Vivian, “The Decay of Lying”
Contrary to what modern readers doubtlessly expect, Vivian is not a woman. The two characters engaging in the Socratic dialogue in which this essay takes shape were named after Oscar Wilde’s own sons. Vivian is the stand-in for Wilde in the discussion with Cyril over the nature and purpose of art. Rejecting realism as an aesthetic substitution of making false claims to truth, Vivian espouses the foundational Wildean ethos of “art for art’s sake” through connecting “lying” with imagination.
Gilbert, “The Critic as Artist”
Gilbert is Vivian to Ernest’s Cyril in another essay taking the form of Socratic dialogue. A mouthpiece for Wilde’s own personal views, Gilbert is a character that actually allows Wilde to act the role of a critic within an essay arguing for the inherent aestheticism of criticism being on part with the creative works they evaluate.
The Girl Graduate, “Woman’s Dress”
Leaving the structure of Socratic dialogue for a more straightforward humorous essay, the sacrifice of specificity of character must give way to a generalized stereotype. “The Girl Graduate” represents a certain type of Victorian woman and Wilde impresses up the reader his own unique talents for being worthy of giving advice on such topics as the utilitarianism of high heels and why clogs should be despised.
Americans, “Impressions of America”
Another straightforward humorous piece affords the expansion from the specific to the general to the multiple. Wilde writes about a trip to America that stretches from Niagara Falls to San Francisco’s Chinatown. The bulk of those living here are described as comfortable and noisy. He singles out American inventors as being uncharacteristically esteemed as opposed to those in England and reserves his own highest esteem for the “oasis of unreasonable” that is to be found in the “vast desert” of practicality in America: the pretty and charming young girls of America.
