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Oscar Wilde, Fernando Pessoa, and the art of lying.(Critical essay)

Portuguese Studies

| September 22, 2006 | de Castro, Mariana | COPYRIGHT 2006 Modern Humanities Research Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

Abstract. Fernando Pessoa was clearly fascinated, if not openly obsessed, by Oscar Wilde. His espolio contains at least thirty-seven manuscript fragments on the aesthete, including comparative horoscopes for himself and Wilde. Seven books either written by Wilde or directly connected to the Wilde story can be found in Pessoa's personal library, and his extensive marginalia reveals an attentive reading of the texts.

Much of Pessoa's writing, including some of his best-known poems, are clearly influenced by his predecessor's artistic ideals. This article demonstrates that, far from this influence being a mere consequence of the wider influence Wilde enjoyed over the Modernist generation as a whole, in the case of Pessoa--particularly in the context of lying in art--it is both traceable and direct. It outlines the main points of contact between the two writers, and goes on to examine the psychological reasons behind Pessoa's urgent efforts to forge a greater distance between himself and Wilde than in reality exists. Pessoa everywhere attempts to escape the anxiety of Wilde's influence by claiming that the aesthete was nowhere a model, despite quite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Keywords. Pessoa; Wilde; art; lying; sincerity; posing; masks; artist; Alvaro de Campos; distancing; influence

Resumo. E evidente que Fernando Pessoa se sentia fascinado--se nao mesmo obcecado--pela figura de Oscar Wilde. No seu espolio existem pelo menos trinta e sete fragmentos manuscritos sobre Wilde, incluindo dois horoscopos comparados de ambos. Na biblioteca de Pessoa figuram sete livros escritos por Wilde ou relacionados com a sua historia, todos eles profusamente anotados pelo Poeta, provando uma leitura minuciosa e atenta.

Muitos textos de Fernando Pessoa, incluindo alguns dos seus poemas mais conhecidos, reflectem claramente a influencia das teorias esteticas de Oscar Wilde. Este artigo comeca por demonstrar que, para alem da influencia generica que Wilde exerceu sobre a geracao Modernista, no caso de Pessoa tal influencia e detectavel e directa, especialmente no que se refere ao conceito de fingimento em arte. Demonstram-se os principais pontos de contacto entre os dois escritores, e estudam-se, a seguir, as razoes que podem ter levado Pessoa a procurar distanciar-se de Wilde nos seus escritos. Esforcando-se continuamente por se libertar da influencia de Wilde, Pessoa proclama que o Esteta nunca foi para ele um modelo--mas todas as provas que nos deixou nos seus escritos apontam em sentido contrario.

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