Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

The famous Irish author Oscar Wilde had a very special relationship with Otology, on account of his birth, on the one hand, as he was the son of William Wilde, a pioneer in the United Kingdom, in this particular field, and, on the other, on account of his death, since, due to his extraordinary destiny, he died at an early age from endocranial complications related to chronic otitis which his father had been one of the first to describe.

Much has been learned from Oscar Wilde’s biography not only about aspects related to his literary activity, which was characterised by an extraordinary linguistic style, but also those related to hedonistic and unusual aspects of his social life, which was always aimed at the desire to shock, to be different, to consider himself a leader of a new aesthetic culture. It is well known that the refined society in Britain, at that time, which was extremely puritan and conformist, after having been fascinated by his approach and having praised him, then completely abandoned him, scandalised by his abnormal behaviour which contributed within a short time, to his complete ruin, following trials for homosexuality leading to prison, poverty and exile.

Fig. 1.

Oscar Wilde at the time of his first success as an author.

While these biographical aspects are well known and have, indeed, been recorded, little is known about other facets of the artist’s life. For instance, we know very little about his childhood and youth, fundamental periods in the formation of a man’s character and personality. His upbringing probably suffered from the very singular family ambient. The home became an important meeting place for artists where both his mother and father often gathered together some of the most outstanding cultural figures of Dublin. Sir William, besides being an ORL and eye Specialist, was also famous internationally as a literary figure and archeologist whilst Jane Francis Elgee, his wife, was a fairly well known authoress who used the pseudonym of Speranza. The many cultural activities of the parents left very little time for the education of young Oscar, who grew up with virtually no stable guidance. Morality in the Wilde household left much to be desired as indicated, as far as concerns the father, by the trial he had to stand in 1864 for having attempted to rape a young anaesthetized female patient, and, as far as concerns the mother, Oscar’s very significant phrase My mother and I have joined forces for the abolition of virtue. The behaviour of his parents may well have had a strong influence upon the development of this particularly sensitive young man’s personality.

Fig. 2.

The Theatre Royal in Dublin where Wilde began his career as a writer of comedy.

Fig. 3.

Sir William Wilde (1815-1876) one of the first to practice otology in Great Britain.

Fig. 4.

Oscar Wilde in a drawing by S.P. Hall (National Portrait Gallery, London).

Another lesser known aspect and one for which only vague and partial information is available concerns Oscar’s state of health and, in particular, the chronic otitis which had, for many years, plagued this extraordinary author. Oscar Wilde became affected by syphilis at a very young age but it is very unlikely that this was responsible for his ear condition, as has been suggested by some. Indeed, it is more likely to have been a chronic aspecific purulent otitis brought about and becoming more severe, as the result of malnutrition, the extreme cold, the terrible hygiene conditions and the lack of appropriate treatment, during the two years spent in prison in Reading.

Released from prison on May 9^th 1897, he fled to France, leaving behind England and that society which had been so cruel and hostile towards him. In France, due to his already inadequate financial resources, he was forced to wander from one hotel to another, even those of ill repute. Meanwhile, his health, already severely proven by the suffering and difficulties he had had to face, deteriorated even further due to alcohol and absinth abuse which he was unable to control. As a result, earache and headaches increased and none of the physicians consulted in various cities were able to find a remedy to improve this situation.

In 1898, he returned to Paris where, thanks not only to money received as author’s rights from his last works, but also the generosity of some of his friends, he was able to take up residence in the Hotel de Nice. The local and general situation continued to deteriorate until on 19^th October 1900, he was submitted to antrotomy, which, however, did not allow evacuation of the meningoencephalic abscess that had collected. There was no improvement in Wilde’s condition, in fact, the headaches became more unbearable, despite the use of morphine.

Wilde was fully conscious as he reached his end, but with his typical humour, he once again launched his last sarcastic remark at that British society that had ostracised him: If another Century were to begin finding me still alive, it would really be more than the English could stand.

He was a great prophet because the otogenous meningoencephalitis brought him to his grave at the dawn of the new Century, on 30th November 1900, at only 46 years of age.

Fig. 5.

The famous portrait of Oscar Wilde painted by Toulouse Lautrec in 1895 (Lesyer Collection., New York).

Could he have been saved? Maybe, if the diagnosis, but especially the treatment, had been timely and appropriate. Towards the end of the 19^th Century, otology had led to an increase in studies focused on diseases of the middle ear and the treatment thereof, particularly those related to endocranial complications, thanks to the fundamental contributions of authors such as Toynbee, Schwartze, von Troltsch, Politzer and Gradenigo, as well as the fact that mastoidectomy was being increasingly carried out in Europe following the classification by Hermann Schwartze in 1886. Unfortunately, at the end of the Century, not all otologists, especially in France, were convinced of its usefulness and, furthermore, of those who did adopt this approach, some, on account of precaution, limited the treatment to a conservative operation which was often doomed to failure. Probably, this accounted for the tragic death of Oscar Wilde. Had he been operated upon by a more courageous and competent surgeon, he would probably have been saved.