Theatre

516-534: A cryptographic key and wireless protocol. Smart locks have begun to be used more commonly in residential areas, often controlled with smartphones . Smart locks are used in coworking spaces and offices to enable keyless office entry. In addition, electronic locks cannot be picked with conventional tools. Locksmithing is a traditional trade, and in most countries requires completion of an apprenticeship . The level of formal education required varies from country to country, from no qualifications required at all in

645-511: A scholarship by competitive examination in his second and, in his finals, won the Berkeley Gold Medal in Greek, the university's highest academic award. He was encouraged to compete for a demyship , a half-scholarship worth £95 per year (equivalent to £11,100 in 2023), at Magdalen College, Oxford , which he won easily. At Magdalen, he read Greats from 1874 to 1878. He applied to join

774-429: A "security layer" that exceeds the reasonable gain of an intruder. Traditional key cutting is the primary method of key duplication. It is a subtractive process named after the metalworking process of cutting , where a flat blank key is ground down to form the same shape as the template (original) key. The process roughly follows these stages: Modern key cutting replaces the mechanical key following aspect with

903-486: A V-shape surrounding the keyhole. They are often called drunk man's lock , as these locks were, according to certain sources, designed in such a way a person can still find the keyhole in the dark, although this might not be the case as the ornaments might have been purely aesthetic. In more recent times similar locks have been designed. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century and

1032-635: A bachelor in London. The 1881 British Census listed Wilde as a boarder at 1 (now 44) Tite Street , Chelsea, where Frank Miles , a society painter, was the head of the household. Lillie Langtry was introduced to Wilde at Frank Miles' studio in 1877. The most glamorous woman in England, Langtry assumed great importance to Wilde during his early years in London, and they remained close friends for many years; he tutored her in Latin and later encouraged her to pursue acting. She wrote in her autobiography that he "possessed

1161-473: A bolt, door fixture or attachment, and key. When the key was inserted, pins within the fixture were lifted out of drilled holes within the bolt, allowing it to move. When the key was removed, the pins fell part-way into the bolt, preventing movement. The warded lock was also present from antiquity and remains the most recognizable lock and key design in the Western world. The first all-metal locks appeared between

1290-671: A bunch of altar lilies instead. Wilde did retain a lifelong interest in Catholic theology and liturgy. While at Magdalen College, Wilde became well known for his role in the aesthetic and decadent movements . He wore his hair long, openly scorned "manly" sports – though he occasionally boxed  – and decorated his rooms with peacock feathers, lilies, sunflowers , blue china and other objets d'art . He entertained lavishly, and once remarked to some friends, "I find it harder and harder every day to live up to my blue china." The line spread famously; aesthetes adopted it as

1419-474: A cylindrical key with precise notches along the surface; these moved the metal slides that impeded the turning of the bolt into an exact alignment, allowing the lock to open. The lock was at the limits of the precision manufacturing capabilities of the time and was said by its inventor to be unpickable. In the same year Bramah started the Bramah Locks company at 124 Piccadilly, and displayed the "Challenge Lock" in

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1548-440: A dance in their home at Drumacon, Co Cavan . One of the sisters had brushed against the flames of a fire or a candelabra and her dress caught fire; in various versions, the man she was dancing with carried her and her sister down to douse the flames in the snow, or her sister ran her down the stairs and rolled her in the snow, causing her own muslin dress to catch fire too. Until his early twenties, Wilde summered at Moytura House,

1677-411: A disc that allowed the key to pass but narrowed the field of view, hiding the levers from anybody attempting to pick the lock. The Chubb brothers also received a patent for the first burglar-resisting safe and began production in 1835. The designs of Barron and Chubb were based on the use of movable levers, but Joseph Bramah , a prolific inventor, developed an alternative method in 1784. His lock used

1806-443: A double-acting pin tumbler lock was granted to American physician Abraham O. Stansbury in England in 1805, but the modern version, still in use today, was invented by American Linus Yale Sr. in 1848. This lock design used pins of varying lengths to prevent the lock from opening without the correct key. In 1861, Linus Yale Jr. was inspired by the original 1840s pin-tumbler lock designed by his father, thus inventing and patenting

1935-676: A family to support, in mid-1887 Wilde became the editor of The Lady's World magazine, his name prominent on the cover. He promptly renamed it as The Woman's World and raised its tone, adding serious articles on parenting, culture, and politics, while keeping discussions of fashion and arts. Two pieces of fiction were usually included, one to be read to children, the other for adult readers. Wilde worked hard to solicit good contributions from his wide artistic acquaintance, including those of Lady Wilde and his wife, Constance, while his own "Literary and Other Notes" were themselves popular and amusing. The initial vigour and excitement which he brought to

2064-526: A febrile illness. His poem " Requiescat " was written in her memory; the first stanza reads: Tread lightly, she is near Under the snow Speak gently, she can hear The daisies grow. Until he was nine Wilde was educated at home, where a French nursemaid and a German governess taught him their languages. He joined his brother Willie at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen , County Fermanagh, which he attended from 1864 to 1871. At Portora, although he

2193-684: A full-page reprint in the Lady's Pictorial . ... When the National Republican discussed Wilde, it was to explain 'a few items as to the animal's pedigree.' And on 22 January 1882, the Washington Post illustrated the Wild Man of Borneo alongside Oscar Wilde of England and asked 'How far is it from this to this?'" When he visited San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, "The city

2322-547: A life. Who knows that better than I? Lady Windermere is alone in Lord Darlington's rooms, unsure if she has made the right decision. Eventually she resolves to return to her husband, but then Mrs Erlynne appears. Despite Mrs Erlynne's honest attempts to persuade her to return home to her husband, Lady Windermere is convinced her appearance is part of some plot conceived by her and Lord Windermere. Mrs Erlynne finally breaks Lady Windermere's resistance by imploring her to return for

2451-589: A long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life. Oscar Wilde was born at 21 Westland Row , Dublin (now home of the Oscar Wilde Centre , Trinity College), the second of three children born to an Anglo-Irish couple: Jane, née Elgee , and Sir William Wilde . Oscar was two years younger than his brother, William (Willie) Wilde . Jane Wilde was a niece (by marriage) of the novelist, playwright and clergyman Charles Maturin , who may have influenced her own literary career. She believed, mistakenly, that she

2580-942: A musical adaptation. Films include: Radio adaptations include: Sources Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray , and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts. Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin . In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats ; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist , first at Trinity College Dublin , then at Magdalen College, Oxford . He became associated with

2709-651: A number of favourite haunts in London. These included the Café Royal in Piccadilly, Hatchards bookstore in Piccadilly, and the department stores Liberty & Co. on Great Marlborough Street and Harrods in Knightsbridge; Wilde was among Harrods' first selected customers who were granted extended credit. Criticism over artistic matters in The Pall Mall Gazette provoked a letter of self-defence, and soon Wilde

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2838-624: A number of unique profiles requiring a specifically milled key blank to engage the lock's tumblers . Keys appear in various symbols and coats of arms, the best-known being that of the Holy See : derived from the phrase in Matthew 16:19 which promises Saint Peter , in Roman Catholic tradition the first pope , the Keys of Heaven . But this is by no means the only case. Some works of art associate keys with

2967-517: A painful duty", and of Marion Crawford that "he immolated himself on the altar of local colour". Wilde had been regularly writing fairy stories for magazines. He published The Happy Prince and Other Tales in 1888. In 1891 he published two more collections, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories , and in September A House of Pomegranates was dedicated "To Constance Mary Wilde". " The Portrait of Mr. W. H. ", which Wilde had begun in 1887,

3096-469: A playwright began with his production of Lady Windermere's Fan , his recherché attitude and personal aesthetics reflected in his writing. Fortunato elaborates on the facets of his aestheticism—an aestheticism that distorts and lies on the surface, rejects any notion of an authentic self, and centres on the female aesthete and woman of fashion. As he describes, understanding Wilde as a modernist through his writing of Lady Windermere's Fan can help us understand

3225-430: A process in which the original key is scanned electronically, processed by software, stored, then used to guide a cutting wheel when a key is produced. The capability to store electronic copies of the key's shape allows for key shapes to be stored for key cutting by any party that has access to the key image. Different key cutting machines are more or less automated, using different milling or grinding equipment, and follow

3354-532: A remarkably fascinating and compelling personality", and "the cleverness of his remarks received added value from his manner of delivering them." Wilde regularly attended the theatre and was especially taken with star actresses such as Ellen Terry and Sarah Bernhardt . In 1880 he completed his first play, Vera; or, The Nihilists , a tragic melodrama about Russian nihilism, and distributed privately printed copies to various actresses whom he hoped to interest in its sole female role. A one-off performance in London

3483-418: A scene if Mrs Erlynne appears, to which Lord Windermere responds that it would be in her best interest not to do so. Lady Windermere leaves in disgust to prepare for the party, and Lord Windermere reveals in soliloquy that he is protecting Mrs Erlynne's true identity to save his wife extreme humiliation. What shall I do? I dare not tell her who this woman really is. The shame would kill her. Act II opens in

3612-542: A second bank book: one with a lock . After prying the lock open, she finds it lists large sums of money given to Mrs Erlynne. At this point, Lord Windermere enters and she confronts him. Though he cannot deny that he has had dealings with Mrs Erlynne, he states that he is not betraying Lady Windermere. He requests that she send Mrs Erlynne an invitation to her birthday ball that evening to help her back into society. When Lady Windermere refuses, he writes out an invitation himself. Lady Windermere makes clear her intention to cause

3741-549: A second woman. Sir William acknowledged paternity of his children and provided for their education, arranging for them to be raised by his relatives. The family moved to No 1 Merrion Square in 1855. With both Sir William and Lady Wilde's success and delight in social life, the home soon became the site of a "unique medical and cultural milieu". Guests at their salon included Sheridan Le Fanu , Charles Lever , George Petrie , Isaac Butt , William Rowan Hamilton and Samuel Ferguson . Wilde's sister, Isola Francesca Emily Wilde,

3870-673: A series of longer prose pieces which were published in the major literary-intellectual journals of the day. In January 1889, The Decay of Lying: A Dialogue appeared in The Nineteenth Century , and Pen, Pencil and Poison , a satirical biography of Thomas Griffiths Wainewright , in The Fortnightly Review , edited by Wilde's friend Frank Harris . Two of Wilde's four writings on aesthetics are dialogues: though Wilde had evolved professionally from lecturer to writer, he retained an oral tradition of sorts. Having always excelled as

3999-488: A set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock. In its simplest form, lifting the tumbler above a certain height will allow the bolt to slide past. Lever locks are commonly recessed inside wooden doors or on some older forms of padlocks, including fire brigade padlocks. A magnetic keyed lock is a locking mechanism whereby the key utilizes magnets as part of the locking and unlocking mechanism. A magnetic key would use from one to many small magnets oriented so that

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4128-409: A set of obstructions, or wards, to prevent the lock from opening unless the correct key is inserted. The key has notches or slots that correspond to the obstructions in the lock, allowing it to rotate freely inside the lock. Warded locks are typically reserved for low-security applications as a well-designed skeleton key can successfully open a wide variety of warded locks. The pin tumbler lock uses

4257-490: A set of pins to prevent the lock from opening unless the correct key is inserted. The key has a series of grooves on either side of the key's blade that limit the type of lock the key can slide into. As the key slides into the lock, the horizontal grooves on the blade align with the wards in the keyway allowing or denying entry to the cylinder . A series of pointed teeth and notches on the blade, called bittings , then allow pins to move up and down until they are in line with

4386-421: A short but serious essay on the question, Wilde tossed the theory to the three characters of the story, allowing it to unfold as background to the plot  – an early masterpiece of Wilde's combining many elements that interested him: conversation, literature and the idea that to shed oneself of an idea one must first convince another of its truth. Ransome concludes that Wilde succeeds precisely because

4515-442: A slogan, but it was criticized as being terribly vacuous. Some elements disdained the aesthetes, but their languorous attitudes and showy costumes became a recognisable pose. When four of his fellow students physically assaulted Wilde, he fended them off single-handedly, to the surprise of his detractors. By his third year Wilde had truly begun to develop himself and his myth, and considered his learning to be more expansive than what

4644-475: A smaller flat key with serrated edges as well as pins of varying lengths within the lock itself, the same design of the pin-tumbler lock which still remains in use today. The modern Yale lock is essentially a more developed version of the Egyptian lock. Despite some improvement in key design since, the majority of locks today are still variants of the designs invented by Bramah, Chubb and Yale. A warded lock uses

4773-407: A strange influence over my life". He learned tracts of the book by heart, and carried it with him on travels in later years. Pater gave Wilde his sense of almost flippant devotion to art, though he gained a purpose for it through the lectures and writings of critic John Ruskin . Ruskin despaired at the self-validating aestheticism of Pater, arguing that the importance of art lies in its potential for

4902-516: A student, Wilde worked with Mahaffy on the latter's book Social Life in Greece . Wilde, despite later reservations, called Mahaffy "my first and best teacher" and "the scholar who showed me how to love Greek things". For his part, Mahaffy boasted of having created Wilde; later, he said Wilde was "the only blot on my tutorship". The University Philosophical Society also provided an education, as members discussed intellectual and artistic subjects such as

5031-457: A student, he was still eligible to enter. Its subject, "Historical Criticism among the Ancients" seemed ready-made for Wilde – with both his skill in composition and ancient learning – but he struggled to find his voice in the long, flat, scholarly style. Unusually, no prize was awarded that year. With the last of his inheritance from the sale of his father's houses, he set himself up as

5160-472: A swampy country lane into a smart road neatly edged with flowers. Wilde won the 1878 Newdigate Prize for his poem " Ravenna ", which reflected on his visit there in the previous year, and he duly read it at Encaenia . In November 1878, he graduated Bachelor of Arts with a double first , having been placed in the first class in Classical Moderations (the first part of the course) and then again in

5289-532: A thin volume of very mediocre verse", would improperly influence the behaviour of men and women. According to biographer Michèle Mendelssohn, Wilde was the subject of anti-Irish caricature and was portrayed as a monkey, a blackface performer and a Christy's Minstrel throughout his career. " Harper's Weekly put a sunflower-worshipping monkey dressed as Wilde on the front of the January 1882 issue. The drawing stimulated other American maligners and, in England, had

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5418-472: A thoroughly healthy organism, and insure the material well-being of each member of the community. It will, in fact, give Life its proper basis and its proper environment". At the same time, he stressed that the government most amenable to artists was no government at all. Wilde envisioned a society where mechanisation has freed human effort from the burden of necessity, effort which can instead be expended on artistic creation. George Orwell summarised, "In effect,

5547-614: A villa his father had built in Cong, County Mayo . There the young Wilde and his brother Willie played with George Moore . Wilde left Portora with a royal scholarship to read classics at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), from 1871 to 1874, sharing rooms with his older brother Willie Wilde . Trinity, one of the leading classical schools, placed him with scholars such as R. Y. Tyrell , Arthur Palmer , Edward Dowden and his tutor, Professor J. P. Mahaffy , who inspired his interest in Greek literature . As

5676-622: A wealthy Queen's Counsel (lawyer). She happened to be visiting Dublin in 1884 when Wilde was lecturing at the Gaiety Theatre . He proposed to her, and they married on 29 May 1884 at the Anglican St James's Church, Paddington , in London. Although Constance had an annual allowance of £250, which was generous for a young woman (equivalent to £32,900 in 2023), the Wildes had relatively luxurious tastes. They had preached to others for so long on

5805-439: A wit and raconteur, he often composed by assembling phrases, bons mots and witticisms into a longer, cohesive work. Wilde was concerned about the effect of moralising on art; he believed in art's redemptive, developmental powers: "Art is individualism, and individualism is a disturbing and disintegrating force. There lies its immense value. For what it seeks is to disturb monotony of type, slavery of custom, tyranny of habit, and

5934-405: A woman visiting. As Lord Windermere rises to leave, the fan is pointed out to him, which he instantly recognises as his wife's. He demands to know if Lord Darlington has her hidden somewhere. Lord Darlington refuses to cooperate, believing that Lady Windermere has come to him. Just as Lord Windermere is about to discover Lady Windermere's hiding place, Mrs Erlynne reveals herself instead, shocking all

6063-694: Is divided into two camps, those who thought Wilde was an engaging speaker and an original thinker, and those who thought he was the most pretentious fraud ever perpetrated on a groaning public." Though his press reception was hostile, Wilde was well received in diverse settings across America: he drank whiskey with miners in Leadville, Colorado , and was fêted at the most fashionable salons in many cities he visited. His earnings, plus expected income from The Duchess of Padua , allowed him to move to Paris between February and mid-May 1883. While there he met Robert Sherard , whom he entertained constantly. "We are dining on

6192-427: Is enraged and confused and asks Lord Darlington to be her friend. Instead of friendship, Lord Darlington takes advantage of Lady Windermere's tragic state and professes his love to her, offering her his life, and inviting her to risk short-term social humiliation for a new life with him. Lord Darlington sets her an ultimatum to try to convince her to take action immediately, while still in a state of shock. Lady Windermere

6321-477: Is known as the master key, serve to open the lock. Common metals include brass , plated brass, nickel silver , and steel . The act of opening a lock without a key is called lock picking . Locks have been in use for over 6000 years, with one early example discovered in the ruins of Nineveh , the capital of ancient Assyria . Locks such as this were developed into the Egyptian wooden pin lock , which consisted of

6450-473: Is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. In its simplest implementation, a key operates one lock or set of locks that are keyed alike, a lock/key system where each similarly keyed lock requires the same, unique key. The key serves as a security token for access to the locked area; locks are meant to only allow persons having the correct key to open it and gain access. In more complex mechanical lock/key systems, two different keys, one of which

6579-600: Is preparing for her coming of age birthday ball that evening—has a visit from a friend, Lord Darlington. She shows off her new fan : a present from her husband. She explains to Lord Darlington that she is upset over the compliments he continues to pay to her, revealing that she has very particular views about what is acceptable in society, due in part to her somewhat Puritan upbringing. The Duchess of Berwick calls and Lord Darlington leaves shortly thereafter. The Duchess informs Lady Windermere that her husband may be betraying her marriage by making repeated visits to another woman,

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6708-432: Is restored, but both Lord and Lady Windermere keep their secrets. The premiere at the St James's Theatre was followed by a famous speech by Wilde. When Wilde answered the calls of "Author!" and appeared before the curtains after the third act, critics were more offended by the cigarette in his hand than his ironically egotistic speech: Ladies and Gentlemen. I have enjoyed this evening immensely . The actors have given us

6837-596: Is shocked by the revelation, and finds she does not have the courage to take the offer. Heartbroken, Lord Darlington announces that he will be leaving the country the next day and that they will never meet again, and leaves. The guests begin to leave, and say their goodnights to Lady Windermere—some remarking positively about Mrs Erlynne. On the other side of the room Mrs Erlynne is discussing her plans with Lord Windermere; she intends to marry Lord Augustus and will require some money from Lord Windermere. Later, Lady Windermere, in spite of her earlier reluctance, decides to depart

6966-467: Is shocked to see Mrs Erlynne after the events of the night before, but she requests his company as she heads to her carriage, and he soon returns to the Windermeres with news that she has satisfactorily explained the events of the evening, and that they are to marry and live out of England. Lady Windermere, taking her husband's hand, to Lord Augustus: "Ah, you're marrying a very good woman!" Their marriage

7095-402: Is sympathetic towards her and suggests that as the London season is almost over that they head to their country estate to forget the recent incident. Lady Windermere apologises for her previous suspicion of her husband and behaviour at the party, and Lord Windermere makes clear his new contempt for Mrs Erlynne—warning his wife to stay away from her. Mrs Erlynne's arrival is announced along with

7224-547: The Lake District in the north of England, where he stayed with a friend and later met Robert Ross . Numerous characters in the play appear to draw their names from the north of England: Lady Windermere from the lake and nearby town Windermere (though Wilde had used "Windermere" earlier in Lord Arthur Savile's Crime ), the Duchess of Berwick from Berwick-upon-Tweed , Lord Darlington from Darlington . Wilde began writing

7353-766: The Oxford Union , but failed to be elected. Attracted by its dress, secrecy and ritual, Wilde petitioned the Apollo Masonic Lodge at Oxford, and was soon raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. During a resurgent interest in Freemasonry in his third year, he commented he "would be awfully sorry to give it up if I secede from the Protestant Heresy". Wilde's active involvement in Freemasonry lasted only for

7482-513: The SS Arizona , arriving on 2 January 1882, and disembarking the following day. Originally planned to last four months, the tour continued for almost a year owing to its commercial success. Wilde sought to transpose the beauty he saw in art into daily life. This was a practical as well as philosophical project: in Oxford he had surrounded himself with blue china and lilies, and now one of his lectures

7611-402: The shear line of the inner and outer cylinder, allowing the cylinder or cam to rotate freely and the lock to open. An additional pin called the master pin is present between the key and driver pins in locks that accept master keys, to allow the plug to rotate at multiple pin elevations. A wafer tumbler lock is similar to the pin tumbler lock and works on a similar principle. However, unlike

7740-407: The 1880s, Wilde was a close friend of the artist James McNeill Whistler and they dined together on many occasions. At one of these dinners, Whistler produced a bon mot that Wilde found particularly witty, Wilde exclaimed that he wished that he had said it. Whistler retorted "You will, Oscar, you will." Herbert Vivian  – a mutual friend of Wilde and Whistler – attended

7869-444: The 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel . The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas . The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour ,

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7998-549: The Duchess tonight", Wilde would declare before taking him to an expensive restaurant. In August he briefly returned to New York for the production of Vera , the rights of which he had sold to the American actress Marie Prescott . The play was initially well received by the audience, but when the critics wrote lukewarm reviews, attendance fell sharply and the play closed a week after it had opened. In London, he had been introduced in 1881 to Constance Lloyd , daughter of Horace Lloyd,

8127-614: The Greek goddess of witchcraft known as Hecate . The Palestinian key is the Palestinian collective symbol of their homes lost in the Nakba , when more than half of the population of Mandatory Palestine was expelled or fled violence in 1948 and were subsequently refused the right to return . Since 2016, a Palestinian restaurant in Doha , Qatar , holds the Guinness World Record for

8256-493: The North and South poles would equate to a combination to push or pull the lock's internal tumblers thus releasing the lock. An electronic lock works by means of an electric current and is usually connected to an access control system. In addition to the pin and tumbler used in standard locks, electronic locks connect the bolt or cylinder to a motor within the door using a part called an actuator. Types of electronic locks include

8385-532: The UK, to a simple training certificate awarded by an employer, to a full diploma from an engineering college . Locksmiths may be commercial (working out of a storefront), mobile (working out of a vehicle), institutional, or investigational (forensic locksmiths). They may specialize in one aspect of the skill, such as an automotive lock specialist, a master key system specialist or a safe technician. Many also act as security consultants, but not all security consultants have

8514-489: The Victorian prohibition against homosexuality. By Richard Ellmann 's account, he was a precocious seventeen-year-old who "so young and yet so knowing, was determined to seduce Wilde". According to Daniel Mendelsohn , Wilde, who had long alluded to Greek love , was "initiated into homosexual sex" by Ross, while his "marriage had begun to unravel after his wife's second pregnancy, which left him physically repelled". Wilde had

8643-470: The Windermeres' drawing room during the birthday ball that evening. Various guests enter, and make small-talk. Lord Windermere enters and asks Lady Windermere to speak with him, but she brushes him off. A friend of Lord Windermere's, Lord Augustus Lorton ("Tuppy"), pulls him aside to inquire about Mrs Erlynne, with whom Tuppy is enamoured. Lord Windermere reveals that there is nothing untoward in his relationship with Mrs Erlynne, and that she will be attending

8772-439: The ball, which comes as a great relief to Lord Augustus as he was worried about her social standing. After an unsuccessful attempt to make peace with his wife, Lord Windermere summons the courage to tell the truth to her, but at that moment Mrs Erlynne arrives at the party, where she is greeted coldly by Lady Windermere, spoiling his plan. Alone, Lady Windermere and Lord Darlington discuss Mrs Erlynne's attendance. Lady Windermere

8901-532: The best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on

9030-463: The betterment of society. Ruskin admired beauty, but believed it must be allied with, and applied to, moral good. When Wilde eagerly attended Ruskin's lecture series The Aesthetic and Mathematic Schools of Art in Florence , he learned about aesthetics as the non-mathematical elements of painting. Despite being given to neither early rising nor manual labour, Wilde volunteered for Ruskin's project to convert

9159-508: The book sold out its first print run of 750 copies, it was not generally well received by the critics: Punch , for example, said that "The poet is Wilde, but his poetry's tame". By a tight vote, the Oxford Union condemned the book for alleged plagiarism . The librarian, who had requested the book for the library, returned the presentation copy to Wilde with a note of apology. Biographer Richard Ellmann argues that Wilde's poem " Hélas! "

9288-419: The button is pressed. Generally the car door can be opened with either a valid code by radio transmission, or with a (non-electronic) pin tumbler key. The ignition switch may require a transponder car key to both open a pin tumbler lock and also transmit a valid code by radio transmission. A smart lock is an electromechanics lock that gets instructions to lock and unlock the door from an authorized device using

9417-593: The church hierarchy. He became more serious in 1878, when he met the Reverend Sebastian Bowden, a priest in the Brompton Oratory who had received some high-profile converts. Neither Mahaffy nor Sir William, who threatened to cut off his son's funding, thought much of the plan; but Wilde, the supreme individualist, balked at the last minute from pledging himself to any formal creed, and on the appointed day of his baptism into Catholicism, he sent Father Bowden

9546-505: The church was closed, the records were moved to the nearby St. Ann's Church, Dawson Street . A Catholic priest in Glencree, County Wicklow, also claimed to have baptised Wilde and his brother Willie. In addition to his two full siblings, Wilde had three paternal half-siblings, who were born out of wedlock before the marriage of his father: Henry Wilson, born in 1838 to one woman, and Emily and Mary Wilde, born in 1847 and 1849, respectively, to

9675-411: The concomitant development of precision engineering and component standardization, locks and keys were manufactured with increasing complexity and sophistication. The lever tumbler lock , which uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock, was invented by Robert Barron in 1778. His double acting lever lock required the lever to be lifted to a certain height by having a slot cut in

9804-657: The course of this, Mrs Erlynne lets herself be discovered in a compromising position at Lord Darlington's so Lady Windermere has the opportunity to leave without being noticed by Lord Windermere. It is then revealed that Mrs Erlynne is Lady Windermere's mother, who abandoned her family twenty years earlier. Mrs Erlynne sacrifices her reputation to save her daughter's marriage. By the summer of 1891 Wilde had already written three plays: Vera; or, The Nihilists and The Duchess of Padua had found little success, and Salome had yet to be staged. Unperturbed, he decided to write another play but turned from tragedy to comedy. He went to

9933-464: The design of early 20th century key duplicators. Key duplication is available in many retail hardware stores and as a service of the specialized locksmith, though the correct key blank may not be available. More recently, online services for duplicating keys have become available. A keyhole (or keyway ) is a hole or aperture (as in a door or lock) for receiving a key. Lock keyway shapes vary widely with lock manufacturer, and many manufacturers have

10062-523: The dignitaries and writers who received him during his lecture tours. Aestheticism was sufficiently in vogue to be caricatured by Gilbert and Sullivan in Patience (1881). Richard D'Oyly Carte , an English impresario, invited Wilde to make a lecture tour of North America, simultaneously priming the pump for the US tour of Patience and selling this most charming aesthete to the American public. Wilde journeyed on

10191-575: The dinner and recorded it in his article The Reminiscences of a Short Life , which appeared in The Sun in 1889. The article alleged that Wilde had a habit of passing off other people's witticisms as his own – especially Whistler's. Wilde considered Vivian's article to be a scurrilous betrayal, and it directly caused the broken friendship between Wilde and Whistler. The Reminiscences also caused great acrimony between Wilde and Vivian, Wilde accusing Vivian of "the inaccuracy of an eavesdropper with

10320-404: The disparity between mass culture and high society. Wilde bridges this by theorising his modern aesthetics beneath the ornamental surface of fashion and elite society. The fan that strings together the play's scenes simultaneously evokes a traditional symbol of modesty while revealing a truly modern current of infidelity. The play has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations and

10449-658: The emerging philosophy of aestheticism , led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin . After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles. Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of

10578-423: The end of the second volume, Wilde left The Woman's World . The magazine outlasted him by only a year. Wilde's period at the helm of the magazine played a pivotal role in his development as a writer and facilitated his ascent to fame. Whilst Wilde the journalist supplied articles under the guidance of his editors, Wilde the editor was forced to learn to manipulate the literary marketplace on his own terms. During

10707-618: The final examination in Literae Humaniores (Greats). Wilde wrote to a friend, "The dons are ' astonied ' beyond words – the Bad Boy doing so well in the end!" After graduation from Oxford, Wilde returned to Dublin, where he met again Florence Balcombe , a childhood sweetheart. She became engaged to Bram Stoker and they married in 1878. Wilde was disappointed but stoic. He wrote to Balcombe remembering; "the two sweet years –

10836-439: The fitting and replacement of keys remains an important part of locksmithing, modern locksmiths are primarily involved in the installation of high quality lock-sets and the design, implementation, and management of keying and key control systems. Locksmiths are frequently required to determine the level of risk to an individual or institution and then recommend and implement appropriate combinations of equipment and policies to create

10965-419: The following: A keycard lock operates with a flat card of similar dimensions as a credit card . In order to open the door, one needs to successfully match the signature within the keycard . The lock in a typical remote keyless system operates with a smart key radio transmitter. The lock typically accepts a particular valid code only once, and the smart key transmits a different rolling code every time

11094-481: The house at once for Lord Darlington, and leaves a note to that effect for Lord Windermere. Mrs Erlynne discovers the note and that Lady Windermere has gone, and is curiously worried by this revelation. While reading the note, a brief monologue reveals that she is in fact Lady Windermere's mother and made a similar mistake herself twenty years previously. She takes the letter and exits to locate Lady Windermere. How can I save her? How can I save my child? A moment may ruin

11223-465: The job began to fade as administration, commuting and office life became tedious. At the same time as Wilde's interest flagged, the publishers became concerned about circulation: sales, at the relatively high price of one shilling, remained low. Increasingly sending instructions to the magazine by letter, Wilde began a new period of creative work and his own column appeared less regularly. In October 1889, Wilde had finally found his voice in prose and, at

11352-412: The juxtaposition of the comic and the serious. "Once the absurd and the patently false have been established, the serious emotions and ideas which are explored have been given a setting which prevents them from ever becoming too serious". Scholar Paul Fortunato describes Oscar Wilde as a modernist, who used his modern aesthetics so as to direct him into the realm of mass culture. Wilde's huge popularity as

11481-524: The key handy at all times, while signaling that the wearer was wealthy and important enough to have money and jewellery worth securing. A special type of lock, dating back to the 17th-18th century, although potentially older as similar locks date back to the 14th century, can be found in the Beguinage of the Belgian city Lier . These locks are most likely Gothic locks, that were decorated with foliage, often in

11610-695: The lever, so lifting the lever too far was as bad as not lifting the lever far enough. This type of lock is still used today. The lever tumbler lock was greatly improved by Jeremiah Chubb in 1818. A burglary in Portsmouth Dockyard prompted the British Government to announce a competition to produce a lock that could be opened only with its own key. Chubb developed the Chubb detector lock , which incorporated an integral security feature that could frustrate unauthorized access attempts and would indicate to

11739-581: The literary criticism is unveiled with such a deft touch. Though containing nothing but "special pleading" – it would not, he says "be possible to build an airier castle in Spain than this of the imaginary William Hughes" – we continue listening nonetheless to be charmed by the telling. "You must believe in Willie Hughes," Wilde told an acquaintance, "I almost do, myself." Wilde, having tired of journalism, had been busy setting out his aesthetic ideas more fully in

11868-441: The lock's owner if it had been interfered with. Chubb was awarded £100 after a trained lock-picker failed to break the lock after 3 months. In 1820, Jeremiah joined his brother Charles in starting their own lock company, Chubb . Chubb made various improvements to his lock: his 1824 improved design did not require a special regulator key to reset the lock; by 1847 his keys used six levers rather than four; and he later introduced

11997-492: The maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898),

12126-399: The men and allowing Lady Windermere to slip away unnoticed. I am afraid I took your wife's fan in mistake for my own, when I was leaving your house to-night. I am so sorry. The next day, Lady Windermere is lying on the couch of the morning room anxious about whether to tell her husband what actually happened, or whether Mrs Erlynne will have already betrayed her secret. Her husband enters. He

12255-506: The method of a blackmailer" and banishing Vivian from his circle. Vivian's allegations did not diminish Wilde's reputation as an epigrammatist. London theatre director Luther Munday recounted some of Wilde's typical quips: Wilde said of Whistler that "he had no enemies but was intensely disliked by his friends", of Hall Caine that "he wrote at the top of his voice", of Rudyard Kipling that "he revealed life by splendid flashes of vulgarity", of Henry James that "he wrote fiction as if it were

12384-407: The photograph which she presents to Mrs Erlynne, and requests that Lord Windermere check for the return of Mrs Erlynne's coach. Now that they are alone, and being owed a favour, Mrs Erlynne demands that Lady Windermere not reveal the truth about the events of the previous night to Lord Windermere, and Lady Windermere promises to keep the secret. After Lord Windermere's return, Lord Augustus enters. He

12513-436: The pin lock (where each pin consists of two or more pieces) each wafer is a single piece. The wafer tumbler lock is often incorrectly referred to as a disc tumbler lock, which uses an entirely different mechanism. The wafer lock is relatively inexpensive to produce and is often used in automobiles and cabinetry. The disc tumbler lock or Abloy lock is composed of slotted rotating detainer discs. The lever tumbler lock uses

12642-446: The play at the prodding of George Alexander , the actor manager of St James's Theatre . The play was finished by October. Alexander liked the play, and offered him an advance of £1,000 for it. Wilde, impressed by his confidence, opted to take a percentage instead, from which he would earn £7,000 in the first year alone (worth £961,500 today). Alexander was a meticulous manager and he and Wilde began exhaustive revisions and rehearsals of

12771-562: The play, rather than reserving the secret for the final act. Despite these artistic differences, both were professional and their collaboration was a fruitful one. There is an extant manuscript of the play held in the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library at the University of California, Los Angeles . The play opens in the morning room of the Windermeres' residence in London. It is tea time and Lady Windermere—who

12900-490: The play. Both were talented artists with strong ideas about their art. Wilde, for instance, emphasised attention to aesthetic minutiae rather than realism; he resisted Alexander's suggested broad stage movements, quipping that "Details are of no importance in life, but in art details are vital". These continued after the opening night when, at the suggestion of both friends and Alexander, Wilde made changes to reveal Mrs Erlynne's relationship with Lady Windermere gradually throughout

13029-544: The plot. He excelled academically, particularly in the subject of classics , in which he ranked fourth in the school in 1869. His aptitude for giving oral translations of Greek and Latin texts won him multiple prizes, including the Carpenter Prize for Greek Testament. He was one of only three students at Portora to win a Royal School scholarship to Trinity in 1871. In 1871, when Wilde was seventeen, his elder half-sisters Mary and Emily died aged 22 and 24, fatally burned at

13158-473: The portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London. At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas,

13287-471: The press: the Springfield Republican , for instance, commented on Wilde's behaviour during his visit to Boston to lecture on aestheticism, suggesting that Wilde's conduct was more a bid for notoriety rather than devotion to beauty and the aesthetic. T. W. Higginson , a cleric and abolitionist, wrote in "Unmanly Manhood" of his general concern that Wilde, "whose only distinction is that he has written

13416-428: The reader: he concludes that "there is really a great deal to be said of the Willie Hughes theory of Shakespeare's sonnets." By the end fact and fiction have melded together. Arthur Ransome wrote that Wilde "read something of himself into Shakespeare's sonnets" and became fascinated with the "Willie Hughes theory" despite the lack of biographical evidence for the historical William Hughes' existence. Instead of writing

13545-482: The reduction of man to the level of a machine." In his only political text, The Soul of Man Under Socialism , he argued political conditions should establish this primacy – private property should be abolished, and cooperation should be substituted for competition. He wrote "Socialism, Communism, or whatever one chooses to call it, by converting private property into public wealth, and substituting co-operation for competition, will restore society to its proper condition of

13674-443: The return of the fan, and despite her husband's protestations, Lady Windermere insists on seeing her. Mrs Erlynne enters and states that she shall be going abroad, but asks that Lady Windermere give her a photograph of herself and her son. Whilst Lady Windermere leaves the room to find one, the story is revealed: Mrs Erlynne left her husband for a lover shortly after Lady Windermere's birth. When her new lover abandoned her, Mrs Erlynne

13803-404: The sake of her young child, but as they begin to exit they hear Lord Darlington entering with friends. The two women hide. The men—who include Lord Windermere and Lord Augustus—have been evicted from their gentlemen's club at closing time and talk about women: mainly Mrs Erlynne. One of them takes notice of a fan lying on a table (Lady Windermere's) and presumes that Lord Darlington presently has

13932-604: The skills and knowledge of a locksmith. Historically, locksmiths constructed or repaired an entire lock, including its constituent parts. The rise of cheap mass production has made this less common; the vast majority of locks are repaired through like-for-like replacements, high-security safes and strongboxes being the most common exception. Many locksmiths also work on any existing door hardware, including door closers, hinges, electric strikes, and frame repairs, or service electronic locks by making keys for transponder-equipped vehicles and implementing access control systems. Although

14061-633: The subject of design that people expected their home to set new standards. No 16 Tite Street was duly renovated in seven months at considerable expense. The couple had two sons, Cyril (1885) and Vyvyan (1886). Wilde became the sole literary signatory of George Bernard Shaw 's petition for a pardon of the anarchists arrested (and later executed) after the Haymarket massacre in Chicago in 1886. In 1886, while at Oxford, Wilde met Robert Ross . Ross, who had read Wilde's poems before they met, seemed unrestrained by

14190-510: The sweetest years of all my youth" during which they had been close. He also stated his intention to "return to England, probably for good". This he did in 1878, only briefly visiting Ireland twice after that. Unsure of his next step, Wilde wrote to various acquaintances enquiring about Classics positions at Oxford or Cambridge. The Rise of Historical Criticism was his submission for the Chancellor's Essay prize of 1879, which, though no longer

14319-578: The time he spent at Oxford; he allowed his membership of the Apollo University Lodge to lapse after failing to pay subscriptions. Catholicism deeply appealed to him, especially its rich liturgy, and he discussed converting to it with clergy several times. In 1877, Wilde was left speechless after an audience with Pope Pius IX in Rome. He eagerly read the books of Cardinal Newman , a noted Anglican priest who had converted to Catholicism and risen in

14448-547: The window of his shop from 1790, challenging "...the artist who can make an instrument that will pick or open this lock" for the reward of £200. The challenge stood for over 67 years until, at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the American locksmith Alfred Charles Hobbs was able to open the lock and, following some argument about the circumstances under which he had opened it, was awarded the prize. Hobbs' attempt required some 51 hours, spread over 16 days. The earliest patent for

14577-410: The work of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Algernon Charles Swinburne weekly. Wilde quickly became an established member – the members' suggestion book for 1874 contains two pages of banter sportingly mocking Wilde's emergent aestheticism. He presented a paper titled Aesthetic Morality . At Trinity, Wilde established himself as an outstanding student: he came first in his class in his first year, won

14706-412: The world will be populated by artists, each striving after perfection in the way that seems best to him." Lock (security device) A key is a device that is used to operate a lock (to lock or unlock it). A typical key is a small piece of metal consisting of two parts: the bit or blade , which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow , which

14835-423: The years 870 and 900, and are attributed to English craftsmen. It is also said that the key was invented by Theodorus of Samos in the 6th century BC. 'The Romans invented metal locks and keys and the system of security provided by wards.' Affluent Romans often kept their valuables in secure locked boxes within their households, and wore the keys as rings on their fingers. The practice had two benefits: It kept

14964-536: Was Ireland's leading oto - ophthalmologic (ear and eye) surgeon and was knighted in 1864 for his services as medical adviser and assistant commissioner to the censuses of Ireland. He also wrote books about Irish archaeology and peasant folklore. A renowned philanthropist, his dispensary for the care of the city's poor at the rear of Trinity College Dublin (TCD), was the forerunner of the Dublin Eye and Ear Hospital, now located at Adelaide Road. On his father's side Wilde

15093-624: Was a contributor to that and other journals during 1885–87. Although Richard Ellmann has claimed that Wilde enjoyed reviewing, Wilde's wife would tell friends that "Mr Wilde hates journalism". Like his parents before him, Wilde supported Ireland's cause, and when Charles Stewart Parnell was falsely accused of inciting murder , he wrote a series of astute columns defending the politician in the Daily Chronicle . His flair, having previously been put mainly into socialising, suited journalism and rapidly attracted notice. With his youth nearly over and

15222-415: Was a sincere, though flamboyant, attempt to explain the dichotomies the poet saw in himself; one line reads: "To drift with every passion till my soul / Is a stringed lute on which all winds can play". The book had further printings in 1882. It was bound in a rich, enamel parchment cover (embossed with gilt blossom) and printed on hand-made Dutch paper; over the next few years, Wilde presented many copies to

15351-447: Was a work of art." When asked to explain reports that he had paraded down Piccadilly in London carrying a lily, long hair flowing, Wilde replied, "It's not whether I did it or not that's important, but whether people believed I did it". Wilde believed that the artist should hold forth higher ideals, and that pleasure and beauty would replace utilitarian ethics. Wilde and aestheticism were both mercilessly caricatured and criticised in

15480-597: Was advertised in November 1881 with Mrs. Bernard Beere as Vera, but withdrawn by Wilde for what was claimed to be consideration for political feeling in England. He had been publishing lyrics and poems in magazines since entering Trinity College, especially in Kottabos and the Dublin University Magazine . In mid-1881, at 27 years old, he published Poems , which collected, revised and expanded his poems. Though

15609-501: Was also the first Broadway performance for stage and screen actress Julia Arthur , who played Lady Windermere in that production. By showing in St. James's, Wilde was targeting a fashionable, upper-middle class audience and Wilde maps out the geography of their world, Grosvenor Square , Curzon Street , the park, with precision. Peter Raby has also highlighted Lady Windermere's Fan as a good example of Wilde's most successful dramatic technique:

15738-457: Was born on 2 April 1857. She was named in tribute to Iseult of Ireland , wife of Mark of Cornwall and lover of the Cornish knight, Sir Tristan . She shared the name Francesca with her mother, while Emily was the name of her maternal aunt. Oscar would later describe how his sister was like "a golden ray of sunshine dancing about our home" and he was grief stricken when she died at the age of nine of

15867-464: Was descended from a Dutch soldier, Colonel de Wilde, who came to Ireland with King William of Orange 's invading army in 1690, and numerous Anglo-Irish ancestors. On his mother's side, Wilde's ancestors included a bricklayer from County Durham , who emigrated to Ireland sometime in the 1770s. Wilde was baptised as an infant in St. Mark's Church, Dublin , the local Church of Ireland ( Anglican ) church. When

15996-563: Was first published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine in July 1889. It is a short story which reports a conversation in which the theory that Shakespeare's sonnets were written out of the poet's love of the boy actor " Willie Hughes ", is advanced, retracted, and then propounded again. The only evidence for this is two supposed puns within the sonnets themselves. The anonymous narrator is at first sceptical, then believing, and finally flirtatious with

16125-531: Was left alone and in disrepute. More recently, using the assumed name of Mrs Erlynne, she has begun blackmailing Lord Windermere to regain her lifestyle and status, by threatening to reveal her true identity as Lady Windermere's shameful mother—not dead, as Lady Windermere believes. Her son-in-law, Lord Windermere laments not having told his wife the whole story at once and resolves to tell her the truth now. Mrs Erlynne forbids him to do so, threatening to spread shame far and wide if he does. Lady Windermere returns with

16254-401: Was not as popular as his older brother, Wilde impressed his peers with the humorous and inventive school stories he told. Later in life, he claimed that his fellow students had regarded him as a prodigy for his ability to speed read , claiming that he could read two facing pages simultaneously and consume a three-volume book in half an hour, retaining enough information to give a basic account of

16383-561: Was of Italian ancestry, and under the pseudonym "Speranza" (the Italian word for 'hope'), she wrote poetry for the revolutionary Young Irelanders in 1848; she was a lifelong Irish nationalist . Jane Wilde read the Young Irelanders' poetry to Willie and Oscar, inculcating a love of these poets in her sons. Her interest in the neo-classical revival showed in the paintings and busts of ancient Greece and Rome in her home. Sir William Wilde

16512-458: Was on interior design. In a British Library article on aestheticism and decadence, Carolyn Burdett writes, "Wilde teased his readers with the claim that life imitates art rather than the other way round. His point was a serious one: we notice London fogs, he argued, because art and literature has taught us to do so. Wilde, among others, 'performed' these maxims. He presented himself as the impeccably dressed and mannered dandy figure whose life

16641-780: Was within the prescribed texts. He was rusticated for one term, after he had returned late to a college term from a trip to Greece with Mahaffy. Wilde did not meet Walter Pater until his third year, but had been enthralled by his Studies in the History of the Renaissance , published during Wilde's final year in Trinity. Pater argued that man's sensibility to beauty should be refined above all else, and that each moment should be felt to its fullest extent. Years later, in De Profundis , Wilde described Pater's Studies... as "that book that has had such

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