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Article: Wilde's "Salome".(19th-century writer Oscar Wilde)(Critical Essay)
- Article from:
- The Explicator
- Article date:
- March 22, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Wilde's Salome has a tripartite structure. The moon-goddess Cybele, Salome, and Herodias, for instance, represent the same principle in a descending order and are opposed respectively by Jesus, Jokanaan, and the Nazarenes. Jokanaan is associated with three colors--white, black, and red; Salome in wooing him approaches him three times. The language often repeats basic words and phrases in groups of three. One of the significant tripartite associations of the play is Salome's connection with mythic demonic creatures. In his attempt to dramatize Salome as a symbol of pure evil, Wilde associates her with the vampire, the siren, and the werewolf.
The vampiric ...