Medusa is no longer laughing: Oscar Wildes Symbolism in Salomé 1 Jennie Tabak Department of English and Comparative Literature, Goldsmiths College, University of London All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. (The Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray) 2 On the surface, Oscar Wildes Salomé may appear to be a misogynist play, emblematising the male authors condemnation of the expression of female sexuality and depicting the heroine as a classic femme fatale. The story of the young Jewish princess who devises the decapitation of her resistant love-object has indeed invoked many critical readings of this kind. 3 However, by acting against Wildes own warning and reading the symbol, I wish to suggest a contrary view, arguing that it was actually through his portrayal of the plays heroine that Wilde expressed his sympathy with the feminist cause of his time and launched a fierce attack on Victorian norms of dealing with female sexuality. 4 Wildes decision to address a subject that was almost a taboo at the time of writing led to the play being banned for production by the censors. 5 This is not surprising, considering Wildes irreverent reworking of the Biblical story into what I consider to be a social manifesto meant for the attention of his contemporaries. The pro-feminist theme of Salomé has been recognised prior to this study and discussed in detail, mainly by Jane Marcus. 6 Yet, while important and useful in its own right, Marcuss study is undercut by the authors excessive attempts to champion Salomés cause through idealising her. At the beginning of Journal of Theatre and Drama * Vol. 7/8 * 2005 161