RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Oscar Wilde’s Trials as a Haunting Presence: An Approach to the Role of Fantasy in Contemporary Neo-Victorian Novels Depicting Same-Sex Romance Between Men
A1 Hueso Vasallo, Manuel
A2 Ediciones Universidad de Valladolid
K1 Filología Inglesa
AB The main aim of this essay is to assess the impact of Oscar Wilde’s trials on neo-Victorian representations of same-sex desire between men. Throughout the text, I argue that the consequences of Wilde’s imprisonment have become a haunting presence that still pervades how male sexual dissidence is represented in neo-Victorian novels. The works examined in this essay are therefore considered differently than those which portray sapphic relationships or other forms of non-heterosexual desires. Ultimately, I argue that a new trend within neo-Victorianism, in which fantasy elements are intertwined with queer desire among men, could offer a new way of portraying same-sex desire between men; this new portrayal could be more in compliance with the political, cultural, and social agenda of neo-Victorianism. Through a brief analysis of Natasha Pulley’s The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and a more in-depth exploration of Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light, I conclude that fantasy may—if the writer wishes it—allow a portrayal of queer desire that overcomes many of the traumatising and haunting obstacles which resulted from Wilde’s plight.
SN 2531-1654
YR 2024
FD 2024
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/73461
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/73461
LA eng
NO ES Review. Spanish Journal of English Studies; No. 45 (2024) pags. 241-268
DS UVaDOC
RD 23-ene-2025