Wilde Gets Involved With The Catholic Church

After his release from prison for his infamous love affair, Wilde exits with a new lease on life. He immediately asks to be invited to join a monastery in order that he might practice Catholic teachings, but he is declined. At the news of their rejection, he wept (Ellmann 574, Hansen 259). From his release onward, Oscar Wilde will spend nearly every day until his death attending Catholic Mass (Hansen 259). His writings to Robert Ross during this time convey that he also attended confession and took mass as a way of cleansing himself of Paganism. He continues to interrogate Ross about (Hart-Davis 583). 

Sources:

Ellmann, Richard. Oscar Wilde. Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1988. 

Hart-Davis, Rupert, editor. The Letters of Oscar Wilde. Harcourt, Brace and World Inc., 1962. 

Hanson, Ellis. Decadence and Catholicism. Harvard University Press, 1997. 

 

Associated Place(s)

Event date:

The end of the month May 1897 to 29 Nov 1900