Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde
Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde, born in 1821 in Dublin, Ireland, was a notable poet, essayist, and activist, deeply engaged in the Irish nationalist movement. Raised in an educated environment, she displayed exceptional linguistic talents from a young age, mastering several languages including Italian and Latin. Despite her Protestant upbringing, Wilde identified closely with the Irish peasantry and passionately voiced her concerns through her writings, particularly during the Irish potato famine. Using pseudonyms such as John Fenshaw Ellis and Speranza, she called for Irish rebellion against British rule, notably penning the controversial article "Jacta alea est," which led to significant legal challenges for herself and the newspaper involved.
Wilde was married to Sir William Robert Wills Wilde, a distinguished physician, and they had three children, including the famous writer Oscar Wilde. The couple hosted a vibrant salon that attracted literary figures of their time. While Lady Wilde was a proponent of women's rights, her views on marriage reflected a more traditional stance, advocating for forgiveness in the face of infidelity. She faced personal turmoil, particularly during Oscar's infamous trial, and experienced profound loss when she passed away shortly before his release from prison in 1897. Lady Jane Wilde's legacy is intertwined with her contributions to literature and her role as a mother to one of the most prominent writers of the Victorian era.
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Subject Terms
Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde
Writer
- Born: December 27, 1821
- Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
- Died: February 3, 1896
- Place of death: Chelsea, England
Biography
Lady Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde was born in 1821 in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Sarah Kingsbury and Charles Elgee, an attorney; she was also a niece of writer Charles Robert Maturin. Educated at home, she was a gifted child who at a young age mastered Italian, French, German, Latin, and Greek. Although belonging to the Protestant Irish establishment by birth, she identified with the Irish peasantry from her early youth, publishing impassioned poetry and essays about the Irish potato famine and the Irish nationalist movement. She also contributed to the cause in a more subtle way by writing about Irish folklore.
She used the pseudonyms John Fenshaw Ellis and Speranza when calling in print for the Irish to openly rebel against the British. Her article “Jacta alea est,” published in 1848 in the Irish newspaper The Nation, caused the newspaper to be closed and its editor, Charles Gavan Duffy, to be brought to trial on charges of sedition and high treason. In court, Wilde, now a striking young woman who was six feet tall, dramatically stood up to announce that she was the criminal and the punishment should be hers. The jury deadlocked, and she became an Irish national heroine.
Another Irish nationalist, Sir William Robert Wills Wilde, a distinguished physician and prolific writer on numerous topics, was so impressed by her courtroom performance that he began a courtship, and they were married in 1851. They lived in Dublin until his death in 1876, when she moved to London. Lady Jane and Sir William Wilde were sufficiently accomplished to be remembered on their own merits. Their chicly bohemian salon was frequented by such celebrities as George Bernard Shaw, Bram Stoker, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and William Butler Yeats. However, they are best known to history because of their middle child, Oscar (1854- 1900). They had two children in addition to Oscar: William Robert, who studied law and became a journalist, and Isola Francesca, who died in childhood.
Wilde recognized Oscar’s gifts when he was a youngster and read him books by authors that would challenge his mind. As an adult, Oscar Wilde edited his mother’s provocative essay collections, Notes on Men, Women, and Books (1891) and Social Studies (1893). In addition, Wilde was a virtual collaborator when Oscar edited the magazine The Woman’s World from 1887 to1889.
Although Wilde was a feminist in such articles as “The Bondage of Women,” she maintained that a wife must forgive a philandering husband. Her forbearance received its supreme test when a girl demanded compensation from Wilde for being sexually harassed by Sir William Wilde; Wilde called the girl an extortionist, and the girl sued Wilde for libel. Wilde presented a regal self-defense during the trial, and the jury took her side by awarding her accuser only one farthing.
Years later, Oscar Wilde, who provoked social opinion during a homosexual affair, charged his accusers with libel. Countercharges of indecent behavior were filed against him, but the door was left open for Oscar to leave the country and avoid being branded a sodomite. On his mother’s advice, Oscar stayed to fight the charges and lost. During his two-year prison term, his devastated mother was not allowed to see her son, and she died on February 3, 1896, before her son was released from prison.