Wilde's Feminism: An In-Between Observation

As for many critics on Irish Studies, Wilde's Irish heritage and creations owed to the influence of Irish legacies on him. However, to be more objective, Wilde's cultural identity is not only Irishness but also Englishness. Wilde is not an extreme radical Irish as some critics think; on the contrary, his Irishness and Englishness are coexistent and blended.In Bhabha's view, the third space which is ambiguous and interstitial exists in the differences of race, class and gender (qtd. Bhabha, 36). It is in the hybrid and in-between space that community interests or cultural values are negotiated. Wilde's hybridity of cultural identity decides that his creations also blend with his Irishness and Englishness. Therefore, it is reasonable for Wilde's perspective of feminism characterized with hybridity.Wilde's special gender identity did not pose as an obstacle to his participation in feminist activities of his time. Wilde supported feminism by being an editor of the monthly journal of the Woman's World and championing women's suffrage. In Wilde's several social comedies, he portrayed his ideal image of women: intelligent, independent and rebellious. In the meanwhile he constructed the male characters with feminine qualities to help deconstruct the patriarchal tradition prevailing in the Victorian society. Wilde's women were manly and men womanly.Through the third space, Wilde showed us his in-between observation of man and woman and his feminism. It was also worth noticing that Wilde's feminism heralded the development of feminism of the twentieth century.