The Decay of Lying by Oscar Wilde
"Central to the decadent movement was the view that art is totally opposed to nature, in the sense both of biological nature and of the standard, or natural, norms of morality and sexual behavior" (Abrams, 54). In "The Decay of Lying" Oscar Wilde uses his decadent ideology in an attempt to reverse and therefore reject his audiences "normal" conceptualizations of nature, art, and morality. Wilde believed that "society was in danger of extinction because of its insistence on material values to the exclusion of the spiritual and imaginative dimensions of existence; and that it could be liberated from this fate by means of an artistic process which would establish an amoral zone secured by mutual respect between the individual and society" (Pine, 290). Wilde's views of life and art are illustrated through the use of Platonic dialogue where the character Vivian takes on the persona of Wilde. Wilde's goal is to subvert the norm by reversing its values. Wilde suggests to us that society is wrong, not him. The dialogue opens with Cyril describing nature with numerous romantic cliches. Vivian rejects Cyril's interpretation of nature and claims:People tell us that Art makes us love Nature more than we loved her before; that it
Vivian is suggesting that we must stop looking at art in this objective way and see its real truth, its beauty. He must use his creative imagination to produce art, and not rely on facts. Art will only then reflect the materialistic norms of society thus objectifying our knowledge. If we only look for its truth, we will not be able to see its beauty thus objectifying it. What Art really reveals to us is Nature's lack of design, her curious crudities, her extraordinary monotony, her absolutely unfinished condition. We look at art and produce facts from it. " He is blind to nature's imperfections. (Wilde, 1862)Vivian is describing true decadence as an excess of realism. When we look at art we must step away from our preconceived notions that the norm has taught us and see its real truth, its beauty. For an artist to be successful, he must lie to his audience.
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