Reading this poem twice is a good idea. If you have no
familiarity with the Bible, then the story may not come as easily. This is the
difficulty with allusions: if someone is unfamiliar with what is being alluded to, often
the message of the writing is lost.
In this case, there are
two clues about the subject of the writing. First, the "voice" used sounds like a
Biblical passage. For example,
'Why do you look at this woman and in such
wise?'
The second clue is
that the pronouns are capitalized when referring to the subject of the poem. The
traveler/speaker/observer here is always referred to as "He" or "His," which is the way
Christ is referred to in the Bible.
With this in mind, the
two people he observes are recipients of his healing power, based on stories told in the
New Testament. The first young man in the rich mansion was a leper that Christ healed.
The second is a young man with lust in his eyes, and he is a blind man to whom Christ
returned sight.
In both cases, Jesus asks the men why they
are acting in such a way: worldly and with no thought to God, for the Bible states that
the men were changed after their miracles, and not just physically. They both respond by
saying something like, "Well, what did you expect?"
The
theme Wilde seems to be presenting basically says that even when great things are given
to us that can change us or our lives dramatically for the better, human nature is
strong and difficult to overcome. It is easy to forget kindness showed us, or perhaps a
humbling experience, and become what we had been before. Is this a relevant theme to our
time? One might ask how many people remain connected to their fellow human beings after
a terrible disaster, such as 9/11 or Katrina. How many of us are changed for a short
period of time, and then return to "business as usual?"
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