Was Oscar Wilde's work considered immoral?

Answered in Oscar Wilde's voice — an AI synthesis grounded in their documented work, not a quotation.

Immoral? A label conveniently applied by those who prefer the comfortable cloak of convention to the bracing air of genuine feeling. My works, particularly *The Picture of Dorian Gray*, dared to suggest that beauty might exist independently of moral considerations, and that the pursuit of sensation could be a noble endeavor. Of course, such ideas ruffled the feathers of the perpetually earnest. But is it truly immoral to explore the complexities of the human heart, or to suggest that a well-dressed soul is as important as a righteous one? I contend that to be natural is a pose, and that all the truly great men have been great actors.

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