The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story which reflects many ideas and themes which are interesting and actual for people in the modern world. Answering the question why Dorian Gray was motivated to adopt his life philosophy and to lead a double life it is possible to look at the facts.
Many people in the society have to lead double lives in many reasons. Sometimes these reasons are rather obvious, people want to hide their private life from public, that is why they are looking for the means to do it. However, there are situations when leading of the double life is presupposed by the desire to hide something that is illegal.
The situation with Dorian Gray and his mystic double life is exactly the case. Having killed Basil Hallward, Dorian Gray has nothing to do but to hide his real appearance and lead a double life. However, there are also a lot of other hidden reasons for dualism in personal expression.
Looking at the history of the novel creation and checking the situation which was in the society, it is possible to predict that sexual orientation of Dorian Gray was one of the reasons for his dual life.
However, this reason is not discussed and considered in the novel, even though it is possible to find the lines which prove this point of view, Dorian is my dearest friend & he has quite a simple and beautiful nature and all the candour of youth was there as well as all youths passionate purity & no wonder Basil worshipped him (Wilde 33).
However, the most important reason for leading such a double life was the murder. Having killed a person, Dorian Gray has to decide for himself whether he has to go to police or to make sure that no one gets to know what he has done. The desire to continue the life he has led before makes Dorian Gray change his vision of the surrounding world.
Considering the novel, it is possible to see the whole society in one personality. All people live in this world and they have to hide something. This is the main idea why people wear masks.
It is impossible to see one person who is trying to live without a mask. Of course, not all people in the society have committed the murders, but all people have the sins they are to hide.
These sins may be considered as simple actions by some people and the cruel and unforgivable ones by others. Therefore, to make sure that no one is going to reproach people in their actions, they prefer to hide them and lead a double life.
In conclusion, it should be mentioned that those people who wear masks, whose hidden actions are too serious and they are unable to carry them are going to end in the way Dorian Gray did It is impossible to lead a double life without constant pricks of conscience.
If the reasons people lead a double life are too serious, it is obvious that people will always wait for those who have seen them committing those actions. It is difficult to live under that pressure. The same has happened to Dorian Gray.
Even though the novel contains a number of different themes and the double life was not the main reason for Grays actions. Therefore, the new philosophy he pursued, the desire to remain unknown in the world he lived in and the same person for him led to the tragic consequences.
Works Cited
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Plain Label Books, 2004. Print.
The Picture of Dorian Gray has three characters. In the novel, Wilde presents us with three personalities, all of whom bare some resemblance with him. They are Lord Wotton, Dorian and Basil. The making of Dorian Grays character was aimed at examining the interaction of aesthetics and ethics. Dorian, an incredibly handsome young man, is so taken with his looks and youth that he wishes that a portrait of him should age in his stead while he loses no aesthetic value. Dorian eventually becomes a thoroughgoing hedonist whose only goal in life is the achievement of sensual pleasure.
Wilde uses the character of Dorian as a symbol of his ideas regarding the interaction of art and ethics. Grays physical aesthetic qualities, while so close to the ideal as to be considered sublime, nonetheless have no relationship at all with the decadent individual underneath. Art, just like Dorian, has the capacity of being appreciated while absolutely no attention is paid to morals.
In its preface, the attitudes inherent in the novel are to be found. In it, assertions are made as to the inability of moral judgments to be made on works of literature. Works of art, of which literature is part, are inherently beautiful. Literary criticism can, therefore, only be made based on the aesthetic value of the work in question. This is because works of literature are mirror images of society. As such, they are vulnerable to the corrupting nature of society. It, therefore, should never be a writers task to prove an ethical point; and for a critic to find ugliness in a work of literature would be to miss the point completely.
Oscar Wilde, who was an Irish poet and writer, lived between 1854 and 1900. He was one of the most popular playwrights in London after writing several works. His novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is his most famous work of art, which he is remembered for even today, but many critics argue that he wrote the novel from a psychoanalytic point of view (Gomel 75). According to some critics, literature should boost morality within society and not immorality.
This novel, according to them, did not hold on to the values of society (Kennedy and Gioia 98). His intellectualism can be directly associated with his parents who had achieved much of it by the time he was born. Due to the influence he had from his intellectual parents, he was able to follow suit, making him an excellent student, especially during his time in the university, where he used to read widely.
His interests were based on aesthetic theme and, after his university education, he moved to London to further his career on the same subject (Gray 13; Riquelme 87). Due to his love of beauty, he published several poems, dialogues and essays that bring out his interests in beauty. His most famous work, a novel titled The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published in 1890, and it expresses his interests more precisely since he is able to combine the beauty he likes with wider social themes.
Apart from this novel, he wrote several others, including Salome and the Importance of being Earnet, which was also a masterpiece, among others. He was imprisoned for two years when he assaulted a man, making him a homosexual. Nevertheless, in prison, he did not stop being a writer. He wrote one book while in jail and when he was out, he left for Paris, where he died at the age of forty-six (McKenna 29; Wilde 14).
Some critics have argued that Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray from a psychoanalytic viewpoint, defining his life, rather than how he would have loved his life to be during his existence on the earth. This paper analyzes this claim and shows whether there was some secret connection between Wilde and his characters.
Biography about Oscar Wilde
As an introduction to a later version of the novel, Wilde wrote a quote that can be translated to mean that he believed that the character, Basil Hallward, is what he thought he was. According to him, the world thinks he is Lord Henry, yet another character in the novel, while Gray is the character that carries the title of the novel, is what Wilde would like to be in other times. From this quote, several critics have argued in and out of favor with Wilde. Some critics have, however, tried to show Wildes connection with all these characters.
As the novel begins, we are introduced to Basil, who is an artist, and he is first meeting Gray, a very beautiful young man. The beauty of Dorian Gray triggers Basils artistic imagination and he decides to draw him. He completes the portrait of Dorian as he is, and he introduces Gray to Lord Henry, who is a friend of his that he thinks is not morally upright (Riquelme 27). He warns Henry against influencing Gray, but this does not work out as Henry does exactly what he does the contrary.
Lord Henry affirms his desire to have Grays portrait, but Basil gives it to Gray, who curses it, believing that over time, it was going to remind him of his lost beauty. He was, however, granted his wish that the portrait will age, instead of him and when he does anything wrong, it would affect the portrait and not him. Gray becomes a follower of Henry, who is clearly misleading him and the morally upright Gray changes to an immoral person, who is no longer feeling guilty about the situation.
During this time, he falls in love with a beautiful actress that has never fallen in love with anybody else, but her acting. The actress feels so good to have fallen in love with the charming man and she decides to quit acting to concentrate more on the new relationship. Gray breaks her heart by saying that her only attraction was in the theater, but out of it, he cannot look at her twice. As a result of this, the actress commits suicide and her brother swears to revenge (Joseph 8).
Gray goes home after the heartbreak and discovers that the portrait had changed, and it was no longer beautiful. He decides to go back and apologize, but it is too late. He hides the portrait in a place that nobody else will see it, and notice the changes and continue with his immoral life. Later, he kills several people.
When he cannot hold onto this life anymore, he kills Basil and stabs the portrait. He dies on behalf of the portrait. The portrait becomes young and beautiful again, and when people come into the room, they found Dorian Grays body hoary and stabbed.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The question that most critics would ask when analyzing the characters of this novel would be to determine whether they are used symbolically to represent Wilde and his life or to represent some other aspects in the real world. When critically analyzing Gray, the central character of the novel that is charming and morally upright, one cannot stop admiring him. However, this changes as the plot progresses, making the young man ugly from inside due to the influence by Henry and, to some extent, by Basil.
As the novel progresses, he does not change physically, but also in his worldview, whereby he no longer believes that sin can be seen on ones face. After his wish is granted, he is able to do what he has always wished. Nonetheless, the feeling does not persist for long. Readers can see him trying to change his life after he discovers that this life cannot go on like this in the long-term. He resolves that the only way to cleanse himself is by destroying the portrait, and this marks the end of his life.
Some critics argue that all these have a direct connection with Wilde in one way or another. From the quote discussed above, Wilde says that Gray is the person that he would wish to be in another life. In real life, Wilde is a homosexual. He is even convicted of the act. He lives a life in which he cannot not reveal his true feelings to society because cultural values do not allow among people.
Just like Gray, he hides his actions in the portrait. Wilde has to hide his real feelings to escape criticism from other members of society. Wilde marries at an advanced age, showing that he cannot hide his true self. He wishes he could engage in homosexual acts without hiding from people (Gray76).
Connection between Oscar Wilde and Gray
From the novel, Gray gets the portrait that would suffer on his behalf. He goes full blast to what he had wished, which are Wildes wishes to be like Gray in another life. This means that he would like to live without people seeing the differences in his life, just like how Gray lives in the novel.
From the story, Gray has some given some hints regarding homosexuality, which are illustrated due to the fact that he could get any woman he wanted to make him look for more immoral, but attain pleasure, which might have been homosexuality (Joseph12). His homosexuality is not directly portrayed in the book, but Wilde hints at it severally, such as when Basil comes to ask Gray about the rumors he is hearing about Gray and Grays fatal relationship with young men.
From this discussion, it is clear that Wildes declaration of wanting to be Gray in the next life was in line with his homosexuality behavior, which he could not openly practice. Apart from Gray, the other principal characters in the novel have a connection with Wilde, though not a direct one. Wilde declares that Basil is him in a real life as an artist. This might be true as we see Basil obsessed with beauty, just like Wilde. Homosexuality is also debatable in the connection between the two persons.
Basil admires Gray so much that he cannot believe anything negative about him. The admiration, to some extent, shows some signs of homosexuality, associating the piece of information with the author. Wilde is Lord Henry in real life, which is according to his quote. Henry seduces a young man, Gray, and this is what Wilde is convicted of in court.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Wilde uses literature the way it should be used, i.e., to reflect happenings society and most importantly to express his feelings. His creation of Gray as a character in his book can be seen as his fantasy since he declares this in his quote of his wish.
Works Cited
Gomel, Elana. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the (Un) Death of the Author. Narrative 12.1 (2003): 74-92. Print.
Joseph, Paul. Oscar Wilde and his characters (The Picture of Dorain Gray). 2013. Web.
Kennedy, Joseph., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Sage, Hoboken, NJ: (2007). Print.
McKenna, Neil. The secret life of Oscar Wilde. London, United Kingdom: Basic Books, 2006. Print.
Riquelme, Paul. Oscar Wildes Aesthetic Gothic: Walter Pater, Dark Enlightenment, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. MFS Modern Fiction Studies 46.3 (2000): 609-631. Print.
Wilde, Oscar. Three Tials: Oscar Wilde Goes to Court 1985. 2013. Web.
Oscar Wilde, who was an Irish poet and writer, lived between 1854 and 1900. He was one of the most popular playwrights in London after writing several works. His novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is his most famous work of art, which he is remembered for even today, but many critics argue that he wrote the novel from a psychoanalytic point of view (Gomel 75). According to some critics, literature should boost morality within society and not immorality.
This novel, according to them, did not hold on to the values of society (Kennedy and Gioia 98). His intellectualism can be directly associated with his parents who had achieved much of it by the time he was born. Due to the influence he had from his intellectual parents, he was able to follow suit, making him an excellent student, especially during his time in the university, where he used to read widely.
His interests were based on aesthetic theme and, after his university education, he moved to London to further his career on the same subject (Gray 13; Riquelme 87). Due to his love of beauty, he published several poems, dialogues and essays that bring out his interests in beauty. His most famous work, a novel titled The Picture of Dorian Gray, was published in 1890, and it expresses his interests more precisely since he is able to combine the beauty he likes with wider social themes.
Apart from this novel, he wrote several others, including Salome and the Importance of being Earnet, which was also a masterpiece, among others. He was imprisoned for two years when he assaulted a man, making him a homosexual. Nevertheless, in prison, he did not stop being a writer. He wrote one book while in jail and when he was out, he left for Paris, where he died at the age of forty-six (McKenna 29; Wilde 14).
Some critics have argued that Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray from a psychoanalytic viewpoint, defining his life, rather than how he would have loved his life to be during his existence on the earth. This paper analyzes this claim and shows whether there was some secret connection between Wilde and his characters.
Biography about Oscar Wilde
As an introduction to a later version of the novel, Wilde wrote a quote that can be translated to mean that he believed that the character, Basil Hallward, is what he thought he was. According to him, the world thinks he is Lord Henry, yet another character in the novel, while Gray is the character that carries the title of the novel, is what Wilde would like to be in other times. From this quote, several critics have argued in and out of favor with Wilde. Some critics have, however, tried to show Wildes connection with all these characters.
As the novel begins, we are introduced to Basil, who is an artist, and he is first meeting Gray, a very beautiful young man. The beauty of Dorian Gray triggers Basils artistic imagination and he decides to draw him. He completes the portrait of Dorian as he is, and he introduces Gray to Lord Henry, who is a friend of his that he thinks is not morally upright (Riquelme 27). He warns Henry against influencing Gray, but this does not work out as Henry does exactly what he does the contrary.
Lord Henry affirms his desire to have Grays portrait, but Basil gives it to Gray, who curses it, believing that over time, it was going to remind him of his lost beauty. He was, however, granted his wish that the portrait will age, instead of him and when he does anything wrong, it would affect the portrait and not him. Gray becomes a follower of Henry, who is clearly misleading him and the morally upright Gray changes to an immoral person, who is no longer feeling guilty about the situation.
During this time, he falls in love with a beautiful actress that has never fallen in love with anybody else, but her acting. The actress feels so good to have fallen in love with the charming man and she decides to quit acting to concentrate more on the new relationship. Gray breaks her heart by saying that her only attraction was in the theater, but out of it, he cannot look at her twice. As a result of this, the actress commits suicide and her brother swears to revenge (Joseph 8).
Gray goes home after the heartbreak and discovers that the portrait had changed, and it was no longer beautiful. He decides to go back and apologize, but it is too late. He hides the portrait in a place that nobody else will see it, and notice the changes and continue with his immoral life. Later, he kills several people.
When he cannot hold onto this life anymore, he kills Basil and stabs the portrait. He dies on behalf of the portrait. The portrait becomes young and beautiful again, and when people come into the room, they found Dorian Grays body hoary and stabbed.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The question that most critics would ask when analyzing the characters of this novel would be to determine whether they are used symbolically to represent Wilde and his life or to represent some other aspects in the real world. When critically analyzing Gray, the central character of the novel that is charming and morally upright, one cannot stop admiring him. However, this changes as the plot progresses, making the young man ugly from inside due to the influence by Henry and, to some extent, by Basil.
As the novel progresses, he does not change physically, but also in his worldview, whereby he no longer believes that sin can be seen on ones face. After his wish is granted, he is able to do what he has always wished. Nonetheless, the feeling does not persist for long. Readers can see him trying to change his life after he discovers that this life cannot go on like this in the long-term. He resolves that the only way to cleanse himself is by destroying the portrait, and this marks the end of his life.
Some critics argue that all these have a direct connection with Wilde in one way or another. From the quote discussed above, Wilde says that Gray is the person that he would wish to be in another life. In real life, Wilde is a homosexual. He is even convicted of the act. He lives a life in which he cannot not reveal his true feelings to society because cultural values do not allow among people.
Just like Gray, he hides his actions in the portrait. Wilde has to hide his real feelings to escape criticism from other members of society. Wilde marries at an advanced age, showing that he cannot hide his true self. He wishes he could engage in homosexual acts without hiding from people (Gray76).
Connection between Oscar Wilde and Gray
From the novel, Gray gets the portrait that would suffer on his behalf. He goes full blast to what he had wished, which are Wildes wishes to be like Gray in another life. This means that he would like to live without people seeing the differences in his life, just like how Gray lives in the novel.
From the story, Gray has some given some hints regarding homosexuality, which are illustrated due to the fact that he could get any woman he wanted to make him look for more immoral, but attain pleasure, which might have been homosexuality (Joseph12). His homosexuality is not directly portrayed in the book, but Wilde hints at it severally, such as when Basil comes to ask Gray about the rumors he is hearing about Gray and Grays fatal relationship with young men.
From this discussion, it is clear that Wildes declaration of wanting to be Gray in the next life was in line with his homosexuality behavior, which he could not openly practice. Apart from Gray, the other principal characters in the novel have a connection with Wilde, though not a direct one. Wilde declares that Basil is him in a real life as an artist. This might be true as we see Basil obsessed with beauty, just like Wilde. Homosexuality is also debatable in the connection between the two persons.
Basil admires Gray so much that he cannot believe anything negative about him. The admiration, to some extent, shows some signs of homosexuality, associating the piece of information with the author. Wilde is Lord Henry in real life, which is according to his quote. Henry seduces a young man, Gray, and this is what Wilde is convicted of in court.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Wilde uses literature the way it should be used, i.e., to reflect happenings society and most importantly to express his feelings. His creation of Gray as a character in his book can be seen as his fantasy since he declares this in his quote of his wish.
Works Cited
Gomel, Elana. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the (Un) Death of the Author. Narrative 12.1 (2003): 74-92. Print.
Joseph, Paul. Oscar Wilde and his characters (The Picture of Dorain Gray). 2013. Web.
Kennedy, Joseph., and Dana Gioia. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Sage, Hoboken, NJ: (2007). Print.
McKenna, Neil. The secret life of Oscar Wilde. London, United Kingdom: Basic Books, 2006. Print.
Riquelme, Paul. Oscar Wildes Aesthetic Gothic: Walter Pater, Dark Enlightenment, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. MFS Modern Fiction Studies 46.3 (2000): 609-631. Print.
Wilde, Oscar. Three Tials: Oscar Wilde Goes to Court 1985. 2013. Web.
Introduction to Gothic Elements in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray
The setting of the respective novel is essential for the overall development of the characters and the plot as it provides a foundation for the readers to visualize and understand the social as well as the psychological mindset and the typical behaviour during the era. It also sets the gothic mood and atmosphere for the readers as the setting provides an eerie-like ambiance since it was a time when black magic and witchcraft was well feared. Moreso, the setting produces clues as to what to expect in the novel which can be accomplished through referencing one’s historical knowledge regarding the time period. The Picture of Dorian Gray was set around the 19th century also known as the Victorian era, specifically the year 1890 in London, England—a period of time when famine, poverty and even racism such as slavery were at an all-time high, while the wealthy almost did absolutely nothing but to continue on with being rich. Though, the beautiful protagonist Dorian Gray, contradicts from the typical low class family at the time since he was born in a rich, wealthy and luxurious family. He was able to afford and sustain his lavish lifestyle through his father’s money, specifically to support his luxurious entertainment being the highest forms of art—may it be paintings, operas, novels and music—which he glorifies so much, but his love for the arts would later cause an irony as it will be the one that would generate his inevitable downfall. Moreover, poverty was visible in the novel; depicted through women using their body in exchange for money, as well as the immense difference between the prosperous West End which consists of well known places where the riches of the rich hangout, such as “Grosvenor square” and “Curzon street” while on the other hand, the East End which consists of underprivileged citizens and was described by the author as “a black web of some sprawling spider”. The quotation provides an imagery for the readers to comprehend the dirty, fearful and filthy environment of how the East End looks like; more so, beyond the difference of classes which was represented by the West and East ends, the division of the setting also reflects Dorian’s behaviour. Each ends parallels Mr. Dorian’s two-faced persona. The West End signifies Dorian Gray’s brilliant side, a man who enjoys the arts and is admired by many, while the East End represents the young man’s evil character who commits inhumane immoral acts.
Dorian Gray’s Character Development and Moral Downfall
The protagonist of the novel being Dorian Gray is a young man whom most would consider in our society as extremely beautiful; though, his intense desire to stay young and handsome has led him to be corrupt to the point that he’s willing to sell his soul to the devil, to which in return for his non-aging good look, has ultimately produces chains of supernatural events beyond the scientific understanding nor the natural state of nature, conclusively establishing the gothic elements of the novel which adherence to his immoral acts of killing the innocent lives of others as well as his inevitable demise. The youthful Dorian Gray was once innocent and naive, but due to the wrongful guidance of the manipulative Lord Henry, it negatively influenced him to live a morally wrongful life of having such a hedonistic mindset; only caring for one’s youth and beauty while ignoring the struggles of others in the society, as well as neglecting the essential elements of having a genuine life such as being kind and compassionate to others. In addition, his eagerness and longing for a life-time youthfulness and beauty constructed his development towards immortality, in which he exchanges his life for, causing his soul to be trapped in a piece of painting of himself. Moreover, Lord Henry has severely instilled the importance of outer image in Dorian’s head, ultimately altering and reshaping his beliefs, morals and views in life which highlights his distorted judgement. Lord Henry further tarnish Dorian’s mindset about the significance of beauty, he stated, “Yes, Mr. Gray, the gods have been good to you. But what the gods give they quickly take away. You have only a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully. When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it, and then you will suddenly discover that there are no triumphs left for you, or have to content yourself with those means triumphs that the memory of your past will make more bitter than defeats” (Wilde 27). Lord Henry’s input of Dorian’s physical appearance has reshaped Dorian Gray’s intense obsession for his beauty. Dorian’s desire to have a flawless outer facade further manifests his character to be overly ambitious which consequently caused his downfall, leading him to be prone to all sorts of diseases and illnesses. Moreover, Dorian Gray’s longing to maintain his physical appearance overstrips his intuition to be righteous.
Narrative Perspective: The Role of the Omniscient Narrator
The respective novel is in the point of view of an anonymous third person who has an exclusive insight on every character’s internal thoughts, mindset, feelings and perspective; therefore, such credible ability to read each individual’s minds and personal motives, as well as to fully understand the environmental state or tensions surrounding the characters, establishes the omniscient narrator’s reputation as fair, trustworthy and dependable. The narrator’s ability to know almost everything provides a perspective for the readers to analyze the genuine intentions of the characters without the other characters of the novel fully understanding what one is feeling, it ultimately makes the readers as analytical thinkers as it has an effect on one’s imagination; almost as if it’s forcing the audience to create their own personal assumptions concerning the characters of the novel. It also enables the audience to fully comprehend and understand what is going on, which causes them to be more engaged throughout the literature. Moreover, through the usage of a third person point of view, the readers were able to be aware of every aspect of the play.
Symbolism and Imagery: Reflecting Dorian’s Inner Turmoil
The setting of the novel being the nineteenth century is a way to introduce that the novel is in fact gothic, as such literature was becoming a trend during the Victorian era. The way the narrator describes certain places through the usage of pessimistic and gloomy words was one of the essential elements that has successfully influence the plot to establish its genre as gothic, an example for this would be the room in which Dorian would be locked up in when he was young, ultimately causing his flashbacks regarding his traumatizing childhood. The novel also includes the presence of a demonic character which is depicted through the character of Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry was a wicked man of manipulation, leading the innocent Dorian Gray to commit inhumane acts, especifically murder. He also gave a gift to the naive youngman a venomous yellow book, which Mr. Gray would read religiously as if its his holy bible, completely dominating and influencing his ways of life. The symbolism of the yellow book is the potential damage art can do to a vulnerable individual when one is easily and heavily influenced by it. When Dorian Gray wanted to keep his beauty, he stated in the novel “I would give my soul […]”. Dorian communicating or bargaining with the devil by surrendering his soul for the sake of an immortal youthfulness and beauty shows another important piece of a gothic element which further contributes to the plot as the demon itself has essentially became a character of its own in the novel. Moreover, a women in distress is also a major material in the respective novel. Sibyl Vane and Dorian Gray has completely fallen in love with each other; though, Dorian’s love for her was external, he only loved her for her beauty. He described Sibyl as “a little flower-like face, a small Greek head with plaited coils of dark brown hair, eyes that were violet wells of passion.” Through analyzing the quote, one can say that Dorian Gray only described Mrs. Vane’s physical appearance, not her personality, which further concludes his supposedly love for her was only lust. The abusive romantic relationship of Sibyl and Dorian was tragically short, as she later killed herself.
Victorian Era Influences and Social Commentary
The author being alive during the Victorian era has immensely influenced and affected his way of living as he has been exposed to the negativity of the time period; therefore, he uses the novel as a way to divulge and reveal the hidden barbaric features of it. The respective novel consists of multiple arrays of themes concerning our societies social issues that are still relevant even up to this day. The theme also touches upon the subject of human nature and its vile qualities. Specific themes regarding social issues that were explicitly visible in the novel are: classism which were exhibited and depicted by how the narrator describes the differences and boundaries between the rich East End and the poor West End, sexism or prejudice against women who were described in the novel as simply a charming necessity whose job is to provide sexual pleasure to men, and the conscious ignorance of not providing aid for those who are in need, especially the poor. They would rather exploit and use those who are underprivileged to further maintain their wealth. Other themes that were explored regarding the selfish side of human nature are: how individuals see more of an importance and value to one’s external appearance and physical attractiveness than one’s internal and genuine beauty, how manipulation can negatively influence the mindset of those who are vulnerable, specifically the youth, ultimately leading and reshaping them to be corrupt in one’s society, and how committing evil acts can only provide temporary pleasure and would later cause one’s downfall.
Conflict and Tragedy: Dorian’s Struggle with Beauty and Morality
The major conflict of the novel is depicted by the devil-like character of Lord Henry who majorly influenced Dorian Gray’s stance in terms of the value beauty and youthfulness possess, as well as the power it contains. Dorian’s best feature, which is his beauty, is also the cause of the diminishment of his moral which establishes his arrogant persona, as his mindset to having good looks holds more worth in his mind, in which it overstrips his desire of having internal beauty, due to his selfish fear of losing the current pleasure he’s experiencing in which he gains through using his physical appearance. Dorian Gray’s obsession for immortal beauty establishes his major conflict in the novel. His outer facade does not parallel with his characteristics, behaviour and attitude, ultimately causing his demise, an example for this is the way he psychologically abused, mistreated and used Sibyl Vine, his once lover, which she later killed herself. When Dorian Gray was arguing with Sibyl, he stated “You have killed my love. You used to stir my imagination. Now you don’t even stir my curiosity. You simply produce no effect. I loved you because you were marvellous, because you had genius and intellect, because you realised the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have thrown it all away. You are shallow and stupid.” Dorian’s diction highlights his mistreatment to Sibyl, which is essential to understanding on why she committed suicide, as his ignorant and cruel behaviour has immensely attributed to her decision. Other conflict that caused Dorian his reputation’s downfall is his need to feel and be superior to others. His toxic and obsessive personality trait had influenced his immoral decisions, consequently tarnishing his one’s innocent and well-admired reputation, ultimately leading him to sell his soul to the painting as it might produce happiness, though, his desperation to obtain happiness from the form of looks has generated and led to his miserable state of mind.
Conclusion: The Enduring Impact of Wilde’s Gothic Masterpiece
The novel exhibits multiple literary devices which produces a double entendre, ultimately developing the literal and figurative meaning of the texts. Lord Henry was a walking allusion throughout the novel as he references a religious belief, specifically the devil, which he conveyed through his diabolical acts of manipulation and evil dictions. Symbolism and allegories were also essential for the development of the plot of the novel as there was a collection of them. May it be the yellow book which signifies Dorian’s intense obsession over such a physical object to the point that it’s affecting how he lives. The yellow book is also a symbol of Lord Henry’s intense control and manipulation over Dorian as he was the one who gave him the book, ultimately leading him to be so addictive which makes the book’s contents as his ideal lifestyle. Dorian Gray’s painting of himself is a living allegory as it is a visual image of Dorian’s soul and inner self in which he exchange for immortal beauty and youth, it also get tarnished everytime he commit something immoral almost as if it is its own character in the novel. The importance and the significance of the painting is gained through the narrator’s diction. He, she or they stated “This portrait would be to him the most magical of mirrors. As it had revealed to him his own body, so it would reveal to him his own soul”. The quote further highlights how the painting portrays Dorian’s inner self: his characteristics, attitudes, behavior and mindset, which the painting turns ugly as it parallels who he truly is on the inside. These examples of figurative language and literary devices helps the readers connect to the storyline to further understand and enjoy the plot.
The subject under analysis is the vision of beauty in Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The fin-de-siècle aesthetic sees in art a spiritual dimension that opposes the banality of daily existence: in “The picture of Dorian Gray” (1891), Wilde gives full expression to his conception of art, according to which it is natural to imitate art and not vice versa, claiming the ability of art to shape the conventions and intellectual schemes with the world is perceived. It is the only novel produced by the author, which tells the Faustian story of a man who sells his soul for eternal youth.
‘Beauty is the splendour of truth’, says Plato. What is beauty? What is true? Man has always asked these questions himself.
The relationship between life and art is central to Oscar Wilde: writer and real character, brilliant, ironic, irreverent, more than the last exponent of the Victorian era, he is the first representative of modernity. The public image of the dandy, the scandals, and the trial for homosexuality is accompanied by intense intellectual activity on several fronts, in the field of poetry and novel, non-fiction and theatre, in the name of a sensitivity based on the autonomy of artistic creation.
What is beauty in fact? Does it happen to us often? Where and how to meet beauty? Are we no longer able to grasp it? Perhaps, to meet “beauty” one must know how to see, and be capable of that ‘look’.
A ‘look’ that is outside of us, outside of our usual criteria of judgment, outside of our daily feeling, outside of our rational nature. Only then, is it possible to meet Beauty. A meeting that can be aesthetically pleasing, but sometimes dramatically painful. An artist for whom beauty can win over time, making the sense of eternity grasp. Who could dare to say so much and dare to act so much? Oscar Wilde.
Nevertheless, what is beauty for Oscar Wilde? Was his just a purely aesthetic beauty? No, his idea of beauty was thirsty for truth.
Moreover, it is in the name of this truth that sustained the need for the artist to enjoy absolute freedom, in order to be able to express his art in authentic masterpieces. The artist must be free from any bond with society, free from feelings, from any belief, since all these obligations limit his ability to search for beauty and therefore for truth.
Oscar Wilde gives us a clear answer through his most important work, which will become eternal: “The portrait of Dorian Gray”. A real celebration of the cult of beauty.
The protagonist of the novel is the beautiful young Dorian Gray, obsessed with the idea of growing old and losing his attractiveness. The painter Basil Hallward makes a portrait of him, and Dorian obtains, due to a spell, that every sign of time spoils not him but the portrait.
The portrait reproduced in a painting is the metaphor of the relationships between art and life, contradictory and irreconcilable. Even the theme of the mask on the face expresses the discomfort of experiencing the fin-de-siècle. The beautiful Dorian Gray has a morbid and turbid conception of beauty; his painter friend Basil gives him a portrait at the height of his charm and youth. Dorian feels the pain for the beauty that will fade and formulates the vow that the traces of time mark the portrait and not his face. Concentrated only on himself, Dorian is incapable of loving, lives a dissolute life, while the portrait is covered with a cloth and closed in a room. Having reached scandalous levels of abjection, Dorian kills Basil, who is his conscience; then he destroys the portrait, and his servants find him dead, aged suddenly, next to the portrait itself.
Dorian therefore wants to annihilate the portrait in the painting, but kills himself. The artifice of the ageing picture and the subject that remains young is the reinterpretation of the Faustian aspiration not to grow old. Dorian is a fragile character; he lives the experience through the filter of art, as evidenced by his love for the actress Sybil Vane: the love charm dissolves after a mediocre acting of the young woman, and love dies too.
The novel captures the intertwining of the different personalities of the three main characters: Dorian Gray, dissolute and amoral, a hedonist who lives on appearances and who will reach the tragic epilogue in the desperate attempt to make art coincide with life; Lord Henry Wotton, the friend, a charming dandy whose cynical and decadent spirit recalls that of Wilde and Basil Hallward himself, the painter, the artist who shapes the Beauty, in love with Dorian, whose moral conscience he tries to bring to light . Dorian Gray can be seen as a fragile personality, but without a shadow of malice in the soul until he became acquainted with Lord Wotton. The latter can be considered the true devil of the novel, an unscrupulous man ready to perform the worst iniquities in order to derive personal pleasure from them.
The author describes an aristocratic world, where everything is empty and superficial.
In the novel, the moralistic condemnation of vice and its punishment appears in the foreground, but it represents with satisfaction the charm and the attractive force of evil, to be understood as real life, with its pleasures and its seductions. The relationship between Dorian Gray and the picture that represents him, is thus the ambiguous relationship, unsolvable for the decadent hero, between good and evil, between the immutable perfection of art and the precariousness of existence.
In ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray”, it is clear that for Wilde the function of the artist is to invent, not to report. The realism of life continually spoils art; the supreme pleasure in literature and in art is to achieve what does not exist, where art reacts and wins against the stark brutality of pure and simple realism.
Oscar Wilde does not seek happiness in life. Indeed, he does nothing but escape from life and the consequent search for happiness in it, to take refuge in inertia and total disengagement from the world.
After the conviction for homosexuality, discounted to forced labour, Oscar Wilde sank into the darkest and most unbearable of suffering. The writer went gradually but inexorably towards death.
The secret of life is suffering. It is what hides behind everything. Words of a soul. Suffering and beauty. Hell and heaven. Can one exist without the other? Yes, but only in an empty existence. His life was a comedy, a drama, like that of Dorian Gray.
Oscar Wilde was a nightingale: he loved beauty, he loved love, and he continued to offer a passion of his, even to those who could not understand or reject it. Then he coloured his life with blood.
Oscar Wilde has never had doubts. Beauty is the only true sense of life.
In the rejection of an aesthetic of realism, “The picture of Dorian Gray” recognizes the power of art to penetrate the mystery of human nature, where the term art means both the literary masterpiece and the perfection of a perfect, elegant and impeccable life. The portrait that is at the centre of the novel reveals the moral corruption of the protagonist, becoming the vehicle of that truth that life manages to conceal. Art contributes to perpetuating the deception of eternal youth, but it cannot replace life.
Wilde therefore establishes that the function of the artist consists in creating beautiful things and that his life is realized in the completeness of the work of art. The critic, therefore, the writer adds, as an interpreter of artistic creation, enhances its vitality and therefore does not differ from the aesthete: his search for meanings is nothing more than an autobiographical operation.
Wilde then establishes that the appreciation of beauty is an innate talent of the spirit: not everyone, but only a select few can understand it. He reiterates that art is foreign to traditional ethics: its only moral is formal perfection; vices and virtues are a simple ‘matter of art’, but have nothing to do with the aesthetic meaning of the work. The author concludes that it is a combination of form (‘surface’) and meaning (‘symbol’), but this second aspect could expose the artist to the risk that his work is ‘useful’.
Dorian is the perfect aesthete, who lives beauty as an absolute value and who makes his triumph with his own death. Art and life mix in its history until the death of the dissolute protagonist shows that only the first is truly eternal and imperishable.
In conclusion, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” recognizes in art and beauty the power to penetrate the mystery of human nature. The portrait, which is at the centre of the novel, reveals the moral corruption of the protagonist, becoming the vehicle of that truth that life tries to camouflage. Art contributes to perpetuating the deception of eternal youth, even if it cannot completely replace life. Beauty does not donate true immortality, but remains a sublime means through which man can transcend himself.
Introduction to Aesthetic Principles in “The Picture of Dorian Gray”
Oscar Wilde was at grips with his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Republished twice, the Victorian novel emphasizes a society full of dandies of the end of the nineteenth century. The main character is Dorian Gray who is obsessed by a painting which captures his beauty fading because of his departure from morality/ art.
Influences of John Ruskin and Walter Pater on Wilde’s Aestheticism
Oscar Wilde put in this novel two main principles which guided his career as aesthet. He encountered those aesthets who influenced him at Oxford, where Oscar Wilde himself was studying. The two man, John Ruskin and Walter Pater, represents two different ways regarding to aestheticism.
John Ruskin was an important critic of the Victorian era who influenced the Pre-Raphaelite movement. In conformity with Alexandra Warwick she believed in ‘social reform through aesthetic response; that through attention to the moral meaning in nature, true art would be created and through appreciation of art, humanity could refine its spirit, learn to act unselfishly and break down the boundaries between nature, art and life’ (Warwick 13).
In contrast to Ruskin, Walter Pater was the partisan of the aesthetic movement and of the idea that men should ‘seek primarily for sensation and great passions in both art and life, and to get as many pulsations as possible into the given time’ (Calloway 36). Gene H. Bell-Vellida categorize the aestheticism as ‘the idea that verse and fiction are without any moral, social, cognitive, or other extraliterary purposes’ (Bell-Velida 1). According to the aesthetic movement art should be art and should not have any other goals. Their motto is ‘art for art’s sake’.
Art for Art’s Sake vs. Art with Moral Purpose
Then ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is turning around two ideas: art as serving a moral ideal and the idea that art should only exist for itself and have no other purposes. ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ offers a total connection between art and life, between what happens to the painting, and what happens to the one who is painted.
The Artistic Society and Its Downfall
Oscar Wilde tries to combine art and morality in creating the society in his novel. It is somehow an artistic society because it has a critic and numerous artists: a painter, a ‘muse’ and an actress. Each one of them has an artistic ideal. As far as they depart from their artistic ideal, as close they seem to be to their end. All the main characters, Basil Hallward, Dorian Gray, Sibyl Vane and Lord Henry Wotton represent different kinds of artists and the reason why Basil, Dorian and Sibyl are punished lies exactly in the fact that they either return to life and nature for their art or that they fail to follow Wilde’s aesthetic ideal of making one’s life into a piece of art. The only one who escapes from punishment is Lord Henry.
Wilde brought the corruption of the London underworld into the London drawing room, in order to show that a wretched society can be present in an artistic place. Heather Joy Marcovitch says that Wilde’s society in The Picture of Dorian Gray ‘it is a world created out of socially-unacceptable sexuality which could turn against society and creates its own corrupt offspring. The exploration of desire could pit an individual against a society advocated desire’s repression.’ (Marcovitch 113).
Lord Henry Wotton: The Critic’s Influence on Dorian Gray
Wilde’s artistic society is leaded by a critic, Lord Henry Wotton. He is the first person we encounter and hear in the novel, as well is the first who suggests what the picture of Dorian Gray looks like. He does not actually describe the picture, but criticizes and judges it, saying: ‘It is your best work, Basil, the best thing you have ever done’. The few words that Lord Henry says to Dorian Gray when they first meet each other influence Dorian Gray perception of art and life during the rest of the novel.
Words have an effect on the physical world, just as an ‘impression’ defines both a material and a metaphorical experience. Dorian’s reproach to Basil – ‘You never open your lips while you are painting’ safeguards the critic’s position within the studio’s creative limits. The alterations which causes Dorian’s Gray decay are not brought by the painter, but by the critic, Lord Henry Wotton, the greatest agent of changes in the novel.
The Transformation of Dorian Gray: From Muse to Decadence
The picture that Basil Hallward paints is static; to him it is always the same, because it always represents the encapsulation of one moment in time, when he realizes the great truth of his life. Whereas the painter is allied with the topos of stillness – or, more appropriately, still-life –with silence, the critic embodies creative polyphony and changeability.
The Role of Criticism and Personality in Art
I think that the critic shapes Dorian’s Gray portrait as well as he influences his personality. Oscar Wilde says that ‘Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book. There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realise his conception of the beautiful’ (116). ‘His eye fell on the yellow book that Lord Henry had sent to him. After a few minutes he became absorbed. It was the strangest book that he had ever read. It seemed to him that in exquisite raiment, and to the delicate sound of flutes, the sins of the world were passing in dumb show before him. Things that he had dimly dreamed of were suddenly made real to him. Things of which he had never dreamed were gradually revealed.’
The Punishment of Characters and Aesthetic Principles
Wilde talks in his letter about a punishment which needs to be applied because of the downfall of some of the main characters. The reason why some characters are punished and others are not seems to be rooted in one of the aesthetic principles of Oscar Wilde. Wilde describes in Intentions: ‘All bad art comes from Life and Nature’ (‘Decay’ 54) and also that the artist’s aim is ‘to reveal art and conceal the artist’.
Basil Hallward is the most obvious kind of artist, namely a painter. At first sight Basil is not punished, but rather a victim of Dorian’s sins. Yet his death is more a punishment than a tragedy. He fails as an artist and is punished for it (Erickson 116).
The mistake he does is double. First of all he returns to life and nature for his paintings. He confesses that he wants to paint Dorian just as he is, ‘not in the costume of dead ages, but in your own dress and in your own time’. Since Wilde believes that returning to life and nature makes for bad art, Basil creates bad art. The second mistake Basil does, is that he puts too much of himself into his painting. Earlier in the novel he himself says about art that ‘An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them. We live in an age when men treat art as if it were meant to be a form of autobiography. We have lost the abstract sense of beauty. Someday I will show the world what it is; and for that reason the world shall never see my portrait of Dorian Gray’. He believes in the aesthetic principles but he failed to follow them in making the portrait he made of Dorian. He himself admits that he has put too much of himself into the portrait: ‘I felt, Dorian, that I had told too much, that I had put too much of myself into it’. He recognizes his own flaws as an artist and in the end he is punished for it by his own death.
Dorian Gray is a different kind of artist. He attempts to live his life dominated by beauty and pleasure and through that he attempts to live his life as though it is his art. In his last conversation with Lord Henry before his death, Lord Henry tells him that he has made his life into an art as deep and expressive, as fine as music or literature: ‘I am so glad that you have never done anything, never carved a statue, or painted a picture, or produced anything outside yourself! Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets’. The expression of art is Dorian Gray himself.
So at first sight Dorian does follow Wilde’s aesthetic ideal, namely that he does things in such a manner for his life to be his greatest work of art. Yet he also makes a fatal mistake which proves to be his downfall. He seems to be punished for his sins, but he is not punished for this, but for the wrong execution of Wilde’s aesthetic ideal. Dorian’s fatal mistake is that he fails to be good art.
According to Erickson, Dorian ‘comes dangerously close to a sort of decadence’ . Dorian does not dedicate his life to art and beauty, but to self-indulgence . So although Dorian seems to live his life in the spirit of aestheticism, he merely lives for selfish pleasure. Dorian admits to this in one of his final conversations with Lord Henry: ‘I wish I could love […] But I seem to have lost the passion, and forgotten the desire. I am too much concentrated on myself. My own personality has become a burden to me’. Dorian fails to be good art and therefore he is punished as well by Wilde.
The transition that Dorian makes from Basil’s innocent passive muse to Henry’s decadent protected emphasizes according to Wilde, a marked deterioration in his status as art. Indeed, the more Dorian indulges in corrupt behavior, the less Dorian exudes an image of purity and disinterestedness representative of Basil’s conception of art.
Sibyl Vane is also an artist who is punished by Wilde. When Dorian Gray meets her first, Sibyl is a good actress, someone who does represent good art, because she follows the artistic credo of aestheticism. She hides herself as an artist and reveals only her art. Dorian describes how is she acting, to Lord Henry: ‘One evening she is Rosalind, and the next evening she is Imogen. […] I have seen her in every age and in every costume. Ordinary women never appeal to one’s imagination. They are limited to their century. […] They are quite obvious. But an actress! How different an actress is!’. She is very much admired by Dorian and he falls in love with her. When Dorian Gray proposes to her, life takes over the control and she stops representing good art. Dorian, Basil and Lord Henry go to the theatre to see her perform, but suddenly she is a dreadful actress. Dorian hopes she is ill and was a bad actress because of that. He goes to talk to her and Sibyl explains why she will never act well again: ‘before I knew you, acting was the one reality of my life. It was only in the theatre that I lived. I thought that is was all true […] You came – oh, my beautiful love!- and you freed my soul from prison. You taught me what reality really is’.
Sibyl’s downfall is that she does not only let reality take over her art, but also lets her own feelings and therefore herself mix in with her art. Therefore, she does not follow the aesthetic principles. She is first punished by Dorian leaving her and secondly by death when she takes her own life.
The only one who escapes from Wilde’s punishment is Lord Henry Wotton because he follows Wilde’s principle of art. Lord Henry is not an artist in the traditional sense of creating art by painting or acting but he elevates his personality into his own art. Because of this Erickson describes him as ‘the true critic and artist’.
He accomplishes Wilde’s idea of making his own life his greatest work of art perfectly. He avoids the pitfalls that provoked Dorian’s downfall. His personality never becomes a burden to him and he is capable of being ‘merely a spectator of life’. Therefore Lord Henry succeeds in striking a balance between making his own life his work of art, without putting too much of himself into it as Basil does.
According to Carrol, ‘Dorian’s life turns out to be something like an experimental test case for the validity of Pater’s aesthetic philosophy, and the experiment falsifies the philosophy’(Carrol 96). In a letter, Wilde said, ‘Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be’.
Bibliography
Gomel, Elena. “Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the (Un)Death of the Author” Journal of Narrative Technique (January 2004); 74-92.
Beckson, Karl. Oscar Wilde: The Critical Heritage. London and New York: Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
Bell-Vellida, Gene H. Art for Art’s Sake and Literary Life: How Politics and Markets Helped Shape the Ideology & Culture of Aestheticism, 1790-1990. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.
Carrol, Joseph. Reading Human Nature: Literary Darwinism in Theory and Practice. Albany: State University of New York, 2011.
Ellmann, Richard. Oscar Wilde. London: Penguin Books, 1987.
Erickson, Donald H. Oscar Wilde. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1977.
Mendelssohn, Michèle. Henry James, Oscar Wilde and Aesthetic Culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007.
Marcovitch,Heather Joy. The Art of Pose: Oscar Wilde’s Theory of Persona. Florida: University of Florida, 2002.
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ware: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 2001.
Raby, Peter. The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Warwick, Alexandra. Oscar Wilde. Horndon: Northcote House Publishers, 2007.
Woodcock, George. The Paradox of Oscar Wilde. London & New York: T.V. Boardman, 1949. https://theses.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/handle/123456789/807/Groenewold%2C_N._1.pdf?sequence=2
Good novels are a window into society and take readers to interesting places, but great novels take readers where they need to go. Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, written in 1890 takes audience on a journey to Victorian England and explores the hidden sides of humanity through romanticism and further enhances the views through the gothic aesthetic. The story follows a young man named Dorian Gray who trades his soul with a portrait of himself for everlasting physical youth and beauty to experience everything to the fullest without damaging his physical appearance, this leads to inner ugliness that is revealed by the painting. Readers journey with the corrupt young man to experience Victorian society as it was through the value of aestheticism, social perceptions of woman and the narcissistic hidden world of moral corruption that is compensated by the ultimate consequence of death. Through this, readers come to contemplate the consequences that society must come to face when aesthetics and outward mannerisms are valued over the conduct of your character and a blind eye is turned towards debauchery. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel that must be seen as a comment on society’s hedonistic lifestyle which is privileged over good conduct and morals. Wilde wrote this book because he believed it was necessary for people in the 1890s to see the lower side of society and consider issues that they may not want or are uncomfortable to address.
The Victorian era was a time where art was valued highly and was a tool used for social education and moral enlightenment. In the novel Lord Henry Wotton, is a charming talker possessed with fascinating and poisonous theories that have the power to corrupt young minds such as Dorian Gray’s. “Good artists simply exist in what they make, and consequently are perfectly uninteresting in what they are. A great poet, a really great poet, is the most unpoetical of all creatures. But inferior poets are absolutely fascinating.” Wilde uses dialogue that suggests Lord Henry believes art is completely irrelevant to society and so the artists also do not relate meaningfully to the world; values contrary to many Victorians. Harry remarks “I am so glad you have never done anything – never carved a statue, or painted a picture, or produced anything outside of yourself! Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets.” The same way Lord Henry believes artists put themselves into their art, Dorian has also put all of himself into his life by enjoying it well and making his life his art. Lord Henry is conveying that if Dorian tried to live differently his life wouldn’t be as beautiful. However, despite Lord Henry’s views readers are able to see otherwise, they can tell that the way Dorian is living his life means he is never able to understand or find his own true character. Wilde’s way of communicating his message that art’s purpose is to be purposeless is expressed in the novel through Lord Henry Wotton and allows readers to see the value given to art from a different perspective.
Oscar Wilde lived by the principle of aestheticism and valued youth and beauty, in his eyes, art served no other purpose than to offer beauty, therefore, the supremacy of both youth and beauty in evident throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray. When Dorian sees Basil’s finished picture of him, he says “I am less to you than your ivory Hermes or your silver Faun. You will like them always. How long will you like me? Till I have my first wrinkle, I suppose.” After realising Basil’s passion for beauty, Dorian accuses Basil of preferring art over his friends for the reason that art will always keep its beauty and will never grow old. The portrait of himself makes Dorian realise the supremacy and short-lived nature of youth and beauty which evokes jealousy towards anything that will remain beautiful forever. Near the end of the book Dorian sees what his actions, in the name of youth and beauty, have done to his soul and although beauty and youth remain important at the end of the novel, the portrait is returned to its original form, suggesting that the price that must be paid is exceedingly high; in Dorian’s case it was his soul. The extents that Dorian went to in this novel in order to acquire everlasting youth and beauty and how his corrupt behaviours were overlooked by society because of the “innocence’ and “purity of his face” showing how dependent society was on outward mannerisms and appearances; to the extent that friendships, morals and values no longer mattered.
In a society that values youth and beauty beyond character it is common to see immoral behaviours and hedonistic underworlds that are deeply hidden by the façade of good appearances. Oscar Wilde uses his novel to take readers to the less flattering side of Victorian England through Dorian Gray’s journey. The story begins when he finds that his portrait will bear the scars of his hedonistic lifestyle, leaving his physical appearance unstained. Dorian abandons good morals, values and principles for a life of pleasure knowing he is able to have the best of both worlds, acceptance of society and fulfilment of his narcissistic desires, because his unblemished looks would save him from the accusations of corruption and immorality. Lord Henry’s influence and manipulative words are the source of Dorian’s initial narcissistic behaviours. Dorian becomes a symbol of hedonism after Lord Henry tells him ““A new hedonism,—that is what our century wants. You might be its visible symbol. With your personality there is nothing you could not do. The world belongs to you for a season.” The titular object in the novel in Dorian Gray’s painting is a symbol which goes from a beautiful image of a young man to a corrupted and horrific representation of his soul that has been influenced by the hidden darkness and ugliness in society that was previously trapped away. The painting is a symbol of society’s behaviour and conveys an important message to the audience informing them that the truth no matter how deeply hidden will reveal itself with time. Through Wilde’s characterisation of Dorian Gray and Lord Henry Wotton, readers see the juxtaposition of beauty against moral depravity and its consequences. Dorian Gray’s beauty juxtaposed with the dark gothic themes of his soul transferring to the painting show that behind beauty lie darker truths that are waiting to be exposed. Oscar Wilde’s use of the romantic and gothic aesthetics help bring the hedonistic underworlds of society that are hidden from the rest of the world to light.
Ultimately through the consequences that Dorian suffers, and the death of Basil readers come to contemplate and are reminded of the effects of leading a life of bad morals and values through the cautionary tale. On a positive note, audience are also taught to appreciate beauty and art but never forget morality, it teaches them to live life to the fullest and live it beautifully but live it with morality. The alluring diction, juxtaposition of the romantic and gothic aesthetic and the dark themes in the novel allow readers to see the value given to art, the superficial nature of society and hedonistic lifestyles that are covered by the façade of upper-class mannerisms taking readers back to the 1890s Victorian England and life there. The novel illustrates the long-term effects of following a hedonistic form of life and shows the gradual destruction of Dorian which ultimately leads to madness and his own death.
Virtue and vice, is it natural born within one’s soul or it has to be developed by the influence of outside factors? The novel titled The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde portrays us how a pure soul of an Englishman deteriorates into a wicked evil character yet still hidden behind a beautiful innocent face. The Wilde’s piece of art shows the readers how the virtue, vice, and art are related to each other by bringing forward the philosophy of practicing hedonism and aestheticism in life throughout the characters in the novel.
According to the English Oxford Dictionary, hedonism is defined as the doctrine or theory of ethics in which pleasure is regarded as the chief good, or the proper end of action. Meanwhile, aestheticism is defined as the quality of being aesthetic; the pursuit of, or attractive to the sense, especially opposed to an ethically or rationally based outlook. Through his dangerous piece of art, Wilde promotes the values of vice and virtue through the characters of Dorian Gray and Lord Henry Wotton where Lord Henry tries to influence Dorian Gray with his life philosophy of hedonism and aestheticism since their first meeting. In the earlier chapter of the book, Lord Henry amused Dorian by his introduction speech about his life principle. He insisted to meet Dorian Gray although Basil Hallward felt reluctant to do so. For Basil, Dorian was a perfect pure subject to be drawn on a canvas and he did not want him to be spoiled with the Lord Henry’s cynicism principles.
However, Dorian seemd to be captivated by his philosophy of life. While they strolling in the garden during the break, Lord Henry took this chance to influence Dorian to live his life to the fullest while he is still a youth. During the upper-class gathering at Lord Henry’s aunt, Lady Agatha’s house, he once again tried to promote the virtue of practicing hedonism in life while mocking his aunt who was a philanthropic woman. Everyone who was joining the dine was horrified with the idea except Dorian who was fascinated with Lord Henry’s speech. This showed that Dorian’s mind was already opened to the philosophy introduced by Lord Henry.
On the other hand, Wilde also emphasized the boundaries between vice and virtue through the art of romanticism; it was when someone was experiencing the emotion of romantic deeply in love. After his first meeting with Lord Henry, he came back to meet him. He was so excited telling him that he was falling in love with Sibyl Vine, a theater actress. Then, Dorian and Sibyl were engaged to be married. However, Dorian broke off their engagement after he was offended by her terrible performance. The first tragic event happened in Dorian’s life where Sibyl committed suicide due to the frustration of her broken engagement. From this pathetic love story, the readers know that he did not truly fall in love with Sibyl like what he stated “… Why should I not love her? Harry, I do love her. She is everything to me in life. Night after night I go to see her play…” (Page 45).
However, it was just his wild desire to express his virtue of romanticism in order to know everything about life as taught by Lord Henry. Because he was too indulge with Lord Henry’s aphorisms, he was being egoistic and felt that Sibyl’s death was not his fault and denied all of the guilt feelings. After Sibyl’s death, he found out the portrait changed and hypocritically smirk at him. Wilde successfully illustrated the human’s art could influence one’s personality and made it in confusion between vice and virtue. He brought forward on how Dorian was influenced by a yellow poisonous book that was given by Lord Henry.
The book was about a young Parisian who spent his life trying to realize in the nineteenth century all the passions and modes of thought that belonged to every century except his own (page 107). Despite his denial about liking the book, he became fascinated and continued to read it chapter by chapter until the end. For years, he had remained under the influence of the book. He also was being illusioned for interpreting the character of the book is similar to him. “And, indeed, the whole book seemed to him to contain the story of his own life, written before he had lived it”(page 108). Thus, due to this psychological effect, one’s character could be guided by the character of the book. For example, one’s behavior could possibly mimic the character’s vice or virtue. Dorian’s inner monstrosity was revealed again through the most tragic event when he killed Basil after Basil begged Dorian to repent for all of his mistakes all this time. Dorian could not bare anymore when Basil reminded his sins one by one. His hatred towards Basil grown even more after Basil put blames on the portrait. He was like in possessed at the moment when he stabbed Basil. “I worshipped you too much. I am punished for it. You worshipped yourself too much. We are both punished.” (Page 133). Basil’s words showed that he also blamed himself for drawing the portrait. If the portrait did not exist, the wicked evil Dorian would not be born. What goes around comes around.
Regardless of the vice behavior portrayed by the main character, Wilde finally pointed out the downfall of one’s evil character when Dorian was trapped in the moment of crisis between to amend his life or stay living as what he was. He knew that his portrait became more hideous as much as his sins that grow worse over years. “Through vanity, he had spared her. In hypocrisy, he had worn the mask of goodness. For curiosity’s sake, he had tried the denial of self. He recognized that know.” (Page 187). He thought by destroying the painter’s work, he could free himself from the monstrous soul and he would live in peace because the portrait was the only evidence left of his sins. Thus, he decided not to confess and repent his sins, but just to move on to be a new him.
Contrastly, his action by stabbing the portrait had actually killed himself. This event was illustrated by Wilde in the element of gothic-horror; by killing it, he kills himself. In summary, the vice and virtue could be the nature of a person and affected by the nurture. The character of Dorian Gray portrayed us how nature and nurture worked on his behavior. He came from a corrupted family, but the strong influence from the obsession of the value of aestheticism and hedonism had corrupted his pure soul. The power of aestheticism value could make people obsessed towards beauty more than virtue. Indeed the virtue of hedonism that was treasured a lot could make people lacked self-restraint in seeking the self-pleasure. Furthermore, the influence of one person could have on another play an important role in developing one’s behavior and moral code. This can be shown through Lord Henry’s powerful brilliant speech that influenced Dorian life’s philosophy and Dorian’s beauty that can seduce whoever was associated with.
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray displays an interesting perception about humanity, concerning the balance between the concepts such as beauty, and narcissism. It shows both the highest and the lowest of Victorian society. Oscar Wilde focuses more on the lowest and presents a pessimistic and critical view on the Victorian era, showing the worst parts on full display in his novel. It tackles the aspects of humanity that often leads to its downfall, taking vanity and their physical appearance before considering the quality of the life that they are living. It also deals with humanity’s innate sexual drive sexual identities. This especially true with Dorian Grey, who’s eventual downfall is due to his obsession with his aesthetics. Which was a massive issue In Victorian society as many considered beauty to bet the most important in life. The novel also brings attention to the importance of judging by looks and making impressions only through surface level knowledge. The characters sexual desires, identities and Dorian’s drive for endless pleasure also play a huge role in the story with seeing women as unworthy and homosexuality being frowned upon. All of these features come together to show a particular perspective about humanity, specifically in the Victorian era but still valid in current times, about how humanities greatest weakness is its vanity.
In history art has often been viewed as a major factor of portraying society’s roles and structure, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde states that “All art is quite useless” in the preface, however as the story goes on this statement is refuted. In this story art is what controls the life of Dorian Gray, to the extent of driving him morally insane and eventually ending his life. All of the events in Dorian Gray’s life happen due to the portrait in his possession. It is what allows him to be young and beautiful, and it is what seals his soul away. Inspiration for these ideas were taken from the real-world Victorian society, where the people valued art and aesthetics over everything, If you weren’t beautiful you were nothing. As Basil Halward said ‘An artist should create beautiful things but should put nothing of his own life into them. We live in an age when men treat art as if it were meant to be a form of autobiography. We have lost the abstract sense of beauty.’ Art in the Victorian society was created to be pleasing to the eye, if an art piece was pretty it was popular and had value, and the rich treated portraits as a way to express their lives, the Uniqueness of art is lost to vanity. This is how Dorian Gary also viewed life, He wanted to remain young and handsome forever, as that was all he valued, he went as far as to sell his soul to the devil to make this happen. This obsession with his self-image and aesthetics was what led to his misery and unhappiness, though he believed being young and beautiful forever would make him happy, it actually is what ruined his life, his vanity lead to his downfall.
Because aesthetics were held at such high regards in Victorian society, most people made all of their judgements based solely upon a person’s looks. If you were dark skinned you were discriminated against, if a man appeared feminine, they were discriminated against, if someone looked even slightly like a witch, they were killed. This can be seen on full display in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian gets away with a lot of dastardly things, just because he looks too innocent to do anything bad or harmful. The downfall of every character who interacted with Dorian, whether it be Basil Hallward or Sibyl Vane, was a direct result of their confusion of appearance with morality. The novel suggests that people often mistake beautiful people for good people, which is seen all throughout the book with Dorian’s character. As stated, earlier Dorian Gray gets away with a lot of terrible things because people assume that because his outer beauty is nice his inner beauty is also the same. Societies innate aesthetic judgement and obsession with vanity is what let Dorian to get away with what he did.
Sexuality and sexual identity play a big, almost impossible to miss, role in the story. There are a lot of subtle homoeroticism in the text, in big part to Oscar Wilde’s own stories and events. Almost every male character portrays a certain degree of homosexuality, with Lord Henry being unhappy with his relationship and both him and Basil having feelings towards Dorian, with it being displayed as an artist’s admiration for an object of beauty. This combined with Dorian’s Hedonistic life style, perfectly mirrors the real worlds Victorian society, Dorian represents the posh and high class, living their lives for pleasure and with a sexual drive, Basil represents the homosexuality present and how it was perceived in that era. These characters are constructed this way as a demonstration of what Wilde may have personally gone through and shows the readers that, this playboy, hedonistic life style does not lead to a long life of pleasure and that actions like this will have major impacts on your life. In the story Dorian’s life ends miserably and suffered throughout his life in his journey for endless pleasure. Wilde is suggesting that following in a lifestyle like Dorian, it will end the same way. Wilde presents a critical view on the Victorian era where the obsession with pleasure and the overly sexual drive of the high-class population resulted in a life that was less than exceptional and anything, but they hoped to be.
Oscar Wilde as a writer can show a unique view on the Victorian era, with him having male lovers that had landed him in jail, he is able to give an accurate and critical view on Victorian society. Wilde is showing a perspective on humanity that portrays the downfall of humanity being related to its vanity and obsession with pleasure. Dorian as a character is the personification of Victorian and even the modern-day era. Wilde displays that the Victorian era’s obsession with pleasure, aesthetic judgment, with the rich and beautiful being perceived as being unable to be guilty, and valuing art and aesthetics over the quality of their life. Oscar Wilde displays a perspective of humanity that has been in contention for a long time, their obsession with beauty, judgement and drive for eternal pleasure, is one that will not end well, in fact Wilde specifically displays that a life led like this would end up going up in flames.