Major differences between

Oscar Wilde′s version of Salome′s story and the New Testament texts

With his play

Salome

, Oscar Wilde not only recreates, but also rewrites the biblical legend of

Salome, thereby dissociating the biblical character from her original context and subverting biblical

tradition.

In the New Testament (NT), Salome appears in the account of Saint John the Baptist′s

beheading in the 1st century AD (cf. Gospel of Mark 6:21-29 and Gospel of Matthew 14:6-11).

However, the story concentrates on Herod, Herodias and John the Baptist, while Salome is only a

marginal character and not addressed as a subject ­ her name is not even mentioned and she is just

referred to as Herodias′ daughter and as the dancer, but neither she nor her dance are described in

greater detail. In fact, she is presented as a mere object of desire without any passions and desires of

her own, doing other people′s bidding.

By contrast, Wilde focuses on Salome herself, moves her and all her passions and desires ­

she is torn between passive longing and inexorable rage ­ to the foreground and presents her as a

subject as such. Being therefore in the centre of events and interest, she is now a dominant figure,

and actually the major character of the play. This means that she is given a voice and thereby

becomes a more active and powerful character in comparison with her biblical precursor and with

the prevailing myths of a female passive and a male active principle. Moreover, she gains

subjectivity and an "inner life" ­ in fact, we get a psychological insight into her mind: she is able to

express her own motivations (for instance, for why she desires Jokanaan′s head) and justifications

for her actions (for example, for why she dances). Salome also gains significance because it is

Herod who asks her to dance and offers her several rewards (for instance, a place on the throne),

while in the NT, it is Salome who offers to dance. Consequently, especially Herod and Herodias

lose importance in comparison with their biblical precursors and are assigned subordinate roles.

This shift from minor to major character is also illustrated by the fact that in Wilde′s play it is

Salome herself who asks for Jokanaan′s head, whereas in the NT, it is her mother, Herodias, who

uses her to enforce the prophet′s execution by telling her to demand that John be killed (he had

accused her of having committed adultery and incest by marrying Herod). So the Salome of the NT

is depicted as the instrument of her mother, whose plan it is to take revenge on the prophet by

eliminating him. Wilde, on the other hand, presents John′s execution as being the direct and

intentional result of Salome′s unrequited sexual desire for him. Thus, in the NT, the blood lust and

guilt remain with Herodias, while in Wilde′s adaptation, they shift to the originally innocent

Salome: John′s decapitation is explicitly assigned to feminine desire (embodied by Salome herself)

­ the murder of the prophet is Salome′s own idea.

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Furthermore, in Wilde′s version, Herodias, who is jealous of her daughter because she

is Herod′s object of desire, is also given a stronger voice, especially when she protests against

Jokanaan′s accusations of being the whore of Babylon, tells Herod to leave Salome alone and

tries to prevent the performance of the dance (which is likely to increase his desire for

Salome). Besides, making Herod′s incestuous desire for his stepdaughter explicit constitutes

another radical modification of the biblical story.

Wilde′s version also differs from the bible insofar as sensuality and seduction are

obviously major aspects of the play. This is manifested by the treatment of Salome as a lustful

heroine full of sexual desires, which are increased by the prophet′s harsh rejection of her

advances and which ­ because of her feelings of frustration and mortification ­ eventually

lead to her cruel act of revenge (i.e. the demand for his head). Due to this fatal passion for

Jokanaan, she is the embodiment of female sensuality and sexuality, and the plot is largely

determined by her emotional development ­ resulting in a mood of horror in the final scenes.

This again emphasizes the importance attached to Salome and her feelings and passions.

Similarly, the major motifs of the play also revolve around femininity,

sensuality/seduction and the construction of sex/gender identity (cf. the gender dialectics of

the essential One/man vs. the Other/woman): the moon (a symbol of femininity in general and

of Salome in particular); looking (especially the male gaze); dancing and (un)veiling (cf. the

Dance of the Seven Veils); desire and passion; the rivalry between women (Salome and

Herodias), which is initiated by Herod′s desire for Salome; and the power dynamics of gender

blurring (shifting sexual identity), which is manifested, for example, when Jokanaan is

compared to the moon, a symbol of femininity ("[H]e is chaste as the moon is. He is like a

moonbeam."). As the moon is a symbol of Salome in this play, Jokanaan is indirectly also

identified with Salome herself. Moreover, he is also associated with the decapitated Medusa

("a knot of black serpents writhing round thy neck."). These themes do not appear as such in

the bible and point at Wilde′s concern with the construction of sexual and gender identity.

In conclusion, in Wilde′s transformation of the biblical myth, the elements and

characters of the biblical story serve as some kind of frame for the Salome story: Salome is in

the centre of the drama ­ it is around her that he action revolves, from her that the conflict

stems, and with her that the climax is reached (her final assassination is also an invention of

Wilde). By turning a woman into a speaking character who articulates her own desires and

motives, Wilde offers us a radically new perspective and subverts the traditional patriarchal

structures to a large extent: throughout the play, the focus is on Salome with all her emotions

as well as her (unfulfilled) passions and desires.

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