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Post by Séamus on Dec 16, 2019 12:16:08 GMT
"Among the serious 19th Century students of Irish folk-life a Dublin surgeon who is perhaps better known as the father of Oscar Wilde deserves a special mention. Sir William Wilde was not only a frequent contributor to the learned journals but but he found time to compile a pioneer catalogue of the Irish antiquities now housed in the National Museum of Ireland. His very active life spanned the Great Famine,and the monumental report on the Tables of Death which appeared as vol.1 of 5 of the census of 1851 was largely his work. In it he dwells on the shattering effects of those tragic years 1845-7, on the immemorial customs and natural poetry of the peasants : 'the closest ties of kinship were dissolved. The most ancient and long-cherished usages of the people were disregarded. The once proverbial gaiety and lightheartedness of the peasant people seemed to have vanished completely and village merriment or marriage-festival was no longer seen or heard throughout the regions desolated by the intensity and extent of the famine'
Wilde observed that the coming of the railway at about the same period was a contributory factor in the change because it worked to a timetable more-or-less and involved an artificial division of the day instead of an observance of the signs of nature changing with the seasons."
cf Irish folk ways professorEE.Evans
The book references William and Lady Wilde several times,Jane 'Speranza' Wilde wrote diversely on MayDay games and rhymes,Halloween twigs games,small farmers and their mahogany furniture.
Although overshadowed by their more Anglophile son it's hard not to see a little literary inspiration,less than but similar to,that imbibed by the young Sigrid Undset from her archeologist parents,Dorian Grey's obsession with collecting things in particular.
The 1940s film version added to this aspect of the tale by including an Egyptian artefact- it's also of interest that both Angela Lansbury and Hurd Hatfield were to become Irish passport holders and residents at different stages,the latter buying and restoring a Cork heritage home,fairly appropriate for someone who had played the Dorian role.
The fact that a book written over a century after the Famine could still cite Sir and Lady Wilde as a authorities on these things certainly highlights the undying contribution they made to the study of Irish folklore,even if less mentioned these days.
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Post by Tomas on Apr 30, 2020 15:26:45 GMT
"Among the serious 19th Century students of Irish folk-life a Dublin surgeon who is perhaps better known as the father of Oscar Wilde deserves a special mention. Sir William Wilde was not only a frequent contributor to the learned journals but but he found time to compile a pioneer catalogue of the Irish antiquities now housed in the National Museum of Ireland. His very active life spanned the Great Famine,and the monumental report on the Tables of Death which appeared as vol.1 of 5 of the census of 1851 was largely his work. In it he dwells on the shattering effects of those tragic years 1845-7, on the immemorial customs and natural poetry of the peasants : 'the closest ties of kinship were dissolved. The most ancient and long-cherished usages of the people were disregarded. The once proverbial gaiety and lightheartedness of the peasant people seemed to have vanished completely and village merriment or marriage-festival was no longer seen or heard throughout the regions desolated by the intensity and extent of the famine' Wilde observed that the coming of the railway at about the same period was a contributory factor in the change because it worked to a timetable more-or-less and involved an artificial division of the day instead of an observance of the signs of nature changing with the seasons." cf Irish folk ways professorEE.Evans The book references William and Lady Wilde several times,Jane 'Speranza' Wilde wrote diversely on MayDay games and rhymes,Halloween twigs games,small farmers and their mahogany furniture. Although overshadowed by their more Anglophile son it's hard not to see a little literary inspiration,less than but similar to,that imbibed by the young Sigrid Undset from her archeologist parents,Dorian Grey's obsession with collecting things in particular. The 1940s film version added to this aspect of the tale by including an Egyptian artefact- it's also of interest that both Angela Lansbury and Hurd Hatfield were to become Irish passport holders and residents at different stages,the latter buying and restoring a Cork heritage home,fairly appropriate for someone who had played the Dorian role. The fact that a book written over a century after the Famine could still cite Sir and Lady Wilde as a authorities on these things certainly highlights the undying contribution they made to the study of Irish folklore,even if less mentioned these days. Historical considerations like this can serve delicate in the current crisis as wholesome food for thought. Facts like "village merriment or marriage-festival was no longer seen or heard throughout the regions" appears like cold truth. In general we would always need hindsight to even discover. Writers biographies may stand in the way of their works or may not. Hard not to be curious even when we don´t make any links! I´m waiting to read the Dorian Grey book. In translation, since it all of a sudden became an artefact in itself and now has retained an extra sentimental value, because I won´t forget buying it when meeting a woman I was in love with at the annual book shop sale (had just browsed it at random and bought it while we were talking). Another example is Dame Agatha Christie in relation to her (second) husband archeologist Max Mallowan, RC and perhaps muse behind at least a few of her most famous stories. Murder in Mesopotamia was never among the best ones, as far as I can recall, and neither was in my view The Murder of Roger Ackroyd or Death on the Nile, also set within "archeological environments" (Tunisia - Egypt), even though the titles were thrilling enough. Their marriage lasted for 35 years and her interest in archeology may have been there for many years. From OUPblog the following is written regarding her famous signing of the list in defence of the Latin Mass: "Christie didn’t defend the old rite, nor contest the new, on the grounds that either was good or bad for the Church. Rather, along with her fellow partners in crime, she argued that the old rite had inspired countless artistic achievements, including in poetry, philosophy, music, architecture, painting, and sculpture. " |
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Post by assisi on Apr 30, 2020 20:24:21 GMT
There is a segment of Dorian Gray that lasts for several pages which just amounts to a list of artistic artefacts that Dorian has collected in his travels that seems to add nothing to the story, I wonder if that section relates to the collectors zeal of his mother? Or perhaps it may be a nod and wink to the French decadent writer Huysmans whose notorious novel 'À rebours', aesthetic and decadent, was apparently full of references to luxurious items. 'À rebours' may be the novel referred to in Dorian Gray as the poisonous French novel that has a bad influence on him.
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Post by Tomas on Apr 30, 2020 20:46:32 GMT
There is a segment of Dorian Gray that lasts for several pages which just amounts to a list of artistic artefacts that Dorian has collected in his travels that seems to add nothing to the story, I wonder if that section relates to the collectors zeal of his mother? Or perhaps it may be a nod and wink to the French decadent writer Huysmans whose notorious novel 'À rebours', aesthetic and decadent, was apparently full of references to luxurious items. 'À rebours' may be the novel referred to in Dorian Gray as the poisonous French novel that has a bad influence on him. Talking about collectors zeal. Isn´t that very nearly the same roots as to consumerist addiction? Collectors of various kind are often becoming like alcoholics. Even if they often has had a fine beginning, it easliy slips off to more dubious form. Why is it so difficult to be "lagom" is close to a riddle. I wish I bought less books, just to catch up in getting them read, for example. |
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