"All in the Gutter": Aesthetic Waste in the Literature of Oscar Wilde

Abstract: Consumerist waste shows up not merely in the mass production of copious material garbage but also in the waste of aesthetics. This article turns to the literature of Oscar Wilde in order to discuss a radical indictment and critique of aesthetic waste as a less recognized form of waste and wasted value under the dominion of capitalism and industrial-era pragmatism. Critical discussions have regularly noted the recurring theme of sacrifice in Wilde's work. This article shows that the notion of sacrifice as something not valued is closely connected to the notion of waste.