IDEOLOGICAL AND AESTHETIC FUNCTIONS OF SYMBOLISM IN THE WORKS OF OSCAR WILDE
Keywords:
Oscar Wilde; symbolism; aestheticism; ideology; Victorian morality; The Picture of Dorian Gray; decadence; identity; art for art’s sake; paradox.Abstract
This article investigates the ideological and aesthetic functions of symbolism in
Oscar Wilde’s literary works, particularly The Picture of Dorian Gray, fairy tales, and
critical essays. It argues that Wilde’s symbolic system operates simultaneously as an
aesthetic strategy of beauty and as an ideological critique of Victorian morality and
identity. Through close textual analysis, the study demonstrates that symbolism in
Wilde’s works constructs dual meanings of surface and depth, exposing contradictions
between art, ethics, and society. Wilde’s aestheticism transforms symbols into
dynamic structures of philosophical and cultural reflection.
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