Oscar©: Meet the Characters

Born in Dublin in 1854, Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was the son of Sir William Wilde and Lady Jane Wilde. A gifted storyteller, Oscar would go on to write for the stage with the comic masterpieces The Importance of Being Earnest and Lady Windermere’s Fan as well as collections of fairy tales in The Happy Prince and his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In an era when homosexuality was a crime, in 1895 Oscar was convicted for “gross indecency” and sent to prison. There he would write De Profundis, a love letter to Lord Alfred Douglas – Bosie. After being released from prison in 1897, Oscar moved to France where only three years later in 1900, he passed away.

Lord Alfred Douglas also known as Bosie Douglas was the son of the Marquess of Queensbury. A poet and journalist Bosie studied at Oxford, and in 1891 was introduced to Oscar Wilde. Oscar and Bosie were involved in an intense romantic relationship until Queensbury discovered them and set out to publicly humiliate Oscar, culminating in Oscar’s conviction. In 1902, Bosie married poet Olive Custance and had a son Raymond. Bosie died in 1945 in West Sussex, England.

One of Oscar Wilde’s fictional creations, the Nightingale is a character in the short story The Nightingale and the Rose. Appearing in the 1888 collection of children's stories, The Happy Prince and Other Tales, the Nightingale is a symbol of purity and romance, who sacrifices herself for true love.

The Student is the fictitious protagonist in Wilde’s The Nightingale and the Rose. In love with the professor’s daughter, he must bring her a red rose and she will dance with him. The Nightingale sacrifices herself to create the rose, but when he presents it to his love at the ball, she rejects him for more material possessions and the Student vows to not believe in true love anymore.

Robert Baldwin Ross was a British journalist, critic and art dealer. He met Oscar Wilde in 1886 and the two began a romantic relationship. While their romance was short-lived, Robbie and Oscar remained lifelong friends. A pioneering LGBTIQA+ voice, Robbie was open about his homosexuality in a time when male homosexual acts were illegal. He would often provide friendly critique on Oscar’s work and later became Oscar’s literary executor. A devoted friend to the very end, Robbie was by Oscar’s side when he passed away.

Dorian Gray is one of Oscar Wilde’s most famous creations. The protagonist of his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, he is the youth obsessed character who after having his portrait painted is pained to know that he will age while the portrait stays frozen in perfect beauty. Dorian makes a deal with the devil that the painting will age and not he, and pursues a life of criminal hedonism, the painting visually recording Dorian’s sins as he remains ageless. A comment on morality, societal expectations and gender roles, Dorian’s descent is a psychological investigation into personality and influence.