Oscar Wilde (1854-

1900), Irish-born writer

and wit, who was the

chief proponent of the

aesthetic movement,

based on the principle

of art for art’s sake.

Wilde was a novelist,

playwright, poet, and

critic.

Birth October 16, 1854

Death November 30, 1900

Place of Birth Dublin, Ireland

Known for

•Witty, often paradoxical,

sayings that lampoon the

social mores and behavior of

the English upper classes of

his time

•Championing aesthetic

movement, which is based

on the idea of art for art's

sake

Milestone•1878 Graduated from the University of

Oxford with a degree in classics

•1881 Published Poems, a collection of poetry

•January - October 1882 Lectured on English

aestheticism in the United States and Canada

•1882 Vera, or the Nihilists, his first play, is

produced in New York but is not successful

•1891 Published his only novel, The Picture of

Dorian Gray, which portrayed the moral

decay of its title character

•February 1892 The play Lady Windermere's Fan,

the first of four successful comedies, opened in

London.

•June 1892 Rehearsals for the play Salomé were

halted by the British censor because of a law

forbidding the representation of Biblical characters

on stage.

•February 1895 The Importance of Being Earnest,

the last and most popular of his comedies, was

produced in London.

•May 1895 Was convicted of homosexual acts

following three sensationalized trials, and received

a sentence of two years' hard labor

•1897 Released from prison, Wilde left

immediately for France where he lived the rest of

his life, publishing only the poem The Ballad of

Reading Gaol (1898).

Did You Know

•Wilde's flamboyant personality and eccentric

dress were parodied in Gilbert and Sullivan's

comic operetta, Patience (1881).

•Wilde's most popular plays satirized the

English upper classes- the very audience for

whom they were intended.

•Wilde's mother was a poetess and Irish

nationalist known as Speranza.

•Wilde's full name was Oscar Fingal

O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, in deference to his

Irish heritage.

“The Canterville Ghost” is a parody featuring adramatic spirit named Sir Simon and an Americanambassador named Mr. Hiram B. Otis. Mr. Otistravels to England with his family and moves intoa haunted castle. Lord Canterville, the previousowner of the castle, warns Mr. Otis that theghost of Sir Simon de Canterville has haunted thecastle ever since he killed his wife, Eleonore,centuries ago. But Mr. Otis dismisses the ghoststory as bunk and disregards Lord Canterville’swarnings. When the Otises learn that the castleis indeed haunted, they succeed in victimizing theghost and in disregarding age-old Britishtraditions. What emerges is a satire of Americanmaterialism and an amusing twist on thetraditional gothic horror tale.

The story takes place in an old English castle,Canterville Chase, which has all the accoutrementsof a traditional haunted castle. Descriptions of thewainscoting, the library paneled in black oak, and thearmor in the hallway characterize the gothic settingand help Wilde clash the Old World with the New.Typical of the style of the English Decadents, thegothic atmosphere reveals the author’s fascinationwith the macabre. Yet he mixes the macabre withcomedy, juxtaposing devices from traditional Englishghost stories such as creaking floorboards, clankingchains, and ancient prophecies with symbols ofmodern America. Wilde’s gothic setting helpsemphasize the contrast between cultures—settingmodern Americans in what could arguably be aclassic symbol of British history—and underscoresthe impropriety of the castle’s mismatched

Mr. Hiram B. Otis

Mrs. Otis

Washington Twin Boys Virginia

The ghost: It is the ghost of the castle forcenturies. He was Sir Simon de Canterville and diedin 1584, his spirit still haunts the Chase. His aspectis very terrible: “He is an old man, his eyes were asred burning coals, long grey hair fell over hisshoulders in matted coils, his garments, which wereof antique cut, were soiled and ragged, and fromhis wrists and ankles hung heavy manacles andrusty gyves.”

Mr. Otis: He is the father of the Otis family. Heis a middle-aged American minister; he isdeterminate, inflexible, rational, practical andpragmatic, in conclusion a true American. In fact atthe beginning he believes that the ghost doesn’texist, then, when he personally meets him, he isindifferent: he has more important things to do,

Virginia: She is a little girl of fifteen, lithe andlovely as a fawn, and with a fine freedom, in herlarge blue eyes. She is a wonderful Amazon. Inrespect to her family she is kind and with wellingheart. The daughter is the only one in the familywho is scared by the ghost. She never speaksexcept to the ghost, at the end of the story.

Washington: The Otis’s' oldest son; “he is a fire-haired rather good-looking young man; gardeniasand peerage are his only weaknesses.”

The twins: They are usually called the Stars andStripes; they are delightful boys and the only truerepublicans of the family.” These children alwaysplay tricks on the ghost and make him depressedand desperate. All along the story, they imaginejokes and even dress up as ghosts.

Mrs. Otis: The mother isn't scared of the ghostand even asks him if he wants a remedy for hisstomach. She is a very pretty middle-aged womanwith fine eyes and a superb profile. She has amagnificent constitution and a wonderful amount ofanimal spirits.

Mrs. Umney: The old house-keeper of CantervilleChase is very terrified by the ghost and tries towarn the family.

The story begins when Mr Otis's family shifted toCanterville Chase, despite warnings from LordCanterville that the house is haunted. The Otisfamily includes Mr. and Mrs. Otis, their daughterVirginia, twin boys (often referred to as "Stars andStripes") and their oldest son Washington. Atfirst, not one member of the Otis family believesin ghosts, but shortly after they move in, none ofthem can deny the presence of Sir Simon (TheGhost). The family hears clanking chains, theywitness re-appearing bloodstains "on the floor justby the fireplace", and they see strange apparitionsin various forms. But, humorously, none of thesescare the Otises in the least. In fact, upon hearingthe clanking noises in the hallway, Mr. Otispromptly gets out of bed and pragmatically offers

Despite Sir Simon’s attempts to appear in the mostgruesome guises, the family refuses to befrightened, and Sir Simon feels increasinglyhelpless and humiliated. When Mrs. Otis notices amysterious red mark on the floor, she simply repliesthat she does “not at all care for blood stains in thesitting room.” When Mrs. Umney, the housekeeper,informs Mrs. Otis that the blood stain is indeedevidence of the ghost and cannot be removed,Washington Otis, the oldest son, suggests that thestain will be removed with Pinkerton’s ChampionStain Remover and Paragon Detergent. Wildedescribes Mrs. Otis as “a very handsomemiddle-aged woman”. Her expression of"modern" American culture surfaces when sheimmediately resorts to using the commercialstain remover to obliterate the bloodstains and

The most colourful character in the story isundoubtedly the ghost himself, Sir Simon, whogoes about his duties with theatrical panache andflair. He assumes a series of dramatic roles in hisfailed attempts to impress and terrify the Otises,making it easy to imagine him as a comicalcharacter in a stage play. He takes the role ofghostly apparitions such as a Headless Earl, aStrangled Babe, the Blood-Sucker of Bexley Moor,Jonas the Graveless, Suicide’s Skeleton, and theCorpse-Snatcher of Chertsey Barn. But none ofthem works with these Americans. Sir Simonschemes, but even as his costumes becomeincreasingly gruesome, his antics do nothing toscare his house guests, and the Otises succeed infailing him every time. He falls victim to trip wires,pea shooters, butter-slides, and falling buckets ofwater. In a particularly comical scene, he is

During the course of the story,as narrated from Sir Simon's

viewpoint, we come to understand the complexity of the ghost’s emotions. We see him brave, frightening, distressed, scared, and finally, depressed and weak. He exposes his vulnerability during an encounter with Virginia, Mr. Otis's fifteen-year-old daughter. Virginia is different from everyone else in the family. He tells her that he has not slept in three hundred years and wants desperately to do so. The ghost reveals to Virginia the tragic tale of his wife, Lady Eleanor de

Unlike the rest of her family, Virginia does not dismiss the ghost. She takes him seriously; she listens to him and learns an important lesson, as well as the true meaning behind a riddle. Sir Simon de Canterville says that she must weep for him for he has no tears, she must pray for him for he has no faith and then she must accompany him to the angel of death and beg for Death's mercy upon Sir Simon. She does weep for him and pray for him, and she disappears with Sir Simon through the wainscoting and goes with him to the Garden of Death and bids the ghost farewell. Then she reappears at midnight, through a panel in the wall, carrying jewels and news that Sir Simon has passed on to the next world and no longer resides in the house. Virginia’s ability to accept Sir Simon leads to her enlightenment; Sir Simon, she tells her husband several years later,

“The Canterville Ghost” is a study in contrasts.Wilde takes an American family, places them in aBritish setting, then, through a series of mishaps,pits one culture against the other. He createsstereotypical characters that represent bothEngland and the United States, and he presentseach of these characters as comical figures,satirizing both the unrefined tastes of Americansand the determination of the British to guardtheir traditions. Sir Simon is not a symbol ofEngland, as perhaps Mrs. Umney is, but rather aparagon of British culture. In this sense, hestands in perfect contrast to the Otises. SirSimon misunderstands the Otises just as theymisunderstand him, and, by pitting them againsteach other, Wilde clearly wishes to emphasize theculture clash between England and the UnitedStates.

The story illustrates Wilde’stendency to reverse situationsinto their opposites as the Otisesgain the upper hand and succeedin terrorizing the ghost ratherthan be terrorized by him. Wildepairs this reversal of situationswith a reversal of perspective.This ghost story is told not fromthe perspective of the castleoccupants, as in traditional tales,but from the perspective of theghost, Sir Simon. In this sense,Sir Simon could logically belabeled the “protagonist” in thisstory, as it is he who faces thechallenge of overcoming adversityand bettering his “life.”