EMELIE JONSSON The Soul of Man under Socialism: Oscar Wilde, Art and Individualism

ideas presented there, I want to focus in particular on Wilde’s thoughts about Individualism in order to determine what they can – or perhaps should – say to us today. The idea of Individualism is a controversial subject in itself: in one dictionary definition, it is either “the belief that the freedom of individual people is more important than the needs of the community ” or “the behaviour of someone who does things in their own way without worrying about what other people think or do ” (Macmillan). Much as in the case of Wilde himself, there might be people who condone one side of the concept while condemning the other. It is alright to ‘be yourself’, but you should never think yourself to be more important than the rest of the community. It is alright to be a bohemian celebrity artist and wit, throwing aphorisms right and left in high society – but do not expect to be listened to when you speak of serious matters. In reality, however, the two sides are so intimately connected – so symbiotic – that it is impossible to judge them separately on rational grounds. At the time when Oscar Wilde wrote his Soul of Man under Socialism