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Vera: or, The Nihilists
Mich. No, Father Peter, not yet; 'tis a good three miles to the post office, and she has to milk the cows besides, and that dun one is a rare plaguey creature for a wench to handle. Peter. Why didn't you go with her, you young fool? she'll never love you unless you are always at her heels; women like to be bothered. Mich. She says I bother her too much already, Father Peter, and I fear she'll never love me after all. Peter. Tut, tut, boy, why shouldn't she? you're young and wouldn't be ill-favoured either, had God or thy mother given thee another face. Aren't you one of Prince Maraloffski's gamekeepers; and haven't you got a good grass farm, and the best cow in the village? What more does a girl want? Mich. But Vera, Father Peter- Peter. Vera, my lad, has got too many ideas; I don't think much of ideas myself; I've got on well enough in life without 'em; why shouldn't my children? There's Dmitri! could have stayed here and kept the inn; many a young lad would have jumped at the offer in these hard times; but he, scatter-brained featherhead of a boy, must needs go off to Moscow to study the law! What does he want knowing about the law! let a man do his duty, say I, and no one will trouble him.
49 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 20, 1883
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About the author
Oscar Wilde
5,495 books38.8k followersOscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
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May 22, 2020
"¡Vera, la nihilista, en Moscú! ¡Dios mío! ¿No sería mejor morir enseguida como un perro, como quieren hacerme perecer, que llevar la vida que llevo?"
Oscar Wilde escribió "Vera, o los nihilistas" en 1882 y fue la primera obra de teatro suya que se representó en Inglaterra aunque con poco éxito. Si bien, la respuesta del público repuntó un poco con "Salome", no fueron las tragedias las que elevaron la reputación de Wilde como dramaturgo sino sus comedias, las cuales, dado el rutilante éxito que tenían, llevaban a los empresarios a representarlas en tres teatros a la vez, con las salas colmadas de público.
Este obra de teatro contiene todos los elementos heroicos que uno puede atribuirle a un drama, con un innegable tinte shakesperiano en aquellas escenas que Vera, los nihilistas, el zarévich Alexis y los conspiradores del zar tienen participación.
La lucha de Vera por liberar al pueblo ruso del yugo tiránico del zar, padre de Alexis la motiva a intentar derrocar el gobierno, pero en medio de todo esto se encuentra Alexis, de quien ella está enamorada.
De esta manera, se desarrollarán todos los juegos de pasiones y traiciones posibles, dotando a la obra de un dinamismo constante que se detiene justo en el final, también digno de William Shakespeare.
La obra es relativamente corta y puede leerse en menos de dos horas y como está escrita por Oscar Wilde es buena idea leer este libro en un día lluvioso con una buena taza de té o café en la otra mano.
Oscar Wilde escribió "Vera, o los nihilistas" en 1882 y fue la primera obra de teatro suya que se representó en Inglaterra aunque con poco éxito. Si bien, la respuesta del público repuntó un poco con "Salome", no fueron las tragedias las que elevaron la reputación de Wilde como dramaturgo sino sus comedias, las cuales, dado el rutilante éxito que tenían, llevaban a los empresarios a representarlas en tres teatros a la vez, con las salas colmadas de público.
Este obra de teatro contiene todos los elementos heroicos que uno puede atribuirle a un drama, con un innegable tinte shakesperiano en aquellas escenas que Vera, los nihilistas, el zarévich Alexis y los conspiradores del zar tienen participación.
La lucha de Vera por liberar al pueblo ruso del yugo tiránico del zar, padre de Alexis la motiva a intentar derrocar el gobierno, pero en medio de todo esto se encuentra Alexis, de quien ella está enamorada.
De esta manera, se desarrollarán todos los juegos de pasiones y traiciones posibles, dotando a la obra de un dinamismo constante que se detiene justo en el final, también digno de William Shakespeare.
La obra es relativamente corta y puede leerse en menos de dos horas y como está escrita por Oscar Wilde es buena idea leer este libro en un día lluvioso con una buena taza de té o café en la otra mano.
April 16, 2019
2.5 stars. It was good up until the end where it was a abrupt and confusing. I liked the historical element of the play with Russia’s history and was overall a quick, pretty easy read.
April 2, 2019
تقوم بروسيا مجموعة ثورية ضد القيصر .. لإنهاء الحكم الملكي .. من بين الثوار فيرا التي تنضم لهم
بعد نفي أخيها لسيبيريا
المجموعة تخطط لقتل القيصر .. وابن القيصر من بين الثوار وإن كان وجوده دفع بعض الثوار للشك
بكونه جاسوسا
تمضي التخطيطات والاجتماعات حتى لحظة التنفيذ .. بحيث تنتهي المسرحية نهاية صادمة
ظلم الحاكم دائما ما يؤدي لظهور فئة تعارضه .. مع الوقت تلك الفئة ترتكب من الشرور والظلم ما يوازي
الحكم الذي ثارت عليه .. يصبح كل مخالف لرأيها عدوا يستحق القتل
وهذا ما حاول أوسكار إيصاله بهذه المسرحية
..حتى الصالح قد ينحرف عن مسيره ويسلك طريقا مظلما ودمويا
بعد نفي أخيها لسيبيريا
المجموعة تخطط لقتل القيصر .. وابن القيصر من بين الثوار وإن كان وجوده دفع بعض الثوار للشك
بكونه جاسوسا
تمضي التخطيطات والاجتماعات حتى لحظة التنفيذ .. بحيث تنتهي المسرحية نهاية صادمة
ظلم الحاكم دائما ما يؤدي لظهور فئة تعارضه .. مع الوقت تلك الفئة ترتكب من الشرور والظلم ما يوازي
الحكم الذي ثارت عليه .. يصبح كل مخالف لرأيها عدوا يستحق القتل
وهذا ما حاول أوسكار إيصاله بهذه المسرحية
..حتى الصالح قد ينحرف عن مسيره ويسلك طريقا مظلما ودمويا
October 26, 2017
"Brother Willie- "Never mind, Oscar; other great men have had their dramatic failures!" 1883 cartoon by Alfred Bryan after the failure of Oscar Wilde's play Vera; or, The Nihilists in America
Opening: Scene.—A Russian Inn. Large door opening on snowy landscape at back of stage. Peter Sabouroff and Michael.
Peter (warming his hands at a stove). Has Vera not come back yet, Michael?
Mich. No, Father Peter, not yet; 'tis a good three miles to the post office, and she has to milk the cows besides, and that dun one is a rare plaguey creature for a wench to handle.
Peter. Why didn't you go with her, you young fool? she'll never love you unless you are always at her heels; women like to be bothered.
Mich. She says I bother her too much already, Father Peter, and I fear she'll never love me after all.
Peter. Tut, tut, boy, why shouldn't she? you're young and wouldn't be ill-favoured either, had God or thy mother given thee another face. Aren't you one of Prince Maraloffski's gamekeepers; and haven't you got a good grass farm, and the best cow in the village? What more does a girl want?
Mich. But Vera, Father Peter—
Peter. Vera, my lad, has got too many ideas; I don't think much of ideas myself; I've got on well enough in life without 'em; why shouldn't my children? There's Dmitri! could have stayed here and kept the inn; many a young lad would have jumped at the offer in these hard times; but he, scatter-brained featherhead of a boy, must needs go off to Moscow to study the law! What does he want knowing about the law! let a man do his duty, say I, and no one will trouble him.
Paris Review: “In many ways, fears of Russian interference unfolded in Victorian Britain in a manner not unlike what we see today”
Project Gutenberg: read for free
Historical context: In 1878, three years before the play's completion, Vera Zasulich shot the St Petersburg Chief of Police, Trepov. Wilde described himself as a Socialist, although Ellmann describes his Socialism as more "a general hatred of tyranny" than a specific political belief.
July 29, 2016
3.5 out of 5 stars
Who knew Oscar Wilde would write a tragedy? This one involves war, conspiracies and loss. The plot is set in 18th century Russia, and it revolves around a group - the Nihilists - trying to assassinate the Czar. It had some comments that I couldn't help but think they were meant to deliver a message. But of course, it's not a work by Oscar Wilde if it doesn't have witty comments. So yes, this is a tragedy that gets satirical at points. Truly recommended.
Who knew Oscar Wilde would write a tragedy? This one involves war, conspiracies and loss. The plot is set in 18th century Russia, and it revolves around a group - the Nihilists - trying to assassinate the Czar. It had some comments that I couldn't help but think they were meant to deliver a message. But of course, it's not a work by Oscar Wilde if it doesn't have witty comments. So yes, this is a tragedy that gets satirical at points. Truly recommended.
September 27, 2025
Oscar Wilde's first play, written in 1880-it is described by Wilde's son Vyvyan Holland - in the introduction to "Complete Works of Oscar Wilde" as " A rather immature play, which ran for one week in New York, and never reached the boards in London".
It is weak and clichéd in some parts but not without flashes of brilliance in others. Beautiful peasant girl, Vera Sabouroff joins a fanatical band of Nihilists, to avenge her bother, Dmitri, who is excelled by the Tsar. She becomes their heroin and Russia's most wanted assassin. The Nihilists are joined by Tsarevitch Alexis, who after the assassination of his father, becomes Tsar, and is thus marked for assassination by the Nihilists. Vera, who has fallen in love with the Tsarevitch, is chosen to carry out the operation to assassinate Alexis, who has embarked on a string of reforms. What follows is an ending, which mirrors Romeo and Juliet as Vera takes her own life to `save Russia'.
The hallmarks of the play are the wit of the Tsar Senior's Prime Minister Paul Maraloffski, and Vera's Lady Macbethesque speech where she steels herself to assassinate Alexis, before turning from Lady Macbeth into Juliet.
It lacks the finesse of Wilde's later plays like The Importance Of Being Earnest , Lady Windermere's Fan and Salome , but is interesting as part of a study into the development of Wilde's work.
It is weak and clichéd in some parts but not without flashes of brilliance in others. Beautiful peasant girl, Vera Sabouroff joins a fanatical band of Nihilists, to avenge her bother, Dmitri, who is excelled by the Tsar. She becomes their heroin and Russia's most wanted assassin. The Nihilists are joined by Tsarevitch Alexis, who after the assassination of his father, becomes Tsar, and is thus marked for assassination by the Nihilists. Vera, who has fallen in love with the Tsarevitch, is chosen to carry out the operation to assassinate Alexis, who has embarked on a string of reforms. What follows is an ending, which mirrors Romeo and Juliet as Vera takes her own life to `save Russia'.
The hallmarks of the play are the wit of the Tsar Senior's Prime Minister Paul Maraloffski, and Vera's Lady Macbethesque speech where she steels herself to assassinate Alexis, before turning from Lady Macbeth into Juliet.
It lacks the finesse of Wilde's later plays like The Importance Of Being Earnest , Lady Windermere's Fan and Salome , but is interesting as part of a study into the development of Wilde's work.
March 15, 2018
مسرحية سخيفة ذكرتني بمسرحيات الاطفال الهدف منها فقط اظهار الفوضويون انهم بلا عقل ارهابيين لا يوجد لديهم اى فكر ولا اى عقيدة يرددون بعض الشعارات بدون فهم ولا تطبيق .
تخيل معى مجموعة ثورية تريد قتل قيصر روسيا من اجل الشعب ويريدون انهاء الملكية بأى شكل وجعلها جمهورية مع ان على ما اعلم اول عدو للفوضوية هى سلطة الدولة حتى لو جمهورية ..
المهم شكلوا مجموعة ثورية من ضمنهم ابن القيصر نفسه الذى انقذهم من الموت اعداما والاعتقال...وحينما ينجح احد افراد المجموعة فى قتل القيصر يصبح ابن القيصر هو القيصر ملك البلاد..
بعد موت القيصر يأتى لهم رئيس وزراء القيصر واكثر رجل عذب وسجن الفوضويون ..ولا اعلم كيف علم بمكانهم ما كان من السهل قتلهم من فترة !!!!
جاء ليقول لهم انا معكم فالقيصر الجديد نفانى الى باريس انا معكم لنقتل الملك الجديد فيقتنعوا بكلامه ويجعلوه عضوا منهم !!!!
ولا احد سأل نفسه اذ كان ذلك القيصر الجديد سيكون قيصر جيد لأنه نفا الفاسدين .. وذلك الفاسد يريد قتله ليحل محله قيصر اخر فاسد مثل أبيه ...ابدا مجموعة من المتخلفين .. والله لو فريق كورة مش هيعملوا كدا...وبطلة الوفوضوية رفضت قتل القيصر الجديد لأنها تحبه وقالت اعطوا له فرصة فقالوا لا سنقتله فذهبت له لتقتله لكن الحب اقوي ...حتى افضل شخصية فى الفوضويون جعلها الكاتب متخلفة مثل بقية المجموعة..
لا اريد حرق النهاية المفأجاة الفظيعة الوهمية لكن احب اقول ان نهاية سنو وايت والاقزام احلى من النهاية ده ..
لم اقرء عن الفوضوية الا عدة اسطر قليلة ولكن كيف يجعل فكر الفوضوية وهو فكر سياسي فلسفي له مفكرينه بهذه التفاهة حتى لم تكن مقتنع بفكرهم لكن يجب اظهاره كما يجب ان يكون ...
April 29, 2019
Oscar Wilde and Russia. Two things I really love... but throw them together and you get something that resembles neither, and thus, in the end, fell flat for me. I love my little trash child, but I especially adore his pettiness when it comes to his society plays. The way he makes fun of the London high society is just golden.
Vera, or The Nihilists (1880), however, is quite the different play. It is a melodramatic tragedy set in Russia and is loosely based on the life of Vera Zasulich, who was a 19th century Russian Menshevik writer and revolutionary. Even though this political melodrama lacks a lot of wit (or in general a good plot), I really appreciate it, because it was Oscar's first play, and as his mom, I am bound to be proud. ;) The play was not a success (what a surprise) and folded after only one week (my poor baby boy, just you wait, your time will come). Alfred Bryan, a Canadian lyricist, actually made fun of Oscar, drawing a cartoon of him with the description: "Never mind, Oscar; other great men have had their dramatic failures!" Oh my.
At the time of writing, the reform-minded Tsar Alexander II was involved in a struggle with revolutionaries who sought to assassinate him (and eventually succeeded). Though none of Wilde's characters correspond to actual Russian people of the time, the above situation was well-known both to Wilde and to the audience for which he was writing. In 1878, three years before the play's completion, Vera Zasulich shot the St Petersburg Chief of Police, Trepov.
The play starts out in a tavern, which is situated along a road to the prison camps in Siberia. Vera is working there as a barmaid, when a gang of prisoners stop at the tavern. She immediately recognises her brother as one of the prisoners. In order to avenge him, she sets out for Moscow to join the Nihilists, a terrorist group trying to assassinate the Czar.
Years later, Vera has become the Nihilists' top assassin. During her work with them she fell in love with fellow Nihilist Alexis. When a Nihilist meeting is nearly broken up by soldiers, Alexis thwarts them by revealing his true identity: he is the Czarevich, heir to the Russian throne. Where this earns him more admiration from Vera, the other Nihilists hate him even more because they condemn the Czar and his offspring.
After the Nihilists manage to assassinate the Czar, Alexis ascends the throne and exiles Prince Paul Maraloffski. The latter then joins the Nihilists and convinces them that Alexis is a traitor, and so they set out to kill him. This task is given to Vera, so that she can prove where her loyalties lie. She is supposed to stab Alexis, and throw the dagger out of the window as a signal to Nihilist agents below. If she does not, the agents will break in and kill Alexis. Remebering her poor brother's fate, Vera grows cold, and agrees to stab the man he loves.
Alexis, unaware of the schemings, is actually trying to be a good ruler. After his coronation he intends to end injustice in Russia, and give back to the poor, and restore the prisoners to their rightful home. When Vera enters the palace, she can't bring herself to kill him, and after a good heart-to-heart, Alexis proposes to her. As she accepts him, she hears the agents outside getting restless because of the missing signal. In order to save Alexis and the improvements his reign will bring, she stabs herself (which is fucking stupid, but we'll talk about that later) and throws the dagger out the window. The agents depart satisfied. When Alexis asks her shocked what she has done, she replies: I have saved Russia (which sounds fucking epic now, but is, in fact, just really, really stupid).
So, let's talk about this clusterfuck, also known as the plot of this play. First of all, I am not even sure what kind of message Oscar was trying to send with this? Was he trying to undermine his Socialist standing, did he take the view that one is never too young to die for one's country? Like... I need an explanation, because this whole terrorist group thang made no lick of sense. So, let's talk about the ending, which solved absolutely nothing. Sorry to break it to you, Vera, but you did not save Russia. You stabbed yourself for nothing... because guess what whill happen the next morning? The Nihilists will see that Alexis is still alive, then they will assume that Alexis stabbed you (you aka Vera), and so this will be another reason for them to motherfucking assassinate Alexis. A mission which they will easily accomplish because Alexis refuses to have guards with him, and then Russia will go to shit again. Round of fucking applause for your stupidity, Vera. Here's what you should have done: TALK to the motherfucking agents and TELL them that Alexis is a good dude, and that he intends to end the injust treatment of the poor Russian population, and then give Alexis an ultimatum, so that he can prove that he means busines... And everyone can live happily ever after. Saved Russia, my ass.
So overall this play just lacked sense and wit, even though we can see the forerunner of the Dandy in the character of Prince Paul, who was acutally a complete shithead, but due to his cynical and snarky comments, one of my favorite characters:
Also, I'm not trying to be petty or anything, but instead of calling himself the Lord of Language, Oscar should have called himself the Lord of I-used-that-line-before, because now that I have read all of his plays, it is mind-boggling to me how often he re-used his good lines. So in Vera Prince Paul says: "Experience, the name men give to their mistakes.", and then, some years later, in Lady Windermere's Fan, Mr Dumby says: "Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes." - I see what you did there, Oscar, and it's cheap. Real cheap, my son. (He did the same thing with the famous phrase: "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does, and that is his." which he used in Earnest and in A Woman of No Imporance)
I know I'm being really hard on my son right now, but criticizing my faves is a hobby of mine. It's a sport. Keeps the mind sharp. ;) Overall, I think it was really insightful and about time that I finally read Oscar's first play. It is amazing to reconstruct his literary journey and see how he progressed as a writer over the years. Chapeau to my little trash child, you did well in the end. <3
Vera, or The Nihilists (1880), however, is quite the different play. It is a melodramatic tragedy set in Russia and is loosely based on the life of Vera Zasulich, who was a 19th century Russian Menshevik writer and revolutionary. Even though this political melodrama lacks a lot of wit (or in general a good plot), I really appreciate it, because it was Oscar's first play, and as his mom, I am bound to be proud. ;) The play was not a success (what a surprise) and folded after only one week (my poor baby boy, just you wait, your time will come). Alfred Bryan, a Canadian lyricist, actually made fun of Oscar, drawing a cartoon of him with the description: "Never mind, Oscar; other great men have had their dramatic failures!" Oh my.
At the time of writing, the reform-minded Tsar Alexander II was involved in a struggle with revolutionaries who sought to assassinate him (and eventually succeeded). Though none of Wilde's characters correspond to actual Russian people of the time, the above situation was well-known both to Wilde and to the audience for which he was writing. In 1878, three years before the play's completion, Vera Zasulich shot the St Petersburg Chief of Police, Trepov.
The play starts out in a tavern, which is situated along a road to the prison camps in Siberia. Vera is working there as a barmaid, when a gang of prisoners stop at the tavern. She immediately recognises her brother as one of the prisoners. In order to avenge him, she sets out for Moscow to join the Nihilists, a terrorist group trying to assassinate the Czar.
Years later, Vera has become the Nihilists' top assassin. During her work with them she fell in love with fellow Nihilist Alexis. When a Nihilist meeting is nearly broken up by soldiers, Alexis thwarts them by revealing his true identity: he is the Czarevich, heir to the Russian throne. Where this earns him more admiration from Vera, the other Nihilists hate him even more because they condemn the Czar and his offspring.
After the Nihilists manage to assassinate the Czar, Alexis ascends the throne and exiles Prince Paul Maraloffski. The latter then joins the Nihilists and convinces them that Alexis is a traitor, and so they set out to kill him. This task is given to Vera, so that she can prove where her loyalties lie. She is supposed to stab Alexis, and throw the dagger out of the window as a signal to Nihilist agents below. If she does not, the agents will break in and kill Alexis. Remebering her poor brother's fate, Vera grows cold, and agrees to stab the man he loves.
Alexis, unaware of the schemings, is actually trying to be a good ruler. After his coronation he intends to end injustice in Russia, and give back to the poor, and restore the prisoners to their rightful home. When Vera enters the palace, she can't bring herself to kill him, and after a good heart-to-heart, Alexis proposes to her. As she accepts him, she hears the agents outside getting restless because of the missing signal. In order to save Alexis and the improvements his reign will bring, she stabs herself (which is fucking stupid, but we'll talk about that later) and throws the dagger out the window. The agents depart satisfied. When Alexis asks her shocked what she has done, she replies: I have saved Russia (which sounds fucking epic now, but is, in fact, just really, really stupid).
So, let's talk about this clusterfuck, also known as the plot of this play. First of all, I am not even sure what kind of message Oscar was trying to send with this? Was he trying to undermine his Socialist standing, did he take the view that one is never too young to die for one's country? Like... I need an explanation, because this whole terrorist group thang made no lick of sense. So, let's talk about the ending, which solved absolutely nothing. Sorry to break it to you, Vera, but you did not save Russia. You stabbed yourself for nothing... because guess what whill happen the next morning? The Nihilists will see that Alexis is still alive, then they will assume that Alexis stabbed you (you aka Vera), and so this will be another reason for them to motherfucking assassinate Alexis. A mission which they will easily accomplish because Alexis refuses to have guards with him, and then Russia will go to shit again. Round of fucking applause for your stupidity, Vera. Here's what you should have done: TALK to the motherfucking agents and TELL them that Alexis is a good dude, and that he intends to end the injust treatment of the poor Russian population, and then give Alexis an ultimatum, so that he can prove that he means busines... And everyone can live happily ever after. Saved Russia, my ass.
So overall this play just lacked sense and wit, even though we can see the forerunner of the Dandy in the character of Prince Paul, who was acutally a complete shithead, but due to his cynical and snarky comments, one of my favorite characters:
Czar: I won't open it. There may be something in it.OR
Prince Paul: It would be a very disappointing letter, Sire, if there wasn't.
Count Rouvaloff: I was giving his Royal Highness some good advice, your Majesty.Oh my, if this doesn't scream ALGERNON to you, I don't know what does. ;)
Prince Paul: Count Rouvaloff is the typical spendthrift, Sire; he is always giving away what he needs most.
Also, I'm not trying to be petty or anything, but instead of calling himself the Lord of Language, Oscar should have called himself the Lord of I-used-that-line-before, because now that I have read all of his plays, it is mind-boggling to me how often he re-used his good lines. So in Vera Prince Paul says: "Experience, the name men give to their mistakes.", and then, some years later, in Lady Windermere's Fan, Mr Dumby says: "Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes." - I see what you did there, Oscar, and it's cheap. Real cheap, my son. (He did the same thing with the famous phrase: "All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does, and that is his." which he used in Earnest and in A Woman of No Imporance)
I know I'm being really hard on my son right now, but criticizing my faves is a hobby of mine. It's a sport. Keeps the mind sharp. ;) Overall, I think it was really insightful and about time that I finally read Oscar's first play. It is amazing to reconstruct his literary journey and see how he progressed as a writer over the years. Chapeau to my little trash child, you did well in the end. <3
June 9, 2013
ملاحظه : الريفيو يحرق الأحداث لمن لم يقرأ المسرحية بعد :)
تدور أحداث هذه المسرحية حول الثورة الروسية التي أطلق شعلتها مجموعة من الفلاحين والذين أطلق عليهم اسم " الثوار العدميين"
و بطلة المسرحية،الفتاة القروية، الفلاحة " فيرا" كانت لهب الثورة، شعلة الديموقراطية، و روح الثوار العدميين
بعد نفي أخيها الى اقاصي سيبيريا من قبل الأمبراطور قررت رفع شعار الثورة وقد قطعت على نفسها عهدا بأن لا تحب ولاتحب حتى تصبح روسيا جمهورية وتعم الاشتراكية . لكنها خانت عهدها أمام سطوة الحب فقد سلمت قلبها لابن الإمبراطور حليف الشعب والفلاحين الثوريين .... وقد دافع باستماتة على قضيتهم أمام والده .
من بين أجمل أقواله /
لا... تمهل يا والدي: لقد اقتصر القساوسة الفردوس من الشعب، وانت الآن تريد أن تأخد منهم الأرض...هل نحن معصومون من الذنوب حتى نتحكم في أرواحهم بهذه القسوة ، نحن جميعنا نتنفس نفس الهواء وتدفئنا نفس اشعة الشمس، لنا جميعا نفس الدم والشحم واللحم، ولكن هم يموتون جوعا ونحن نرمي بقايا طعامنا، هم يعملون ليل نهار، ونحن لا نعمل على الاطلاق، بل نلهو ليل نهار، هم يموتون ...
مع احتضارات" فيرا "في اللحظات الأخيرة التي دفعت حياتها قربانا لروسيا
الجمهورية، تخيلتها تئن بالنشيد الأممي للشاعر الفرنسي "أوجين بوتييه" وعلى نغمات أنينها، كان يسقط رمز الامبراطورية ويعلو مجد الثوار العدميين
مقطوعة 1
Debout, les damnés de la terre
Debout, les forçats de la faim
La raison tonne en son cratère
C'est l'éruption de la fin
Du passé faisons table rase
Foules, esclaves, debout, debout
Le monde va changer de base
Nous ne sommes rien, soyons tout
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|
.هـبوا ضحايا الاضطهاد
ضحايـا جوع الاضطـرار
بـركــان الـفكـر في اتـّـقاد
هــذا آخر انفــجــار
هـيا نحــو كـل ما مـر
ثــوروا حـطـموا الـقـيــود
شـيـدوا الكون جديد حر
كــونوا أنــتـم الـوجود
|: بـجـموع قـوية
هبوا لاح الظفر غد
الأمـمــية
يـوحد البــشـر :
تدور أحداث هذه المسرحية حول الثورة الروسية التي أطلق شعلتها مجموعة من الفلاحين والذين أطلق عليهم اسم " الثوار العدميين"
و بطلة المسرحية،الفتاة القروية، الفلاحة " فيرا" كانت لهب الثورة، شعلة الديموقراطية، و روح الثوار العدميين
بعد نفي أخيها الى اقاصي سيبيريا من قبل الأمبراطور قررت رفع شعار الثورة وقد قطعت على نفسها عهدا بأن لا تحب ولاتحب حتى تصبح روسيا جمهورية وتعم الاشتراكية . لكنها خانت عهدها أمام سطوة الحب فقد سلمت قلبها لابن الإمبراطور حليف الشعب والفلاحين الثوريين .... وقد دافع باستماتة على قضيتهم أمام والده .
من بين أجمل أقواله /
لا... تمهل يا والدي: لقد اقتصر القساوسة الفردوس من الشعب، وانت الآن تريد أن تأخد منهم الأرض...هل نحن معصومون من الذنوب حتى نتحكم في أرواحهم بهذه القسوة ، نحن جميعنا نتنفس نفس الهواء وتدفئنا نفس اشعة الشمس، لنا جميعا نفس الدم والشحم واللحم، ولكن هم يموتون جوعا ونحن نرمي بقايا طعامنا، هم يعملون ليل نهار، ونحن لا نعمل على الاطلاق، بل نلهو ليل نهار، هم يموتون ...
مع احتضارات" فيرا "في اللحظات الأخيرة التي دفعت حياتها قربانا لروسيا
الجمهورية، تخيلتها تئن بالنشيد الأممي للشاعر الفرنسي "أوجين بوتييه" وعلى نغمات أنينها، كان يسقط رمز الامبراطورية ويعلو مجد الثوار العدميين
مقطوعة 1
Debout, les damnés de la terre
Debout, les forçats de la faim
La raison tonne en son cratère
C'est l'éruption de la fin
Du passé faisons table rase
Foules, esclaves, debout, debout
Le monde va changer de base
Nous ne sommes rien, soyons tout
|: C'est la lutte finale
Groupons-nous, et demain
L'Internationale
Sera le genre humain :|
.هـبوا ضحايا الاضطهاد
ضحايـا جوع الاضطـرار
بـركــان الـفكـر في اتـّـقاد
هــذا آخر انفــجــار
هـيا نحــو كـل ما مـر
ثــوروا حـطـموا الـقـيــود
شـيـدوا الكون جديد حر
كــونوا أنــتـم الـوجود
|: بـجـموع قـوية
هبوا لاح الظفر غد
الأمـمــية
يـوحد البــشـر :
March 2, 2019
Though this plot makes little sense, I liked the cynical humour and plenty of witty epigrams. If there were a little less melodrama I would have liked Oscar Wilde's first play more.
July 5, 2013
A Fun Little Melodrama, Comedy, and Revolution
Set in 19th Century Russia, there is a smell of revolution in the air. The Nihilists plot to assassinate the Czar, with top assassin Vera feared above all by the Empire. But who can they trust? Where do loyalties lie? Who are the spies and double agents lurking amongst the palace and the Nihilists?
There are some nice little twists in the plot with echoes of Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. I would classify the play as a "tragicomedy". The plot is quite simple and easily developed.
The melodrama and tragedy are well balanced by Wilde's classic cynical humour, with plenty of witty epigrams:
"Life is much too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it."
"Indifference is the revenge the world takes on mediocrities."
"I would sooner lose my best friend than my worst enemy. To have friends, you know, one need only be good-natured; but when a man has no enemy left there must be something mean about him."
It is this wealth of witty epigrams, which really sets Wilde apart as an excellent and extremely intelligent writer. Indeed, the success of his later plays such as, Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest are founded upon Wilde's comic genius.
However, the ending is perhaps predictable, and the play lacks the ultimate wow-factor present in most of Wilde's works. Still, it was a pleasure to read. This was Wilde's first play, and it unfortunately flopped upon its first releases.
This is well worth a read to get a taste of Wilde's earlier works. I like this mix of a little humour, a little melodrama, and a little revolution. I give this play 3.5/5 stars, rounding up because I'm feeling generous today!
Set in 19th Century Russia, there is a smell of revolution in the air. The Nihilists plot to assassinate the Czar, with top assassin Vera feared above all by the Empire. But who can they trust? Where do loyalties lie? Who are the spies and double agents lurking amongst the palace and the Nihilists?
There are some nice little twists in the plot with echoes of Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. I would classify the play as a "tragicomedy". The plot is quite simple and easily developed.
The melodrama and tragedy are well balanced by Wilde's classic cynical humour, with plenty of witty epigrams:
"Life is much too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it."
"Indifference is the revenge the world takes on mediocrities."
"I would sooner lose my best friend than my worst enemy. To have friends, you know, one need only be good-natured; but when a man has no enemy left there must be something mean about him."
It is this wealth of witty epigrams, which really sets Wilde apart as an excellent and extremely intelligent writer. Indeed, the success of his later plays such as, Lady Windermere's Fan and The Importance of Being Earnest are founded upon Wilde's comic genius.
However, the ending is perhaps predictable, and the play lacks the ultimate wow-factor present in most of Wilde's works. Still, it was a pleasure to read. This was Wilde's first play, and it unfortunately flopped upon its first releases.
This is well worth a read to get a taste of Wilde's earlier works. I like this mix of a little humour, a little melodrama, and a little revolution. I give this play 3.5/5 stars, rounding up because I'm feeling generous today!
November 6, 2014
مسرحية جيد جدا...تدور احداثها في روسيا القيصرية...حيث الثورة والخيانه و الاستبداد
بطلة المسرحيه فتاه قروية اسمها فيرا حيث تحولت من الحياة الهادئة الي ثائرة مع جماعة الفوضويون لدرجة انها كانت تؤرق القيصر الاب بذاته
لا اريد أن احرق المسرحيه و لكن ما يخرج به المرء منها هو كيف أن التطرف في الثورية قد تؤدي في بعض الاحيان الي استبداد اصحابهاو ملئ نفوسهم بالحقد و الكره تجاه كل ما يخالفهم فيصبح شعارهم انه من ليس معنا فهو ضدنا ولابد من استئصاله
هناك بعض الجمل قد استوقفتني مثل
جاء على لسان بيتر سابوروف موجها كلامه الي ابنته فيرا :على الرجل الشريف أن ينتهز الفرصة ليبتز رزقه من الاوغاد بين الفينة و الأخرى
جاء علي لسان الأمير بول موجها حديثه الى ولي العهد الكسيس : بالتأكيد ...فاني لأفضل فقد اعز الاصدقاء على خسارة اسوأ الاعداء.فكسب الاصدقاء لا يكلف المرءإلا التظاهر بالطيبة وحسن السريرة أحيانا.أما انعدام الأعداء فدليل على تفاهة الشخص
جاء على لسان ولي العهد الكسيس موجها كلامه الي الامير بول : لقد سلب الرهبان مملكة السماء من الناس و تريدون أن تسلبوهم مملكة الأرض أيضا
أود الاشاره الي ان الكتاب بدأ بمقدمه طويله تحدثت عن الفوضوية و تعريفها و تاريخهما...كما جاء في المقدمه تعريف عن المؤلف أوسكار وايلد و نبذه عن حياته و اعماله و افكاره
ورغم طول المقدمه الا انها ثرية جدا و لاسيما انه اول عمل اقرأه لأوسكار وايلد
اما عن الترجمه فقد كانت طيبه و موفقه
ملحوظة اخيره قبل ان اختم كلامي وهي ان المسرحيه اسمها الاصلي بلغة الام هو فيرا او النيهلست و لكن المترجم آثر ان يجعل اسمها الفوضويون و قد اشار الي ذلك في المقدمة
بطلة المسرحيه فتاه قروية اسمها فيرا حيث تحولت من الحياة الهادئة الي ثائرة مع جماعة الفوضويون لدرجة انها كانت تؤرق القيصر الاب بذاته
لا اريد أن احرق المسرحيه و لكن ما يخرج به المرء منها هو كيف أن التطرف في الثورية قد تؤدي في بعض الاحيان الي استبداد اصحابهاو ملئ نفوسهم بالحقد و الكره تجاه كل ما يخالفهم فيصبح شعارهم انه من ليس معنا فهو ضدنا ولابد من استئصاله
هناك بعض الجمل قد استوقفتني مثل
جاء على لسان بيتر سابوروف موجها كلامه الي ابنته فيرا :على الرجل الشريف أن ينتهز الفرصة ليبتز رزقه من الاوغاد بين الفينة و الأخرى
جاء علي لسان الأمير بول موجها حديثه الى ولي العهد الكسيس : بالتأكيد ...فاني لأفضل فقد اعز الاصدقاء على خسارة اسوأ الاعداء.فكسب الاصدقاء لا يكلف المرءإلا التظاهر بالطيبة وحسن السريرة أحيانا.أما انعدام الأعداء فدليل على تفاهة الشخص
جاء على لسان ولي العهد الكسيس موجها كلامه الي الامير بول : لقد سلب الرهبان مملكة السماء من الناس و تريدون أن تسلبوهم مملكة الأرض أيضا
أود الاشاره الي ان الكتاب بدأ بمقدمه طويله تحدثت عن الفوضوية و تعريفها و تاريخهما...كما جاء في المقدمه تعريف عن المؤلف أوسكار وايلد و نبذه عن حياته و اعماله و افكاره
ورغم طول المقدمه الا انها ثرية جدا و لاسيما انه اول عمل اقرأه لأوسكار وايلد
اما عن الترجمه فقد كانت طيبه و موفقه
ملحوظة اخيره قبل ان اختم كلامي وهي ان المسرحيه اسمها الاصلي بلغة الام هو فيرا او النيهلست و لكن المترجم آثر ان يجعل اسمها الفوضويون و قد اشار الي ذلك في المقدمة
July 2, 2017
My assumption is that this was written because the writer believed passionately in the central point of the dangers of ideologies causing people to lose their humanity. It is demonstrated in the Czar who is paralyzed by advisors who convince him of plotting by literally everyone to political groups who deny evidence because it goes against what they want to believe.
The really curious aspect about this is that it was written by Oscar Wilde, and it is devoid of the wit and creativity usually found in his work. It isn't bad, but it would be a tedious night at the theater filled with chest-beating and long-winded pronouncements. The interesting emotional element of two people who are kept from love by their positions in society and culture is reduced to a sub-plot.
This is not to say that the central message is not worth addressing. The presentation, though is similar to many social justice pieces that are formatted like an extended lecture. There are moments, early in the work, when there are brief brushes of comedic social commentary. These are soon swept under the carpet and replaced with more strident speeches.
For me, this was worth reading as an Oscar Wilde curio. Prime Wilde it isn't.
The really curious aspect about this is that it was written by Oscar Wilde, and it is devoid of the wit and creativity usually found in his work. It isn't bad, but it would be a tedious night at the theater filled with chest-beating and long-winded pronouncements. The interesting emotional element of two people who are kept from love by their positions in society and culture is reduced to a sub-plot.
This is not to say that the central message is not worth addressing. The presentation, though is similar to many social justice pieces that are formatted like an extended lecture. There are moments, early in the work, when there are brief brushes of comedic social commentary. These are soon swept under the carpet and replaced with more strident speeches.
For me, this was worth reading as an Oscar Wilde curio. Prime Wilde it isn't.
July 23, 2012
Not my most favorite of the Wilde plays I have read as it deals with the political times of Russia in the nineteen hundreds. What Wilde says is true though and offers the reader the ability to know that through all tyrannies there are people who refuse to be repressed no matter what the consequences will be. Freedom comes with lots of bloodshed, heartbreak, and a willingness to give up one's life for an ideal. Certainly, our forefathers here in America have ingrained that into the American spirit. We see it exhibited every day on the fields of war both in foreign countries and the streets of this country.
October 8, 2022
Prince Paul = chef's kiss. Would loooove to see this in the theater. Wowie.
Read
February 18, 2025Thank Christ he put down the Shakespeare compendium and got on the troika to pound town instead!
May 19, 2013
It's a tragedy that one of the best Wildean Tragedy, 'Vera, or the Nihilists', isn't a we known play at all! We go about praising other plays by him and know that he can write comedies like 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and social satires like'A Woman of No Importance' but Wilde is the last person a reader can associate with tragedies, which is a shame indeed because 'Vera, or the Nihilists' happens to be one of the finest tragedies that I have ever come across. In fact, in my opinion, it is even better than Bernard Shaw's 'Saint Joan' because unlike Joan, Vera's sense of patriotism is not exactly guided by the Divine Word. It is much more practical and has a clear motive.
The only place where I'd dock off stars from this play is that it is not entirely faithful to history and historical facts. In fact, I recommend you do some digging on Czar Alexander II first. Or maybe after because it really spoils the play's romance!
The only place where I'd dock off stars from this play is that it is not entirely faithful to history and historical facts. In fact, I recommend you do some digging on Czar Alexander II first. Or maybe after because it really spoils the play's romance!
August 7, 2018
I haven't read a play for a while nor have i read anything by oscar wilde in a long time, so i guess i was over-do for both. Which may be why i enjoyed this so much. The story is of a revolution in russia. Vera is the soul and inspiration of the rebels who wish to overthrow the czar. The czar's son is sympathetic to the rebels and is also in love with vera. When the czar is killed, his son is next in line for the throne, so he becomes the next enemy of the people and the target of Vera's revolution. It's a complicated little story. Dark and sometimes darkly humorous. Good stuff.
November 4, 2012
And who would have thought that the end would be Romeo-and-Juliet-like. What's more, with so little cliches. As always with Wilde, there's so many young and pure characters, and that one depraved, Paul in this case, once mentioning a remarkable statement that every decent man has friends, but having a true enemy is a feature of a strong, remarkable man that stand out. And the romantic Russia was saved by love. :)
January 4, 2013
Wilde, I'm glad you made the switch to comedy, because this tragedy is not one of your best works. It's readable, but the ending is agonizingly inevitable, and for being an assassin at the center of the action, Vera's character is flat and predictable. Some of Wilde's irony and wit lurks around corners here and there, but it's mostly from Prince Paul and the minor characters of the royal party, making those characters that we are meant to revile, the most entertaining to watch.
February 7, 2019
It is a beautifully written piece, inspired by the deeply rooted history of revolutions in Russia. Oscar Wilde impressed us by his most adorned and poetic style creating an aesthetic tragedy of ancient lives and tortured souls. The tragedy stems from the oppressed grievances, the hungry's exhaustion and the rebels wrath to save Russia. Oscar Wilde is the emblem of aesthetic word and the Nihilist vision.
August 29, 2012
As Oscar Wilde's first play this is more of a historical curiousity than anything resembling his subsequent great works. A melodrama about a group of Russian nihilists, Vera has some good drama, some witty exchanges, and a decent plot. But it is also a bit odd, heavy handed at times, and hardly scintilating from beginning to end.
July 12, 2017
The revolution
The brain-washing
The slyness and conspiracy
The romance
The feminism
The sacrifice
The oath
The blood
The humanity
It was a new light to see Wilde under, yet he excelled. A pleasant surprise. The ending a genius.
The play was very well-structured. Each act delivered exactly what it was supposed to, and all of them put together flowed beautifully. You did it again, Oscar!
The brain-washing
The slyness and conspiracy
The romance
The feminism
The sacrifice
The oath
The blood
The humanity
It was a new light to see Wilde under, yet he excelled. A pleasant surprise. The ending a genius.
The play was very well-structured. Each act delivered exactly what it was supposed to, and all of them put together flowed beautifully. You did it again, Oscar!
August 12, 2016
رباه ما أهون قتل الالوف من الناس وأسهله على هؤلاء الملوك. بينما نعجز نحن عن التخلص من واحد من هؤلاء المتوجين.
February 2, 2021
Oscar Wilde doesn't disappoint.
December 2, 2021
Maybe I read this wrong, bc this really felt like a parody of the times more than a really dramatic play?
I loved it, sadly I feel like its too short and somethings felt super rushed
I loved it, sadly I feel like its too short and somethings felt super rushed
September 29, 2024
"Det är idiotiskt att indela folk i goda och onda. Folk är antingen charmerande eller tråkiga"
January 13, 2025
This year‘s birthday read. Not a particularly bad play, but unfortunately not really outstanding either, especially compared to Wilde’s other plays. To be fair, once I had finished the play, I found out it was his first play ever written, therefore I haven’t got the heart to give it a too low rating, especially because all his plays have the Wilde charm, his love for tragedy and witty characters, and of course, the satire epigrams, this one included.
Historically an interesting choice of plot, as it’s set in the 18th century in Russia with a female protagonist leading a political revolution, however it was too predictable almost from the beginning and the ending was too a bit odd for my own personal taste.
Some quotations from the play:
“And if death came himself, methinks that I could kiss his pallid mouth, and such sweet poison from it.”
“I would sooner lose my best friend than my worst enemy. To have friends, you know, one need only be good-natured; but when a man has no enemy left there must be something mean about him.”
“If to have enemies is a measure of greatness, then you must be a Colossus, indeed, Prince.”
“It is not so romantic a thing to lose one’s head, Prince Paul.”
“No, but it must often be very dull to keep it. Don’t you find that sometimes?”
“I would lay at your feet this mighty Russia, which you and I have loved so well; would give you this earth as your footstool; ser this crown on your head”
“Death is in my heart too; we shall die together!”
Historically an interesting choice of plot, as it’s set in the 18th century in Russia with a female protagonist leading a political revolution, however it was too predictable almost from the beginning and the ending was too a bit odd for my own personal taste.
Some quotations from the play:
“And if death came himself, methinks that I could kiss his pallid mouth, and such sweet poison from it.”
“I would sooner lose my best friend than my worst enemy. To have friends, you know, one need only be good-natured; but when a man has no enemy left there must be something mean about him.”
“If to have enemies is a measure of greatness, then you must be a Colossus, indeed, Prince.”
“It is not so romantic a thing to lose one’s head, Prince Paul.”
“No, but it must often be very dull to keep it. Don’t you find that sometimes?”
“I would lay at your feet this mighty Russia, which you and I have loved so well; would give you this earth as your footstool; ser this crown on your head”
“Death is in my heart too; we shall die together!”
January 27, 2025
Wilde's first play, a tragic melodrama set in Russia, punctuated with epigrams that he recycled for his later works.
Good thing he found his forte. His wit would have been wasted here.
January 23, 2015
I never thought that an Oscar Wilde play could ever be disappointing to me in the slightest, but I actually did not enjoy this play as much as I thought that I would.
"Vera, or the Nihilists" is a play about a 19th-century Russia dealing with a group opposed to the Czarist government, which apparently was a real problem at the time. A woman named Vera is an assassin for this group because the goverment of the Czar was responsible for killing her brother. Additionally, a man named Alexis is a member of the Nihilist group, but he is actually the son of the Czar who jumps back and forth between the Nihilists and the Czarists.
As you can imagine, the story and its characters are a little too predictable for full enjoyment in my opinion; Vera is obviously a tragic character who is going to meet a tragic end. From the first moment I saw Alexis, I had a feeling that he would be the one to jump back and forth between alleigances. All in all, this is a fairly typical melodrama- not really that impressive, but in the same respect, not at all bad. I was just amazed that this play was actually by Oscar Wilde to begin with, because I typically have a very high standard for him and his works.
Not a bad read, but not really the most impressive play I have ever read. I feel like the plot twists used are ones that I have seen before.
"Vera, or the Nihilists" is a play about a 19th-century Russia dealing with a group opposed to the Czarist government, which apparently was a real problem at the time. A woman named Vera is an assassin for this group because the goverment of the Czar was responsible for killing her brother. Additionally, a man named Alexis is a member of the Nihilist group, but he is actually the son of the Czar who jumps back and forth between the Nihilists and the Czarists.
As you can imagine, the story and its characters are a little too predictable for full enjoyment in my opinion; Vera is obviously a tragic character who is going to meet a tragic end. From the first moment I saw Alexis, I had a feeling that he would be the one to jump back and forth between alleigances. All in all, this is a fairly typical melodrama- not really that impressive, but in the same respect, not at all bad. I was just amazed that this play was actually by Oscar Wilde to begin with, because I typically have a very high standard for him and his works.
Not a bad read, but not really the most impressive play I have ever read. I feel like the plot twists used are ones that I have seen before.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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