Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living.
Oscar WildeRead
Bunbury? Oh, he was quite exploded. Exploded! Was he the victim of a revolutionary outrage? I was not aware that Mr. Bunbury was interested in social legislation. If so, he is well punished for his morbidity. My dear Aunt Augusta, I mean he was found out! The doctors found out that Bunbury could not , that is what I mean—so Bunbury died. He seems to have had great confidence in the opinion of his physicians.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote humorously highlights the absurdity of social pretenses and the lengths individuals will go to maintain an illusion.
In this quote, Oscar Wilde cleverly critiques societal norms and the often ridiculous nature of human behavior. The mention of 'Bunbury,' a fictional character who is invented to escape social obligations, underscores the absurd lengths to which people might go to navigate the complexities of social expectations. Wilde's use of exaggerated language and witty twists serves to reveal the irony in human reliance on deception, especially regarding social status and perceptions of health.
Themes
HumorSocial NormsDeceptionPretensesAbsurdity
In practice
Example use cases
During a dinner conversation about social obligations, I shared this quote to illustrate the ridiculousness of trying to please everyone.
More from Oscar Wilde
All quotes →London is too full of fogs and serious people. Whether the fogs produce the serious people, or whether the serious people produce the fogs, I don't know.
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When one has never heard a man's name in the course of one's life, it speaks volumes for him; he must be quite respectable.
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Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
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A truth ceases to be true when more than one person believes in it.
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His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
Oscar WildeRead
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