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"Did Wilde Have Syphilis?" A response to Ashley Robins

Here is the response to Ashley's statement about Wilde's hypothesized syphilis, publshed in THE WILDEAN, January/February 2004. See below for Ashley's initial statement.

A RESPONSE TO ASHLEY ROBINS

The email correspondence with Ashley Robins that began with a simple question about Oscar Wilde’s ear infection quickly burgeoned into a stimulating exchange about retrospective diagnosis. Our dialogue focused on the differences of method and philosophy between medicine today and nineteenth century syphilology. His thoughtful, medical-fact-filled emails from South Africa sent me poring over my extensive collection of pre-penicillin syphilis texts as I scrambled to recreate the mindset of a nineteenth century syphilologist.

At the end of our exchange, Ashley and I agreed on the four key points that he has summarized here: 1) syphilis was not the direct cause of Wilde’s death, 2) there is no proof that syphilis was implicated in his ear infection, 3) there was no indication of tertiary neurosyphilis, and 4) Wilde’s itchy rash could have been caused by many different conditions. Statements about Wilde’s syphilis by his coterie require careful scrutiny. And as for Ashley’s summary statement: true—there is no one piece of evidence that leads to a diagnosis of syphilis.

Why, then, am I so convinced that Wilde suffered from syphilis? And why were his close friends, several of his doctors, and the majority of his biographers equally convinced?

Ashley Robins Con Statement "Did Wilde Have Syphilis?" Published in THE WILDEAN, Jan-Feb 2004

A more neatly spaced version of Ashley's article will be posted soon. This is for a few people who asked to read it right away. Subscription info to THE WILDEAN will be posted soon as well. Next, I'll post my response.

DID WILDE HAVE SYPHILIS?

Deborah Hayden may not be medically trained but her knowledge and
understanding of syphilis, especially in the nineteenth and early
twentieth century context, are remarkable. She is to be congratulated on
her recently published and acclaimed book, Pox: Genius, Madness, and the
Mysteries of Syphilis, in which she gives an overview of
syphilis and then develops case studies on about a dozen historical
figures (Beethoven, Nietzsche, van Gogh and Joyce to mention a
few)suspected of having been infected. In these individuals she
describes the impact of the disease on their lives, careers and
personalities.