Subtle indeed!
Posted by Constanza on June 09, 1998 at 11:14:16:
Yes G.Kay, you were right, OW has gone subtler. For instance, "Cecily! Cecily! Surely such a utilitarian occupation as watering the flowers is rather Moulton's duty than yours?" speaks great deals of a society that regards work, and especially manual work, as a socially and perhaps morally demeaning affair. The principle of "genteelism" seems to be not only that occupation should be dissociated from profit but also from utilitarianism. In other words, Franklin Blake (it is the only literary example I can think of right now) may go as far as painting a door because his aim is decorating it; but if he had done it for reparation purposes he would not have met with approval. Granted that to consider "watering the flowers" as a menial job is going to extremes, I find Mrs Prism's line a fine example of Wilde's veiled social criticism hidden under an apparent nonsensical and funny dialogue.
- Oops! Corrigenda Constanza 14:45:48 6/09/98
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- Mistaken identity MB 19:04:15 6/09/98
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- ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ Constanza 10:46:24 6/12/98
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- Hey, no fair! How did you do that? ;-D (NFM) MB 12:05:11 6/12/98
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- Hey, no fair! How did you do that? ;-D (NFM) MB 12:05:11 6/12/98
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- Dern! Thought I was getting smarter in my sleep or...?(nfm) gkb 15:17:01 6/11/98
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- ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ Constanza 10:46:24 6/12/98
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- Mistaken identity MB 19:04:15 6/09/98
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