The images of Oscar Wilde's Salome illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley are interesting and quite different from many other illustrations in books, poems, and plays we've seen thus far. These images seem to almost contrast with the texts but definitely make a commentary. I felt that, in the images, there was a lot of sexism and homophobia seemingly shown as a way for Beardsley to comment on Wilde's sexuality. There was a lot of play on the male gaze within the illustrations. The focus of the illustrations of the women were on the body of the women rather than the scene as a whole. One example would be the peacock skirt. It's the male peacocks who use their colours to attract the female of the species yet Beardsley decided to use that through a woman. As though she's looking to attract and seek a man. This is especially iteresting since Wilde himself didn't use especially sexual or sexualized language and descriptions. Beardsley doing this seems to be just another way of the...
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Description
Students in Lorraine Janzen Kooistra's English Capstone Seminar at Ryerson University in Toronto in F2020 aim to make a virtue of pandemic necessity by engaging collaboratively and critically with the digital surrogates of a wide variety of Victorian illustrated books published between 1843 and 1899.
Using the interpretive model of image/text/context for both synchronic and diachronic analyses, and drawing on a range of digital tools, this course aims to understand the past through the present and the present through the past.
Our study begins with Charles Dickens's iconic Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas, illustrated by John Leech (1843), then turns to two examples of poetry and illustration: Alfred Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott," illustrated by Pre-Raphaelite artists William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1857); and Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market," illustrated by her brother, Dante Gabriel (1862). These mid-century works will provide the foundation for our study of the illustrated books that proliferated at the end of the century. We'll analyze a variety of fin-de-siècle genres and styles, starting with Arthur Conan Doyle's popular detective stories, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, illustrated by Sydney Paget (1892). Next up is Salome: A Tragedy in One Act, Oscar Wilde's censored play based on a biblical story, which was infamously "embroidered" by decadent artist Aubrey Beardsley (1894). Fairy tales and fantasies aimed at adult audiences allowed counter-cultural writers and artists to protest existing norms and imagine other worlds; our examples are Laurence Housman's self-illustrated collection, The House of Joy (1895) and Clemence Housman's gothic novella The Were-Wolf, with wood-engraved illustrations by the author after her brother Laurence's designs (1896). The Annancy Stories, a self-illustrated collection of folktales by Pamela Colman Smith, is the first-known publication featuring this Jamaican trickster figure (1899). Students examine the final work, A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel (2019), for evidence of the legacy of Victorian illustrated books today.
The following texts are available in COVE (see D2L for the other digital surrogates):
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas (1843): A COVE Studio Text for class annotation
Clemence Housman, The Were-Wolf (1896): A COVE Annotated Edition
Christina G. Rossetti, Goblin Market (1862): A COVE Annotated Edition
Alfred Tennyson: The Lady of Shalott (1857): A COVE Studio text for class annotation
Victorian illustrated books resulted from the collaboration of a number of social agents, including authors, artists, engravers, editors, publishers, and readers. Using the COVE toolset, students and instructor work collaboratively to build resources that critically curate Victorian illustrated books in cultural contexts ranging from the nineteenth century to the present.
We will use the COVE annotation tool to hone our close reading and editorial skills. In COVE Studio, each student will provide TWO TEXTUAL ANNOTATIONS, one on "content," one on "craft," for Dickens's A Christmas Carol and Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott."
We will use the Gallery Image tool to provide bibliographic and contextual information and iconographic commentary and analysis on illustrations, and to associate these with events in the Timeline and places in the Map.
We will use the Gallery Exhibition tool to critically curate illustrated books in cultural contexts, situating works synchronically, within their originating moment of production and reception, and diachronically, in terms of their ongoing moments of production and reception.
We will use the COVE Timeline tool to provide information about historical events relevant to Victorian illustrated books, both at the time of their first publication, and in their ongoing re-production over time and across media.
We will use the COVE Map tool to associate places relevant to illustrated books and their makers and the cultural contexts that we showcase in the Gallery and on the Timeline.
Galleries, Timelines, and Maps
This week we looked at Oscar Wild's 1893 play Salomé which was illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley in the English edition. This text was definitely the most challenging text to analyze especially when it came to its illustrations as Beardsley strangely and most definitely deliberately avoided merely reflecting Wild's text. initially I had a hard time understanding the relationship between text and image due to the illustration's ambiguity's especially when I compared it to Sherlock Holmes and how easily it was to understand the relationship between text and image. However, after the presentations today, I started to appreciate Beardsley's illustrations more as I believe it completed Wilde’s work. Since Wild himself did not include any sexual description in his play, considering the censorship laws that would have prevented the play from performing any sexual scenes, Beardsley's work calls out such censorship laws with its clear sexual portrayal of the characters....
moreThe analyzing of Salome by Oscar Wilde was extremely interesting to be a part of. Throughout the course of the meeting today we came to a pretty general conclusion that the images by Aubrey Beardsley and the text by Oscar Wilde we're working in two different directions but simultaneously creating a very successful text. With this being said it was apparent that Aubrey Beardsley definitely took his own approach in illustrating for Oscar Wilde's playwright. Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations really take a play on sexuality and gender throughout the entire T of the book. In regard to the frontispiece, which is what I analyzed for my discussion presentation this week, there's a couple things to know in regard to gender and sexuality. First off, the title of the image is “A Woman in the Moon” and when you look at the face that is represented in the moon it is known to be a depiction of Oscar Wilde. The other thing to note about the frontispiece is the fact that there are two...
moreThis week, when analyzing Oscar Wilde's Salome, illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, I was very drawn into the representation of woman and the incorporation of the moon. When looking at the image that Patricia had presented, "The Woman in the Moon", it provided me with some initial insight on the meaning behind the two figures. While it is clear to see that one of the figures is a man because is he presented nude, the other figure is fully clothed, which can cause room for speculation that perhaps this is a woman. It demonstrates how there is more power for a man over a woman and how women must be respectful of themselves and their bodies. The women are never pictured fully nude but only from the waist up. There is also symbolic elements of the moon and flowers being implemented in these images. They explore taboo subjects throughout the images, including sex and religion. Purity can also be connected towards woman and the idea of purity and vanity. Women seem to be a victim...
moreThis week's seminar focused on Salome: A Tragedy in One Act, a play written by Oscar Wilde. The play was originally published in French in 1892, however, it was censored from being performed as it depicted Biblical figures. The English translation was published in 1894 with ten censored accompanying illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley. It was later republished in 1907 with all sixteen uncensored illustrations. Beardsley, like the Pre-Raphaelites, was known for creating commentary or interpretations of work through their illustrations; ones that were not generally approved by the authors. Many of Beardsley's illustrations were extradiegetic, he incorporated elements that were not explicitly stated in the text. One such illustration is 'The Peacock Skirt' in which he illustrates Salome wearing a peacock skirt that is never mentioned in the text. One can assume that Beardsley is making a comment on gender and the way in which women are constructed in this text. Beardsley...
moreThis weeks class consisted of discussions surrounding Oscar Wilde's Salome and how Aubrey Beardsley's illustrations accompany and further add on to the concepts presented within the text. Many of the discussions surrounded female sexuality during the fin de siecle and how Beardsley decided to portray Salome despite this. The way Beardsley illustrates Salome is interesting as although she could be viewed as a femme fatale, a beautiful women who causes disaster, due to her stone cold facial features and clear power she has over men, Beardsley illustrates her in a nude and seductive way which stems from the idea of the male gaze. The male gaze is an interesting idea to further research as much of media today is created for the male gaze as women are extremely sexualized and objectified within it. Beardsley's depiction of Salome is sensual and nude for a reason, in the image "The Stomach Dance" she is portrayed with her breasts out with thin clothing and veils being the only things...
moreOut of all the readings I have done for this course, I found Oscar Wilde’s Salome to be the most difficult. I felt that the text, as well as the images were complicated and rooted in symbolism. I found the presentations today to be very helpful in understanding this symbolism. I saw a lot of gender representation throughout the illustrations, weather that be through non-conforming gender or a character very specifically being a man or a woman. I also thought the use of nudity was very interesting, especially considering the taboo around sexuality in the Victorian era. Overall, in terms of text/image/context I was able to see how the illustrations and the story work to challenge conforming ideologies during the time in which it was published. I also did not enjoy the trailer for the movie. I felt as though it did not capture the essence of the story or the images....
moreWith this weeks discussion of Oscar Wilde's Salome, I noticed the ways that the illustrations accompanying the text play on the idea of the male gaze, as was discussed by many of the presentations. Especially when analyzing how Salome's character is being depicted in the illustrations, it is easy to idenfity the ways in which Beardsley's images draw on the male gaze by the visual cues that they feature. For example, many of the images of Salome feature nudity and sensuality on the part of her character - she is either outwardly nude in the image, or the visual cues direct all of the attention to her. One specific image representative of this is the one entitled "The Peacock Skirt," in which although she is not nude, the viewers attention is drawn towards her. The skirt seems to encompass Salome in beauty and makes sure that the viewer is focusing on her. This idea is further proven when we consider the character standing next to her - they are being shown as small in...
moreSpeaking specifically about the illustration I lead my discussion on, “Her face blanched with terror,” Paget was able to easily represent family life and women’s lack of independence in his imagery. As we know, Helen and Julia Stoner are under the oppressive control of their stepfather until they can be married. Such practice was not uncommon in the Victorian era. Together, Doyle and Paget were able to clearly represent the hierarchy of the family; the paternal figure controls the home, the assets, and the bodies under “his roof.” This is established by Sir Grimesby Roylott’s desire to maintain control of the girls’ inheritance but plotting their deaths – of which the attack on Julia is successful. The illustration helps to illuminate the girls' lack of independence; they live in Roylott’s home and follow his rule. Very rarely do you hear of people seeking the aid of private detectives in the twenty...
moreSidney Paget does something interesting when it comes to illustrating Sherlock Holmes; and that is, he almost contrasts the words being said. He does this in a way where the text and image relate and make sense and aren't contradictory. But, since he had creative freedom, we see where Paget brought in his own creative liberty and how he saw the characters and scenes he was illustrating for. When it came to the images discussed in presentations today, it is very clear that many if not all these images touched upon fin-de-siècle ideologies and prejudices held at that time. These are imperialism, classism, ableism, racism, and sexism. Many of Paget's images surrounding someone of a race other than white especially showed these prejudices. There was such a fear of the "other" that anyone who looked different was seemingly dangerous and violent. The only racialized man in "The Man With The Twisted Lip" was violent and illustrated to be seen coming out of the shadows. The only disabled...
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Individual Entries
I haven't really encountered Salome often or if I did, then it’s usually in brief passing (like I know the name and that’s generally it). But with today’s discussion seminar I was able to actually see the ways in which sexuality and queer culture really impacted the story and its reception to the audience. It’s also interesting that the amount of androgynous and fluidity between characters is discussed as it seems to open a leeway in genders and their ability to move (not more freely per se, but to open questions about what an individual is capable of and challenge the roles of the male gaze). I’ve also liked the ways in which Salome had been portrayed as this seductress but all for the sake of getting the religious figure’s head—in its time, I’m sure it would have caused some sort of uproar with Christian beliefs and damning in that sense, but it’s Wilde’s ability to call attention to how rigid the systems of both gender and...
moreI really enjoyed our discussion on Oscar Wilde's Salome: Tragedy in One Act. While the book was censored in 1892 due to Aubrey Beardsley's nude illustrations, I found it quite surprising that the book was uncensored in 1907 to a conservative twentieth-century audience. Beardsley's illustrations were unlike any of the artwork we have studied thus far in term and that made it especially interesting, One, it was quite interesting to learn that Wilde himself did not like many of Beardsley's illustrations. Two, in my opinion, many of Beardsley's illustrations were actually more interesting than the text itself. This is an anomaly as it is quite rare for an illustrator to upstage the author and the text itself. I think the reason Beardsley's illustrations are so interesting is that they are very conceptual instead of literally illustrating parts of the text. In this way, the illustrations offer their own commentary and produce their own meaning. One great example brought up...
moreOscar Wilde’s Salome: A Tragedy in One Act, illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley was censored when it was first published in French in 1892. It wasn’t until 1907 that it was republished with all the illustrations now uncensored. Because of the nudity and sexuality depicted in the illustrations, the play was viewed as inappropriate during the fin de siècle. Now, we know Salome to be progressive; a work that was ahead of its time and provided great commentary on female sexuality and the male gaze. Beardsley illustrates from the perspective of the male gaze by featuring Salome in almost complete nudity throughout multiple images. In images where Salome’s nude body is not on display, Beardsley uses other artistic elements to direct attention towards her. I think more and more, women are being encouraged to do whatever makes them feel powerful and sexy, whether that be to display their...
moreFor this week's work on Salome I was tasked with presenting my discussion leading question to the class. The process of researching that discussion question posed a number of interesting challenges and opportunities to research the text in greater depth. The process of taking a single image and analyzing it in depth and in a way it can be communicated to the rest of the class in the form of productive discussion was difficult but the practice we have accumulated over our time in this course made the process much easier. For my presentation I focused specifically on Aubrey Beardsely’s “the Climax” and I can say with confidence that Beardsley’s style has been my favourite thus far. I found the japanese influence in his work to be particularly striking. The minimalist visuals marked a stark departure from the previous works we’ve studied. The images this week were rich with thematic depth and symbolic imagery that made them engaging to study. Connecting...
moreThe images of Oscar Wilde's Salome illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley are interesting and quite different from many other illustrations in books, poems, and plays we've seen thus far. These images seem to almost contrast with the texts but definitely make a commentary. I felt that, in the images, there was a lot of sexism and homophobia seemingly shown as a way for Beardsley to comment on Wilde's sexuality. There was a lot of play on the male gaze within the illustrations. The focus of the illustrations of the women were on the body of the women rather than the scene as a whole. One example would be the peacock skirt. It's the male peacocks who use their colours to attract the female of the species yet Beardsley decided to use that through a woman. As though she's looking to attract and seek a man. This is especially iteresting since Wilde himself didn't use especially sexual or sexualized language and descriptions. Beardsley doing this seems to be just another way of the...
moreThis week we looked at Oscar Wild's 1893 play Salomé which was illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley in the English edition. This text was definitely the most challenging text to analyze especially when it came to its illustrations as Beardsley strangely and most definitely deliberately avoided merely reflecting Wild's text. initially I had a hard time understanding the relationship between text and image due to the illustration's ambiguity's especially when I compared it to Sherlock Holmes and how easily it was to understand the relationship between text and image. However, after the presentations today, I started to appreciate Beardsley's illustrations more as I believe it completed Wilde’s work. Since Wild himself did not include any sexual description in his play, considering the censorship laws that would have prevented the play from performing any sexual scenes, Beardsley's work calls out such censorship laws with its clear sexual portrayal of the characters....
moreThe analyzing of Salome by Oscar Wilde was extremely interesting to be a part of. Throughout the course of the meeting today we came to a pretty general conclusion that the images by Aubrey Beardsley and the text by Oscar Wilde we're working in two different directions but simultaneously creating a very successful text. With this being said it was apparent that Aubrey Beardsley definitely took his own approach in illustrating for Oscar Wilde's playwright. Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations really take a play on sexuality and gender throughout the entire T of the book. In regard to the frontispiece, which is what I analyzed for my discussion presentation this week, there's a couple things to know in regard to gender and sexuality. First off, the title of the image is “A Woman in the Moon” and when you look at the face that is represented in the moon it is known to be a depiction of Oscar Wilde. The other thing to note about the frontispiece is the fact that there are two...
moreThis week, when analyzing Oscar Wilde's Salome, illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley, I was very drawn into the representation of woman and the incorporation of the moon. When looking at the image that Patricia had presented, "The Woman in the Moon", it provided me with some initial insight on the meaning behind the two figures. While it is clear to see that one of the figures is a man because is he presented nude, the other figure is fully clothed, which can cause room for speculation that perhaps this is a woman. It demonstrates how there is more power for a man over a woman and how women must be respectful of themselves and their bodies. The women are never pictured fully nude but only from the waist up. There is also symbolic elements of the moon and flowers being implemented in these images. They explore taboo subjects throughout the images, including sex and religion. Purity can also be connected towards woman and the idea of purity and vanity. Women seem to be a victim...
moreThis week's seminar focused on Salome: A Tragedy in One Act, a play written by Oscar Wilde. The play was originally published in French in 1892, however, it was censored from being performed as it depicted Biblical figures. The English translation was published in 1894 with ten censored accompanying illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley. It was later republished in 1907 with all sixteen uncensored illustrations. Beardsley, like the Pre-Raphaelites, was known for creating commentary or interpretations of work through their illustrations; ones that were not generally approved by the authors. Many of Beardsley's illustrations were extradiegetic, he incorporated elements that were not explicitly stated in the text. One such illustration is 'The Peacock Skirt' in which he illustrates Salome wearing a peacock skirt that is never mentioned in the text. One can assume that Beardsley is making a comment on gender and the way in which women are constructed in this text. Beardsley...
moreThis weeks class consisted of discussions surrounding Oscar Wilde's Salome and how Aubrey Beardsley's illustrations accompany and further add on to the concepts presented within the text. Many of the discussions surrounded female sexuality during the fin de siecle and how Beardsley decided to portray Salome despite this. The way Beardsley illustrates Salome is interesting as although she could be viewed as a femme fatale, a beautiful women who causes disaster, due to her stone cold facial features and clear power she has over men, Beardsley illustrates her in a nude and seductive way which stems from the idea of the male gaze. The male gaze is an interesting idea to further research as much of media today is created for the male gaze as women are extremely sexualized and objectified within it. Beardsley's depiction of Salome is sensual and nude for a reason, in the image "The Stomach Dance" she is portrayed with her breasts out with thin clothing and veils being the only things...
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