"So much had been surrendered! And to such little purpose! There had been mad wilful rejections, monstrous forms of self-torture and self-denial, whose origin was fear and whose result was a degradation infinitely more terrible than that fancied degradation from which, in their ignorance, they had sought to escape (...)"
Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, and essayist associated with late Victorian aestheticism. He is known for The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. His wit and social satire made him one of the most quoted writers in English.