Politički diskurs dendizma u Vajldovim komedijama društva
The Political Discourse of Dandyism in Wilde’s Society Comedies
Author
Radovanović, AleksandarMentor
Nastić, RadmilaCommittee members
Rosić Ilić, TatjanaBubanja, Nikola
Đorić Francuski, Biljana
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Show full item recordAbstract
Krajem XX veka, u periodu bujanja postmodernih teorija književnosti i
kulture, Oskar Vajld je revitalizovan kao kanonski anglo-irski autor i
rekonceptualizovan kao viktorijanska društvena ikona kroz koju se prelamaju
tabuizirana seksualnost, fragmentirani nacionalni identitet i revolucionarna
politička stremljenja. Prethodno marginalizovan kao šarmantni zabavljač
imperijalne elite i književni diletant, Vajld je naprasno, kroz vizuru novih
teorija, izrastao u mislioca čija poetika anticipira moderno, kao i postmoderno
viđenje sveta i umetnosti.
Ova disertacija sagledava Vajldove komedije društva kao refleksiju kulturne
transformacije i političkih previranja s kraja XIX veka. Osmišljen u skladu sa
konvencijama komercijalnog teatra, Vajldov komediografski izraz podrazumevao je
kompromis sa dominantnim tržišnim ukusom, ali i kreativni postupak koji ima
svoju subverzivnu notu. U populističkoj formi svojih komedija, Vajld je iznalazio
prostor za disonantni glas koji sa izvesnom ...dozom suptilnosti poziva viktorijansku
javnost na preispitivanje društvenih normi o aktuelnim pitanjima roda, klase,
imperije i seksualnosti. Iako se u Vajldovim zapletima mogu locirati nebrojeni
moderni i klasični izvori, njegova scenska delatnost pomalja se kao inventivna u
realizaciji, dinamična u političkoj relevantnosti i vitalna u istorijskoj
istrajnosti.
Vajldova estetizovana komunikacija laganjem pokazuje se kao srodna irskoj
oralnoj tradiciji, ali i filozofiji dendizma koju dramatičar vaskrsava na
pozornici. Dendi je Vajldov eksponent romantičarske hirovitosti u eri
viktorijanske pragmatičnosti. On je modni diktator, kulturni provokator i umetnik
življenja, a odeća je njegova poezija, izraz revolta i suštinskog konformizma.
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Dendijeva kreacija je solipsistička, ali ne odvija se u izolaciji, već kroz
posmatrače. Bez svoje publike, dendi ne postoji. Postavljen na scenu, dendi kao
estetsko i naizgled pasivno biće oživljava u svojstvu glasnogovornika vajldovske
filozofije koja kroz ironiju i paradoks podriva društveno podobna stanovišta i
formira zid jezičke ambivalentnosti koji i danas priziva nove vidove dekodiranja.
Sučeljenost tradicionalnosti i inovativnosti, derivativnosti i
originalnosti, konvencionalnosti i subverzije u Vajldovom dramskom postupku
nagoveštava da se u samoj formi njegovih komedija može razabrati upravo ona tenzija
koja sačinjava srž njegove književnosti i centralnu dihotomiju njegovog životnog i
umetničkog performansa. Reč je o dendijevskoj rascepljenosti između inheretne
buntovnosti i konformističke pritvornosti, na osnovu čega se Vajldove komedije
prepoznaju kao medijum koji valjano odražava kompleksnost njegove poetike i
obujmljuje sve kontradiktorne aspekte njegove filozofije.
Ova disertacija razmatra Vajldov dramski tekst kroz pristup koji je pre
društveno nego literarno orijentisan, pre materijalan nego egzistencijalan. Teza je
fokusirana ne na sam tekst koliko na socijalnu interaktivnost teksta u političkim,
istorijskim i kulturološkim diskursima Britanske imperije na izmaku
viktorijanske epohe. Vajldove komedije otuda su sagledane kao dramska književnost
i pozorišni performans, ali i kao kulturni artefakt i scensko ogledalo
poznoviktorijanskog sveta u tranziciji.
U svom istraživanju, teza se oslanja na masivan kritički korpus o Vajldu, ali
i teži da se nadoveže na njega, predoči sopstvenu argumentaciju i izvrši blago
pomeranje diskusije ka manje ispitanim obodima. Podrobnije upoznavanje sa
politikom Vajldove komedije i njene publike proširiće i humanizovati naš
fiksirani pogled na viktorijance i pružiti mu dodatnu istorijsku dimenziju. U tom
procesu, disertacija će predočiti načine na koje Vajldova poetika reflektuje
kulturne osobenosti fin de siècle Britanije, ali i podstiče zapitanost nad ljudskim
stanjem u maniru koji je podjednako prijemčiv za našu digitalnu epohu.
Towards the end of the twentieth century, Oscar Wilde was revitalized as a canonical
Anglo-Irish author and re-conceptualized as a Victorian social icon who embodied tabooed
sexuality, fragmented national identity and revolutionary political aspirations. Previously
marginalized as a charming entertainer of the imperial elite and a literary dilettante, Wilde
sprang into academic recognition as a thinker whose poetics anticipated the modern, as well
as postmodern conception of the world and art.
This dissertation examines Wilde’s society comedies as a reflection of cultural
transformation and political turmoil at the close of the nineteenth century. Conceived in
accord with the conventions of commercial theatre, Wilde’s dramatic expression was marked
by a compromise with the dominant taste of the market, but it also entailed a creative strategy
which had its subversive note. In the populist form of his comedy, Wilde found space for a
subtle dissonant voice which invited the Vi...ctorian audiences to review social norms on the
topical issues of gender, class, empire and sexuality. Although Wilde’s plots reveal countless
modern and classical sources, his plays loom as inventive in execution, dynamic in political
relevance and vital in historical durability.
Wilde’s aestheticized communication through lying proves to be akin to the Irish oral
tradition as well as the philosophy of dandyism which the playwright revived on the stage.
The dandy is Wilde’s exponent of romantic whimsicality in the era of Victorian pragmatism.
He is a fashion dictator, cultural provocateur and a supreme artist of life. Clothing is his
poetry, a sartorial expression of his apparent revolt and essential conformity. The dandy’s
creation is solipsistic, but it does not enfold in isolation. Without his audience, the dandy
does not exist. Once he is placed on the stage, the dandy, as an aesthetic and seemingly
passive creature, comes to life as the spokesman of Wildean philosophy which uses irony
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and paradox to undermine socially acceptable views and to build a wall of linguistic
ambivalence which still invokes new forms of decoding.
Wilde’s dramatic method thrives on the oppositions between traditionalism and
innovation, derivativeness and originality, conventionality and subversion, thus suggesting
that the very form of his comedy exemplifies the tension which stands as the existential core
of his literature and the central dichotomy of his performance of life. That tension is the
dandy’s schism between inherent rebellion and conformist pretence, which is why Wilde’s
comedies can be recognized as a medium that properly reflects the complexity of his poetics
and embraces all the contradictory aspects of his philosophy.
The approach to Wilde’s dramatic text is socially rather than literarily inclined,
material rather than existential. The dissertation is focused not on the text itself but on the
social interactivity of the text within the political, historical and cultural discourses of the
British Empire at the apex of its power. Wilde’s comedy is therefore observed as dramatic
literature and theatrical performance, but also as a cultural artefact and a stage mirror of the
late Victorian world in transition.
The research relies on the massive body of critical work on Wilde, but it also aims to
complement it, present its own argument and make a slight shift of the discussion towards
the less examined edges. A keener awareness of the politics of Wilde’s comedy and its
audience serves to expand and humanize our fixed view of the Victorians and provide it with
an additional historical dimension. In this process, the dissertation will demonstrate the ways
in which Wilde’s poetics not only reflects the cultural traits of the fin de siècle Britain, but
also evokes a sense of wonder about the human condition in a fashion which is just as
provocative in our digital era.