Individuation and Narcissism in Some Major Works of Walter Pater and Oscar Wilde

Abstract

<p>Oscar Wilde and Walter Pater have ordinarily been labelled Decadents. However, there are real differences between their systems of thought. An examination of Pater's The Renaissance and Wilde's Intentions shows that although Wilde was profoundly influenced by Pater he deviated widely from Pater's ideas. Pater's thought focused on the concept of individuation within an idealistic context. Wilde, on the other hand, was concerned less with the growth and development of the personality and more with the undermining of the personality for the sake of the glorification of the self. The same principles can be seen to exist in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and Pater's Marius the Epicurean. The conclusions reached is that Wilde's ideas developed in a perverse direction while Pater's remained within the realm of the ideal.</p>