Impressions of Oscar Wilde’s short stories

Short stories from a man best known for his wit and his other literary work

In terms of his literary output, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) is best known for his only novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1891), and his comic play "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1895). He's also famous for his sharp wit, which produced numerous pithy sayings and epigrams. It's Wilde's wit and humour that made me interested in his work, so I was pleased to discover that he also wrote a number of short stories. One collection was specifically written for children. After consulting several lists of his best short stories, I found myself reading around a dozen stories, and I've listed them in order of my preference, along with the personal ratings I'd give each of them out of five:

Stories for children:

• "The Selfish Giant" (4.5 stars): A selfish giant closes his beautiful garden to children, until a change of heart. There's lots of religious symbolism, and a positive message.
• "The Happy Prince" (4 stars): A statue of a prince observes all the sadness and suffering in his city, and with the help of a sparrow, sacrifices his luxurious looks to help them. Again there's lots of symbolism and meaning about compassion and selfless love.
• "The Remarkable Rocket" (3 stars): A proud firework boldly brags about how good he is, but what happens to him tells a different story, and is a warning about being filled with self-importance.
• "The Nightingale and the Rose" (3 stars): When a lovesick student has a single day to find a red rose, a romantic nightingale makes the ultimate sacrifice for their love. The ending is tragic, however.
• "The Fisherman and his Soul" (3 stars): A young fisherman falls in love with a mermaid, but to marry her he must give up his soul. When his soul is separated from love, it takes a life on its own that leads to tragedy. It's the longest of the children stories listed here, and feels more appropriate for adults than children.
• "The Young King" (2 stars): A young prince that was brought up as a goatherd is placed on the throne, but gets overly fascinated with luxury and splendor, until a moral lesson is learned.

Other short stories:

• "The Canterville Ghost" (5 stars): When new residents from America come to live in Canterville Chase, the resident ghost finds that his usual tricks to terrify people don't work, and instead he's tormented with all kinds of tricks. It's a longer story, but a wonderful and very funny one.
• "Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime" (4 stars): When a man is told by a palm reader that he will commit a murder, he figures he'll get the self-fulfilling prophecy over and done with so he can get married. It's also a longer story, but is a hilarious read that reverses conventions and parodies Gothic stories.
• "The Model Millionaire" (3 stars): A penniless man who needs money to get married is surprised when he finds a tramp dressed in rags serving as a model for his painter friend. But wait till he finds out who the tramp really is, and his kindness.
• "The Sphinx Without a Secret" (3 stars): A man is in love with a woman who has an air of mystery about her, and follows her to find out her secret. The ending is somewhat of a surprise, but it reinforces this oft-quoted line from the story: "Women are meant to be loved, not to be understood."
• "The Portrait of Mr W.H." (1 star): This is a popular Wilde story for many, but just didn't do it for me at all. It explores a possible literary theory about the mysterious W.H. that Shakespeare dedicated his sonnets to.

There's no doubt that Wilde has an ability with words, and many of his witty epigrams have developed a life of their own outside of the stories they first appeared in. Wilde's skill was wit, and most of his stories themselves didn't exactly blow me away. Exceptions would be "The Canterville Ghost" and "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime", both of which were hilarious. I also liked his children stories "The Selfish Giant" and "The Happy Prince" for their moral lessons and symbolism.

Some commentators have attempted to read into some of his stories a homoerotic interpretation, such as "The Fisherman and his Soul" and "The Portrait of Mr W.H.", but I'm not convinced. I think his short stories need to be taken at face value, and it's especially when Wilde is exercising his wit and humor that he's at his best.