Wilde's grave suffers curse of purple kisses

Wilde's grave suffers curse of purple kisses
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

PARIS, NOV 3: Thousands of Oscar Wilde fans expected to pay tribute at his grave on the centenary of his death later this month are in for a major disappointment: the tomb has been defaced by scores of pale mauve kisses.

Some kisses are hand-painted and some have been lip-applied, and together with a scrawl of multi-lingual graffiti, they form a hideous rash over the face of an otherwise elegant tomb. Wilde's grave has long been a place of pilgrimage. He died a pauper's death in a seedy hotel in the Latin Quarter of Paris on November 30, 1900, and was buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in the working-class eastern half of the city in a tomb paid for by an anonymous `lady'.

Since then, the grave has attracted a steady stream of admirers who regard Wilde not just as a celebrated playwright, poet and wit, but as an early gay martyr. He fled to Paris in disgrace after serving a two-year prison-sentence imposed for a homosexual love affair. The sphinx-like angel that guards the tomb, sculpted by Sir Jacob Epstein, was originally a well-endowed male, but his male parts have been removed, not once but twice -- first by an outraged cemetery-keeper who, legend has it, used them as a paper-weight, and later by a souvenir hunter.

The plague of purple kisses threatens to be equally damaging. Containing animal fats, the lipstick sinks into the stone and the stone-masons responsible for the upkeep of the cemetery monuments are unsure if the marks can be removed. The tomb was last restored in 1992 and a plaque was added at the base reading, in English and French: ``Respect the memory of Oscar Wilde and do not deface this tomb.''

The kisses reportedly began a few years ago when a visitor thought it would be a good idea to place a mark of affection on the tomb, and then people started joining in. The latest curse is graffiti, which have spread from the front to the sides of the stone. ``Ti Amo!'' exclaims one. ``El mejor'', comments a Spanish-speaker. ``Oscar forever and more smack'', claims another. Several visitors, including Kevin, Marc, Regine and Antonella, have inscribed their names, often thoughtfully indicating the date of their efforts. `Romeo Deutschland' is registered twice. Aidan of Dublin has misquoted Wilde's famous line about lying in the gutter but staring at the stars.

Most of the markings appear to have been added in the past two months. Cemetery officials say periodic attempts are made to clean graffiti off tombs but that some are hard to remove. The former inmate of Reading Gaol is not the only distinguished foreign guest of the Pere Lachaise cemetery to attract visitors from around the world.

The tomb of Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors rock group, who died of a heart attack, aged 28, while passing through Paris in 1971, has suffered similar indignities to that of Wilde, although it was recently cleaned up and is now spotless. The present difference is perhaps due to the fact that Morrison's grave now has a full-time guard. Wilde, ever the outcast, has no such protection.