De Profundis | An Epistle by Oscar Wilde

Never can one find oneself so grossly incapacitated to pen a review.Never has the pen shivered or the wariness of error been engulfing so completely as to capture the essence of De Profundis. Although it is not a play or a proper novel by Wilde, it stands apart from his other works particularly because of the circumstances under which it was written. Oscar Wilde wrote the epistle from prison to his friend Lord Alfred Douglas. Perhaps Wilde smuggled toilet paper to write this long letter to vent his anger and disappointment towards Alfred (Bosie). In prison for 2 years and not having received a single communication from Bosie, Wilde is understandably livid and starts his letter by pillorying his friend for shallowness.

The letter recounts the events that "ruined" Wilde by his association with Bosie and accuses him of draining Wilde's savings. It also humorously paints the picture of Alfred as a man with epileptic tantrums and sentimentality. By describing the frequent tiffs between the two, Wilde wishes that Bosie would have part ways but quotes "As far as I can make out I ended my friendship with you every three months regularly, and each time that I did so you managed by means of entreaties, telegrams, letters, the interposition of your friends , the interposition of mine, and the like to induce me to allow you back"

The letter further describes how Wilde was "bored to death" by Bosie's talk and association and How Bosie and his father contributed to the ruin of Wilde as an artist and as a man of repute.It criticizes Bosie's father for making Wilde the scapegoat for the quarrel with his son and upshot was the trial that brought infamy to Wilde. Wilde writes "I required the rest and freedom from the terrible strain of your companionship. It was necessary for me to be little by myself. It was intellectually necessary. ". If bitter reproach was not enough , it draws vivid satire from the fact that Bosie followed Wilde across countries when Wilde would move to new cities like Paris without a forwarding address but alas Alfred wouldn't give up. He was told "I would absolutely decline to see you; you reminded me that for the sake of seeing me even for one hour you had travelled six days and nights across Europe without stopping once on the way: you made what I must admit was a most pathetic appeal, and ended with what seemed to me a threat of suicide, and one not thinly veiled."

From scorn and ridicule of Alfred for his pettiness, extravagance and greed, the tone of the letter slowly changes to remorse and introspection where Wilde admits that he had learnt his lesson and there was meaning in his suffering. It had made him arrive at a discovery.And there emerges the optimism when he says that he had tuned his good life into evil but now he will turn the evil thing of his life to good. He discerns that there is something good in this whole trial and imprisonment. Wilde believes he can assert himself as an artist again. "Sorrow remarries us to God" so says Wilde to accentuate the supreme emotion of sorrow in shaping a man's character.

An Epistle as passionate, as critical as De Profundis, strewn with remorse, acceptance and determination is hard not to admire.The vestiges of hypocrisy are absent despite its candid observations of society, the church and the legal system which is called "absolutely and entirely wrong". It is blotted with tears and yet radiates the indomitable spirit of Oscar Wilde, for the genius he was and allows us a sneak-peek into the beautiful human being in him. For a wonderful exploration into the mindscape of Wilde, this letter is a must read. Admittedly I loved these lines most from the work :

"I am quite candid when I tell you that rather than go out from this prison with bitterness in my heart against you or against the world I would gladly and readily beg my bread from door to door. If I got nothing at the house of the rich, I would get something at the house of the poor. Those who have much are often greedy. Those who have little always share."