Oscar wilde photographed by Napoleon Sarony in 1882 • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS “The love that dares not speak its name, […] it is for it that I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful, it is pure, it is the noblest form of affection. It was with this plea that Irish writer Oscar Wilde made history, in a packed courtroom where he was tried for homosexuality in May 1896. At the height of his glory However, it all started very differently for the author of Portrait of Dorian Gray , in the role of the prosecution and not the accused. Indeed, it was he himself who undertook this legal journey, which ended up putting an end to his dazzling career in the midst of a disastrous scandal. At that time, her lover was called Alfred Douglas, an attractive young man alongside whom he had appeared since 1891. Wilde was at the height of his glory, his books sold by the thousands, including abroad. The two men spend lavishly on huge incomes during nights of debauchery where food, drink and men abound. Wilde, Douglas and many others are counting on the fact that Victorian society, which considers homosexuality deviant, will continue to turn a deaf ear to this open secret. However, when their actions reach the ears of Douglas' father, the situation becomes somewhat complicated. The Marquess of Queensberry then proceeds to intimidate Wilde into leaving his son, going so far as to try to sabotage one of his theatrical performances. Tired of this persecution, the writer tried several times to file a complaint against Queensberry. Thus, when the marquis, enraged, leaves him a business card on which he writes:"For Oscar Wilde, displaying himself as a sodomite", the playwright does not hesitate. He finally has material evidence against the Marquis. Paid to testify His lawyer tries to dissuade him, in vain. Her lover "Bosie", as Wilde affectionately calls him, is also in favor of legal action:his relationship with his father is very bad, and he is very keen to see him down in public. In March 1895, Wilde, sure of his victory, sued Queensberry for libel. However, the situation will quickly turn against him. Queensberry and his lawyers have done their job well in collecting information and testimony on the private life of Oscar Wilde. The defense went on the attack, armed with the statements of a dozen men who had sex with the author, and paid to testify. Wilde, who has been informed of this strategy, enters the room much less assured than at the first hearing. He faces the relentless interrogation of the defense lawyer, from which he tries to emerge victorious thanks to his mastery of public speaking. He denies any physical relationship with these young men, and when asked if he kissed any in particular, he replies:“Oh, of course not. He is a singularly ordinary boy. And unfortunately very ugly. This answer among others provokes the hilarity of the audience. But she also pushes the jury to take Queensberry's side:on April 5, he decides in favor of the Marquess, saying that what he wrote on the card is the plain truth. Pressure of public opinion Things could have ended there, but a series of factors worked against Oscar Wilde. Alarmed by what it saw as a degeneration of traditional morality, Victorian society campaigned for greater persecution of behavior outside the norm, such as homosexuality. In 1885, a law was passed defining sexual relations between men as “great indecency” and condemning them to up to two years hard labor. Because of the press, the accusations against the writer are at the heart of every conversation in the country. Disturbed by recent scandals, public opinion is pressuring the authorities to initiate legal proceedings against Wilde. Thus, a few hours after Queensberry's acquittal, Wilde was arrested for trial. His trial begins a month later in frantic expectation. From the dock, the writer watches a procession of witnesses. Many of them are professional blackmailers, ready to speak for money. During the trial, the testimony of a hotel maid is even called upon to determine whether Wilde's sheets showed signs of "the act of sodomy". The writer is on the verge of fainting when he hears that he has been sentenced to two years of hard labor for having committed “gross indecency”. Despite the low blows, Oscar Wilde continues to keep his flame and his extravagance. When asked why he dates so many young men, Wilde proclaims himself “a lover of youth”. He then pronounces his impassioned plea in favor of “the love which dares not speak its name”, an expression taken from a poem by his own lover. Some witnesses are confident that Wilde is able to win over the jury to his cause, and it is true that the first jury is unable to reach an agreement. The trial must be retried, but this time the jury is not so lenient and finds Wilde guilty. The writer is on the verge of fainting when he hears that he is sentenced to two years of hard labor for having committed "great indecency". The press applauds the decision, as does the trial audience. Prison, exile and illness For the next two years, Wilde suffered the conditions – soon destined to change – of the Victorian prison:minimal rations, an absolute ban on speaking to other prisoners and total isolation from the outside, only broken by a visit every three month. He loses several pounds in a short time, and his health deteriorates visibly; one day, sick, he lost consciousness in the chapel and seriously injured his right ear. Luckily, the attention his case arouses improves his situation:he is transferred twice from prison, and he is provided with books and writing materials. He can thus write a long bitter letter to Douglas, De profundis , one of his best prose works. After serving the two years of his sentence, Oscar Wilde is released and has every intention of catching up with his life. During his exile, he wrote The Ballad of Reading Gaol , a denunciation of prison living conditions in the Victorian era, an absolute editorial success that stimulated prison reform. This will be his last work. Wilde cannot turn the page on his harsh detention or on the social ostracism he has suffered since his release. This experience left him "without wanting to laugh at life", and he saw himself unable to write comedies like the ones that brought him fame. Wilde will never be able to turn the page on his harsh detention nor on the social ostracism he has suffered since his release from prison. Wilde reunited with Alfred in Naples in 1897, but they only stayed together for three months. His wife, Constance, forbids him any visit from their two children, whom he will never see again. Many of his friends abandon him, tired of his incessant demands for money and embarrassed to see him appear in the streets of Paris with young lovers. The suffering, however, is much more than psychological. An infection of his injured ear in prison, badly treated, undoubtedly transformed into meningitis which put an end to his life in exile on November 30, 1900. Like Oscar Wilde, many were prosecuted because of their sexual orientation until the gradual decriminalization of homosexuality in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s. The ill-fated writer saw clearly before he died:“I am convinced that we will win in the end, but the road will be long and reddened with monstrous martyrs. He was right. Find out more The Trial of Oscar Wilde, by Merlin Holland, The Paperback, 2018. Timeline 1885 The British Parliament passes a law punishing same-sex relations with up to two years in prison.1891 Oscar Wilde, married with two children, begins a notorious relationship with Alfred Douglas, son of the Marquess of Queensberry.1895 Wilde sues Queensberry for calling him a sodomite, but he loses the case.1896 The sodomy trial begins against Wilde. He was sentenced to two years in prison.1900 Oscar Wilde dies in Paris, two years after his release from prison. From letter star to convict The life of Oscar Wilde is a long calm river towards success. Coming from a wealthy family of Irish intellectuals, he shone during his studies at Trinity College Dublin and Oxford. After graduating, he traveled through France, the United States and England, giving literary lectures here and there. In 1884, he married Constance Lloyd, with whom he had two children. Already famous for his lyricism and his prose, between 1892 and 1895 he wrote works of theater which opened the doors of glory to him. The Importance of Being Consistent is a huge success, when the trial occurs. A cursed name Wilde's wife, Constance, initially remained at her husband's side and showed her support during the trial. However, when the writer is convicted, she moves to Switzerland with their two children and changes their name to Holland in order to protect them. She died in 1898 during an operation.
