ABSTRACT

As a firm believer of aestheticism, Oscar Wilde was dissatisfied with his life and presented a moral criticism of the society in his fairy tales. In fact, he had always been bound by the reality and because of the constraint, beautiful things will eventually break up. As a result, Wilde’s fairy tales are filled with tragic color.

Through analysis of Oscar Wilde’s nine fairy tales, this paper first classifies the aesthetic tragedies of the leading characters and explores the tragedy connotation and the tragic aesthetics in Wilde’s fairy tales. It also analyzes possible reasons for these aesthetic tragedies from three different perspectives－traditional tragic thoughts, author’s life experience and the social reality. This paper aims to analyze how Oscar Wilde reflected the realities through his imaginary stories. It also hopes to help readers purify minds and inspire social vitality so as to achieve beauty in the real world.

Key words：Oscar Wilde; fairy tales; aestheticism; tragedies

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One  INTRODUCTION-1

Chapter Two  LITERATURE REVIEW-2

2.1 Studies on Oscar Wilde’s Fairy Tales-2

2.2 Studies on Aestheticism-4

Chapter Three  AESTHETIC TRAGEDIES IN WILDE’S FAIRY TALES-6

3.1 Indifference of the World-6

3.2 Loss of Love-7

3.3 Despair of Life-8

Chapter Four  CAUSES OF THE AESTHETIC TRAGEDIES-10

4.1 Succession of Traditional Tragic Thoughts-10

4.2 Author’s Personal Experience-11

4.3 Social Reality-12

Chapter Five  VALUES OF THE AESTHETIC TRAGEDIES-14

5.1 Aesthetic Values-14

5.1.1 Performance of the aesthetic conception-14

5.1.2 Reflection of the aesthetic thought-15

5.1.3 Embodiment of the aesthetic spirit-16

5.2 Spiritual Values-17

5.2.1 Appeal for true kindness-17

5.2.2 Appeal for true love-18

5.2.3 Appeal for true beauty-19

Chapter Six  CONCLUSION-22

Works Cited-24