In Oscar Wilde’s poem “The Harlot House” he uses the word lust to describe the Harlot house when he sates “Love passed into the house of lust.” Whenever we hear the word lust it is typically depicted as a negative term in comparison with the word love which is seen to consist of more depth and is known to be a more pure emotion while lust is seen as a representation of a pursuit of pleasure, not in the context of love but in the pursuit of fulfilling desires without any sort of matrimonial commitment. In the Victorian era this could be depicted as scandalous in the sense that it was morally and religiously wrong to have carnal relations with a man who you were not committed to. These type of women were known to be ruined. A lot of times the word lust can be compared to words such as appetite, as stated in the Oxford dictionary, which can be seen in the sense that you have a craving but you are not seeking to fulfill your appetite due to hunger or due to a nature of importance and necessity. Such as the desire for chocolate and sweets; they are not needed but desired. Sexual expression that was performed to fulfill desire was looked down upon in the 19th century. You will commonly see people seeking to fulfill their desires cravings for that feeling of fulfillment that has you feeling satisfied once that desire has been pursued and achieved. The Oxford dictionary describes lust as an “inclination for something,” thus confirming that lust is not an obligation or a necessity for life and survival, nor is it socially acceptable to pursue such inclinations if seen in from a religious standpoint, it is simply a pursuit of happiness and curiosity to satisfy the desires of human nature itself. However during the Victorian era it was not seen so much as human nature but as a sin or an act of the devil. Wilde was one of the many who portrayed lust in a negative light as he uses it to describe the negative acts that take part in the “Harlot’s House” that has placed his grabbed the interest of his lover and has pulled her into the house of shadows, which can be interpreted as a form of darkness and ruin, leaving him to ponder the acts of sin occurring in the house of lust.
-Victorianruin303
