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Abstract
On January 5, 1895, the opening night of his play Guy Domville, Henry James walked to the Haymarket Theatre to see Oscar Wildes new play, An Ideal Husband. Though the plays address similar themes of art, love, morality, James considered Wildes play vulgar and feeble; he even prophesized the failure of Guy Domville based on the audiences warm reaction to An Ideal Husband. As we know, Jamess prediction was accurate; Guy Domville struggled at St. Alexanders Theatre while An Ideal Husband received rave reviews down the street. This incident, and Jamess reaction to Wildes play, suggests an important distinction between not only the authors fashioning of aestheticism(s), but also in their promotions of that aesthetic philosophy within a consumer culture. In trying to understand Jamess little read and seldom discussed play, we must also look closely at the conversely popular and often reproduced An Ideal Husband. The plays seem to take opposing positions concerning sacrifice and duty; Wildes self-fashioned character Lord Goring treats these subjects ironically, at least in his speech, whereas Guy treats them sincerely. But it is too simple to argue that James was distraught after seeing An Ideal Husband merely because Wildes play pokes fun at moral rigidity while Jamess own upholds it. Why did James feel that Wildes play was such a detriment to his own? And if it is true, as Freedman argues, that James reinforced his opposition to Wilde as a marketing method, why was he so troubled by the success of An Ideal Husband? It is important to read Wildes play alongside Jamess; through such a comparison, we can begin to understand what James felt was at stake because of his competitors production.