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1、MERRICKBURROW*OSCARWILDEANDTHEPLAISTOWMATRICIDE:COMPETINGCRITIQUESOFINFLUENCEINTHEFORMATIONOFLATE-VICTORIANMASCULINITIESThispaperexaminesthewaysinwhichtheconceptof“perniciousinfluence”wasmobilizedinlate-Victorianperiodicalpublicationstoreinforceanormativeconceptio
2、nofmasculinitythroughpowerfuldiscoursesontherelationshipbe-tweentextualconsumptionandidentity.Discussionofthethreatposedby“pennydreadfuls”drewnotonlyonwidelyheldassumptionsregardingthecriminalizinginfluenceofpopularfiction,exemplifiedbythecaseofRobertCoombes,butal
3、somadeconnectionswiththesupposedlycorruptingeffemi-nacyofthe“degenerate”intellectual,withthetrialsofOscarWildeasthemainfocus.ThepapergoesontoexploreWilde’sengagementwiththeconceptofin-fluenceacrossawiderangeofhiswritings,inthecourseofwhichhedevelopedanalternativec
4、ritiqueofallinfluenceasaperversionofself-realization.Thisre-latesinsomerespectstoexistingstrandsofcriticaldebaterelatingtoWilde’ssexuality(forasummaryofthisscholarshipwhichdominatedcriticaldiscus-sionsofWildeinthe1990s,seeSmall,2000;andBashford,2002).However,thecu
5、rrentessayseekstoframeWilde’scontributionintermsoflate-Victoriande-batesontheculturalsignificanceofreadingpracticesandinrelationtoWilde’sowncritiqueofinfluence,bymeansofwhichhecontestedmanyoftheassump-tionsunderpinningbourgeoisconceptionsofnormativemasculinity.Key
6、words:influence,literature,Victorian,masculinity,criminality,WildeLate-Victoriandebatesontherootcausesofcriminalityworkedsometimesthroughthedemonizationofelementsofpopularculturesuchas“pennydread-fuls”—cheapmagazinesfeaturingsensationalandoftenviolenttalesinwhichc
7、rim-inalswerefrequentlycastintheroleofheroicunderdog.Thesepennydreadfulswerethoughttoexerciseadegradinginfluenceovertheworking-classboyswhowerepresumedtobetheirprincipalreadership.Butthesocialreachofconcernsoverdegeneratemasculinitieswentbeyondanysinglesubcultural
8、formation,tak-ingindecadentintellectualsandbohemianartistsaswellastheurbanresiduum.Ac-cordingly,themiddle-classperiodicalpressmulledoversocialdistinctio
