Tuesday 20 May 2008

Kissing Wilde

When ladies (and some gentlemen, I'm sure) visit the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris they like to leave their kiss on the headstone of Oscar Wilde. It's covered in a smattering of lipstick kisses. But apparently the fats in lipstick make it impossible to remove from stone. Is it vandalism or a romantic show of love and respect?
I haven't left a kiss on Wilde's grave. I don't wear lipstick and I think it would be more elegant to leave a note perhaps, or just blow a kiss. But
I think he would've adored it. After all, he was the man who said;
'Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.'
'Life is too important to be taken seriously.'

and
'There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.'
I wonder why Wilde has inspired such devotion amongst people today? Is it because he was ahead of his time, and we see him as being like us? Hedonistic, pleasure seeking, vain and shallow, but with buckets of charm, passion and, of course, his renowned wit.


5 comments:

Jessica Ferri said...

i see wilde as the ultimate tragic-comic figure. obviously the man was a comedic genius, but then you read de profundis and just weep. i think people love to read him because it's entertaining, but he's such a tragic figure . . . he seems like someone i would like to spend time with.

Miss White said...

I saw this in 'Paris, je t'aime' after your recommendation. I loved it by the way!

Jello on Springs said...

He also said "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. " One of my favorite quotes even though i have a fashion blog, quite true though, if you let yourself fall prey to every trend that comes down the runway. I too would have left a note instead, with maybe something witty or clever enough for him.

Vain and Vapid said...

I am a huge Oscar Wilde fan and when I went to Pere Lachaise I has the same experience of being disappointed that I don't wear lipstick too....

Anonymous said...

you are ugly because everybody is ugly!