Harper's Bazar: "Mr. O'Wilde, You are not the first one that has grasped at a Shadow"

In this caricature of Wilde, he is being compared to Narcissus, the figure in Greek mythology who fell in love with the image of himself in a pool of water. There is a block of text to the right of the drawn image (by Thomas Nast), which reads as such:

 

"Narcissus,--- As he was 'hunting' one day, he bent to quench his thirst (£ or $) from a spring as clear as crystal, and a goddess caused him to fall in love with his own shadow, which was reflected in the water. The object of his desires being unattainable, he pined away from grief and the flower named after him has ever since continued an emblem or heartles 'beauty." 

 

The inclusion of "(£ or $)" ties Wilde's supposed Narcissus-esque greed to monetary greed. The reflection of Wilde in the water is interesting as well; it almost looks like a lion, and the sunflower with the text "Notoriety" on it reads with simply "$" in the reflection. The sunflower, being the emblem of the Aestheticist movement, is stripped of its label of "Art" and replaceed with the "Notoriety" label. His reflection is a lion because he is "lionizing," or seeking celebrity status. And paralleling the myth of Narcissus, a written quote from Echo in the background reads "He is an Æsthetic sham." The supposed "truth" of being a sham is not tempting Wilde as much as his own reflection, paralleling the myth (Echo does not attract Narcissus as much as he himself does). 

 

Source:

Nast, Thomas. "Mr. O'Wilde, You are not the first one that has grasped at a Shadow." Harper's. Bazar, 11 Feb. 1882, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820022.

"Narcissus." World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org/Narcissus/.

Associated Place(s)

Event date:

11 Feb 1882