Although in recent years scholars have developed a distinct interest inthe gender perceptions of Oscar Wilde, very little attention has beendevoted to the way in which the author depicts masculinities, particularlyin his comedies. This essay explores Wilde's treatment of the figuresof the Dandy and the Gentleman, the Jatter of which has beenlargely ignored in Wilde studies. It shows that, throughout his comedies,Wilde subverts the traditional images of Victorian masculinity normallyendorsed by nineteenth-century melodrama.
