A century after his death, Oscar Wilde, the British playwright who was jailed for his homosexuality, was symbolically rehabilitated as a statue of him was unveiled in London. But with a debate over the sexuality of ministers in Britain currently raging, the persecution suffered by Wilde, who spent two years in jail before retreating to a lonely exile, remains a potent symbol of discrimination.The bronze statue depicts Wilde's head and two hands, with the inscription: ``We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.''
The unveiling, near Trafalgar Square in London, was attended by Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland and great-grandson Lucian Holland, as well as several prominent actors and the openly gay Culture Secretary Chris Smith.
Merlin Holland said: ``I don't think his controversy has been accepted everywhere yet. I think there's still a certain amount of discomfort about his private life in middle England, but I think we're reaching a point where I hope we will be likeEurope where we will regard him as a writer and his sexuality as his own affair. It's taken a long time but I think it's a good start.''
Entitled A Conversation With Oscar Wilde 1854-1900, the statue is the work of sculptor Maggi Hambling and took two years to create after a campaign and public appeal led by Sir Jeremy Isaacs, a former director of the Royal Opera House.
Crowds gathered at the unveiling saw Dame Judi Dench and Nigel Hawthorne reading an extract from his work A Woman Of No Importance and actor and comedian Stephen Fry, who played Oscar Wilde in the film Wilde.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
Printer-friendly page