#ReadingIrelandMonth22 Oscar Wilde

Charles Laughton and Margaret O’ Brian (1944)

MARCH

by Oscar Wilde

Finish date: 14 March 2022
Genre: Satire
Rating: A
Review: The Canterville Ghost (ISBN: ‎ 979-8525073715)

 

Good news: This is a perfect story to read for a bingo card…”space for a satire”. Oscar Wilde pokes fun at Americans with their practicality and common sense and pokes fun at the British with their feeling of aristocratic superiority!

Good news: Irony: The most ironic comical part of the story is that the ghost is more afraid of the family than they are of him! What good is a ghost who cannot scare people?

Good news: Wilde’s gothic setting of an OLD WORLD English castle, Canterville Chase, a traditional haunted castle VS the NEW WORLD residents, Americans…..who scoff at the thought of ghosts! The Americans…. counter the ghost’s chains with lubricant, his bloodstains with Pinkerton’s detergent, and his ghostly laugh with cough syrup. Hilarious!

Personal: This story is well-known but I never got around to reading it. It’s fairy-tale quality assures us of a happy ending. I saw the 1944 film version with Charles Laughton and try to imagine his portrayal of the ghost as a great actor with theatrical panache and flair. When you think of it….Sir Simon (ghost) reminds me of Oscar Wilde himself…larger than life! This was a delightful read!