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Oscar in The Tragic Muse

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From: The Arizona Quarterly
Date: 20061001
Author:Miller, J Hillis

HENRY JAMES'S The Tragic Muse IS IN PART a response to James's encounters with Oscar Wilde. Though James first met Wilde in London, his encounters with Wilde in, of all places, Washington, D. C., early in 1882, were decisive in determining his opinion of Wilde. Wilde was in Washington as part of his lecture tour in America. James was visiting there to see friends. Though James referred to Wilde as a "fatuous cad," nevertheless he called on Wilde and accepted a dinner invitation at which he knew Wilde would be present. James disapproved of Wilde's flamboyant self-promotion. No doubt Wilde's ...

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