The Significance of Oscar Wilde as Stereotype for Male Homosexuality in A.T. Fitzroy's 'Despised and Rejected' and E.M. Forster's 'Maurice' (Electronic book text)

The concept of homosexuality did not exist in the 19th century in the way we use the term today. There was not even a proper term in the English language to describe the 'unspeakables of the Oscar Wilde sort' (Forster: 136) until the term homosexuality, which at the beginning was limited to a medical context, was derived from German around 1870. Without the existence of even a term to identify oneself with, or a category to belong to, it is understandable that gay men at that period of time had serious problems with finding an identity and a place in the sexual stratification system. Therefore, one event that had an enormous impact on creating a public image of the male homosexual were the trials of Oscar Wilde in 1895. Many characteristics which Wilde represented - a flamboyant lifestyle, being a dandy and aesthete to name but a few - were suddenly associated with male homosexuality and partly have been ever since. In this essay I will analyse the significance of Wilde as a stereotype for male homosexuality in A.T. Fitzroy's 'Despised and Rejected' and E. M. Forster's 'Maurice'. I will start with a short illustration of the characteristics which Oscar Wilde represented and how his persona became so decisive in defining male homosexuality. Consequently, I will come to the main part of analysis in which I will show how important Wilde's influence as homosexual icon on the two works of Forster and Fitzroy has been. I will argue that in 'Despised and Rejected' the Wildean homosexual can be clearly recognised in Dennis Blackwood, one of the two main homosexual characters in the novel, whereas the presentation of Alan Rutherford, Dennis' lover, has a stronger affinity towards Edward Carpenter's philosophy. Further, I will present how E. M. Forster employs the Wildean homosexual to one character in 'Maurice' but how he simultaneously tries to enhance the limited stereotype of the male homosexual as aesthete to a wider, better balanced view of homosexualities.