Be or Rebel, Vera

 

      Oscar Wilde is an “Irish wit, poet, and dramatist” (Britannica) whose works are outstanding and represent some aspects of the 19th century. Taking after his mother, who was a devoted and nationalist poet in favor of the common people, Wilde had that revolutionary sense that surfaces in some of his writings. Vera, or the Nihilists, is one of his dramas in which he deconstructs several bases upon which many values were built. This drama was reviewed by many critics through various lenses; feminist approach is a prominent perspective from which this text could be viewed.
     Among all the inequalities that were depicted in the drama, gender-based discrimination and stereotyping women are critically highlighted by Wilde. Even the father of the female protagonist indicates how females are only meant to be controlled: “She’ll never love you unless you are always at her heels; women like to be bothered” (Wilde 4). Sometimes, he implies that women only care about being married to a wealthy man, excluding any other aspect many women would like to look for in their marriage and implying the conventional stereotype - most women are gold-diggers: “And haven’t you got a good grass farm, and the best cow in the village? What more does a girl want?” (Wilde 4). Another incident in the play, pointing out gender-based bias, is when the colonel asks if Vera is able to read and write or not. When her father confirms that she is capable of doing both, the colonel obviously shames her saying that she must be a dangerous woman: “Then she is a dangerous woman. No peasant should be allowed to do anything of the kind.” (Wilde 8). The colonel humiliates Vera yet again, labelling her as a garrulous and obnoxious woman for she does not suit what the society considers as a desired woman: “Every woman does talk too much. How can you see anything in a girl with coarse hands?” (Wilde 8). 
     On the other side of the spectrum, Vera amid the nihilists is a respected female figure whose presence is as authoritative as of a king’s. Her brother, Dmitri, when captured, tortured, and sent to the mines in Siberia, trusted her to revenge him and told her to join the nihilists. Also, Alexis, the Czar and Vera’s paramour, asserts multiple times in the play that she is the heart of their revolution: “The whole fire of revolution seems fallen into dull ashes when she is not here.” (Wilde 13). Just as the president of the nihilists who welcomes Vera saying, “Welcome, Vera, welcome! We have been sick at heart till we saw you; but now methinks the star of freedom has come to wake us from the night” (Wilde 15). Vera’s entire existence is given a huge impact in the play; she influences the behavior of the nihilists even when their judgement upon Alexis differs from hers. They still trusted her,  carrying out the mission of killing him although they are fully aware that she loves him. For Alexis, and despite him knowing that she is going to kill him, he willingly submits to her, promising of giving her the power all over himself and Russia: “Vera, it was for you I broke my oath and wear my father’s crown. I would lay at your feet this mighty Russia, which you and I have loved so well; would give you this earth as a footstool! Set this crown on your head.” (Wilde 60).
     To sum up, Wilde’s Vera, or the Nihilists, could be considered, in his context of time, a cultural reset in favor of women; as the female protagonist is portrayed as a strong woman who is capable of doing more than the conventional role of falling in love and marrying a prince. Whether it was owing to the influence of his mother, a women’s rights activist, or not, and despite the second-rate ending, the tone of empowering women is evidently voiced and asserted through the tragedy of Vera. 

Works cited 
Beckson, Karl. "Oscar Wilde". Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Oct. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Wilde. Accessed 21 November 2021.

Wilde, Oscar. Vera, or the Nihilists. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26494