2. Literature Review

The researches on Oscar Wilde started nearly at the beginning of his writing. Walter Hamilton published The Aesthetic Movement in England, which witnessed his aesthetic movement. In the early period, from 1901-1950, Charles J. Sawyer wrote A Study of Oscar Wilde, which commented all of his works. Stuart Mason published Oscar Wilde and Aesthetic Movement, which provided solid historical materials of Wilde and Aesthetic movement. George Woodcock published The Paradox of Oscar Wilde which commented on Oscar Wilde’s characteristics and his creation features. In the middle period of the study, after 1960s, influenced by the New Criticism, Richard Ellmann published “Introduction”, The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde, and he advocated that in Wilde’s later works, he “not only challenged Victorian concepts with the tool of his satire language, but also made sandals himself by his behaviors.” (Zhang Jieming: 2005:12) From 1981 to the recent, Richard Ellmann, in his old age, published Oscar Wilde, which was wildly-recognized as the most influential work. Ellmann considered that Wilde’s behavior was queer but full of personal style and he tried to use this anti-trend behavior and words to instruct people, exhibit the society with the most civilized way. In addition, “Wilde made reflections of the ethics in the society and he clearly knew all the secrets and exposed all the fakeness.” (Zhang Jieming, 2005:15) Karl Beckson wrote The Oscar Wilde Encyclopedia, which “concluded the former study and listed and explained the key words of the former study.” (Liu Maosheng, 2009:14) Scholars adopted different critical ways as follow. Rodney Shewan studied Oscar Wilde from the ethical perspective and wrote Oscar Wilde: Art & Egotism. Lana-gan Behrendt, in 1990s, published Oscar Wilde: Eros and Aesthetics, which analyzed Wilde from the field of analysis of psychiatry. At the same time, the tendency of cultural study was gradually evident. Regenia Gagnier studied with this method and wrote Idylls of the Maketplace: Oscar Wilde and the Victorian Public. 

In 1995, in the memory of 100 anniversaries of Oscar Wilde’s two social comedies, the study of An Ideal Husband received great population again. Works and assays analyze the play in many aspects, including aestheticism, the formalist feature, language features, structures of the play, writing techniques, unreliable narrations, development of plots, the relationship of transcendence and rebellion. Oscar Wilde considered that life copies are and art is above life. In his preface, he wrote: “Art never expresses anything but itself. It has an independent life, just as thought has, and develops purely on its own lines.” (Zhang Jieming, 2005:75) “Literature always anticipates life. It does not copy it, but moulds it to its purpose.” (Zhang Jieming, 2005:75) “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates life…the self-conscious aim of life is to find expression, and that Art offers it certain beautiful forms through which it may realize that energy.” (Zhang Jieming, 2005:75) In Wilde’s view, Art is more important than life. The formalist feature research found Oscar Wilde “pursues the beauty of language, produces the effect of unfamiliar feeling and creates the image of playboys.” (Chen Ruihong, 2007:128) “Dandyism in the comedy typically reflects the aesthetic nature of modern culture. The contradictions existing intrinsically in dandyism itself and the conflicts between dandyism and the reality of capitalism society were also enhanced in this process and eventually entrapped dandyism into a dilemma between aestheticism and Kitsch, between pinnor and decadence.” (Chen Ruihong, 2004:128) Wilde gradually abandoned his aestheticism, instead he wrote comedies which focus more and more on morality and society. He talked about marriage, family and even politics. One of his essential comedies, An Ideal Husband, “embodies the political ethics on the basis of justice and reflects the family ethics based on love and the social ethics regarding kindness and evil, beauty and ugliness.” (Liu Maosheng, 2009:82) As is said by William Archer while commenting this play “In this play it is: Vulgarity is the behavior of other people. Simple as it is, there is in this a world of observation and instruction….”(Liu Maosheng, 2009:83) “The moral principles presented in the play cannot simply considered as a satire on the London society at that time, but a call for certain ideal, as was thought highly by the whole society, a lofty ideal.”(Liu Maosheng, 2009:83) From Liu Maosheng’s perspective, we can conclude that ideal life is full of kindness, justice and beauty, what are the ideals in the comedy? In this paper, the author focuses on three ideals in this comedy, ideal husband, ideal life and ideal relationships. Through studying the play, analyzing the conflicts between traditional standards and new ideas, requirements on husbands, views on life and society, and people’s communications, the author comes to the conclusion that what are ideal husband, ideal life and ideal society with ideal human relationships. 源:自*优尔~·论,文'网·www.youerw.com/