Category: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Looking up the word ‘queer’ in the English dictionary one will find multiple definitions and meanings for the word. The most common one is probably ‘queer(adjective) for something odd, strange, unusable or even slightly ill’. However, words and their meanings change over time and in the late nineteenth century ‘queer’ got a new definition. It was used as an epithet or slur for homosexual people (especially gay men). In the late 1980s the negative connotation shifted to a more euphemistic after people started to deliberately use the word as a replacement for ‘gay’ or ‘homosexual’. ‘Queer’ already made an evolution from ‘odd’ to ‘homosexual’ and from a definisme to an eufemisme, the only step left to arrive at the current definition is to broaden it. Nowadays, the term is not only linked to homosexuality but to any sexual orientation or gender identity not equivalent to heterosexual and cisgender norms. This broader connotation is now well adopted and globally used, as an affirmative term that symbolizes pride, confidence and self-acceptance. (Bennet and Royle, 2004, 187-188)

Literature has as per usual a significant influence in the exposure of words and their message. Although, the explicit use of the word ‘queer’ was almost non-existent in (pre-)nineteenth century writing, implicit traces of queerness can be found hidden between the lines. In English literature one encounters a great deal of well- and unknown, more or less openly or explicit queer writers and writings. When looking for the right signes, queerness can be found even in familiar, seemingly clear heterosexual stories such as The Monk (1796) by Matthew Lewis or The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by its less heterosexual writer Oscar Wilde. By analyzing the gothic novels these novels, this paper traces elements of queerness embedded in both stories by focusing on underlying homoerotic codes and ambiguous gender usage, and the ways in which they shape and affect the narrative.

Matthew Gregory Lewis was a British author who lived mainly in the late 18th century. After graduating from the Christ Church, Oxford, he wrote his famous masterpiece The Monk when he was merely 21 years old. Very interesting was Lewis relationship with a boy called William Kelly, he was the son of Isabelle Kelly, an author with whom he corresponded. According to many the two man had a intimate bond, not only that but Lewis also took on the tutelage of Kelly and paid for his education and offered other financial aid. The younger man was even included in Lewis’ will. There can be read: “the legacy to William Martin Kelly, I bequeath him 104l. yearly…that sum being paid him by weekly instalments of two pounds each” (Colburn, 1839, 387). Although they were involved for 15 years, there was never proof of a romantic relationship or sexual involvement. Nevertheless, there multiple rumors about their true relation and sexuality. If Lewis was indeed queer will stay unknown but it was unquestionable that William Kelly had casted some spell over him.

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish author, poet and playwright who lived in the second part of the nineteenth century. Oscar Wilde was what one would describe as a dandy, even flamboyant. While he was well-known for this writings (The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Importance of Being Earnest and “De Profundis”), he was also for scandals around his sexuality and the following trials for gross indecency. Mid-1891 Wilde was introduced to Lord Alfred Douglas, also known as “Bosie”, a 21-year-old Oxford undergraduate and talented poet. Although Wilde was married, the friendship between the two man quickly let to an intimate but forbidden affair. The author and his lover have written a significant amount of romantic love letters, those were later on used against Oscar in his trials.

In both stories the reader encounters interesting main characters. What especially attracts the attention is the ambiguousness of the main characters gender identity as well as their sexuality. Aside from the facts that both characters are presumed male, the both are put in a very ‘feminine’ position. In addition, their sexulity may be not as clear and straight as one would assume. Traces of queerness can be found in supernatural situations and complicated but intimate relationships between characters.

Taking a closer look at the main character of Lewis’ story, a 30 year old monk named Ambrosio, questions around his gender arise immediately. This partly through the ‘feminine’ position that Ambrosio is put into from the very beginning. He is portrayed as the typical gothic young virgin who is sheltered and protected from the outside world in order to maintain his/her virtue and innocence. Ambrosio is not familiar with the world and its temptations. It is this innocents and naïveté that results in his doom later on. In nineteenth century novels the catholic monastic male chastity is normally a condemned issue. The Monk, however, made an emphasis on this matter and has its base in female virtue and virginity. Ambrosio can also be compared to another character in the text; Antonia, his younger sister. She is a 15 year old timid and innocent girl, she grew up in an old castle in Murcia with only her mother and is therefore very sheltered. The girl can be seen as the prototypical image of virtue. Antonia and Ambrosio were both cut off the world, hence their shared ignorance and innocence. Consequently, this seclusion resulted in total unfamiliarity with sex and temptations;

“He is reported to be so strict an observer of chastity, that he knows not in what consists the difference of man and woman.” (The Monk, p.11)

Ambrosio is very ignorant that he can even tell the difference between a man and a woman. This part particular enlightens interest for the coming events in the story, when he meets Rosario, a young boy that turn out to be a lady. The camouflaged woman is also the one who lures him into a sexual relationship and thereby breaks his sexual ignorance. This encounter will be discussed later on regarding Ambrosio his sexuality and its ambiguity.

Other evidence of his femininity can be found in Lewis’ usage of ‘feminised’ language when describing Ambrosio. This is completed by means of metaphors and vocabulary that is specifically feminine directed due to contextually differentiation. When Ambrosio is about to enter Antonia’s bedchamber;

“He was employed appalled his heart, and rendered it more timid than a Woman’s.” (The Monk, p.299)

At multiple points in the novel Ambrosio is portrayed as tremblingly weak and fearful. For example in the following passage, after Matilda and Ambrosio consumed their relationship for the first time:

“Ambrosio’s lust was satisfied; Pleasure fled, and Shame usurped her seat in his bosom. Confused and terrified at his weakness, He drew himself from Matilda’s arms.” (The Monk, p.223)

Matilda’s seduction is a success, but Ambrosio reacts different than what is expected of a male figure. He feels shame and remorse, even violated at the hands of a woman. The irony can easily be detected in the passage together with the colored terminology: reference to “shame”, “his bosom”, “terrified”, “his weakness”, etcetera. Equally remarkable is how it is suggested that Matilda is holding Ambrosio in her arms and not the other way around. Placing her in the typical dominating, masculine position.

The relationship in The Monk that draws the most attention is by far that of Ambrosio and Matilda. It starts with Matilda’s disguise as Rosario a young male novice. Ambrosio falls in love with this mysterious novice, the desire is not answered until after the disclosure, however, a homoerotic ambience has been established.

“Will it not be easy for me to forget her sex, and still consider her as my Friend and my disciple? […] She has done quite the contrary: She strove to keep me in ignorance of her sex;[…]She has made no attempts to rouze my slumbering passions, nor has She ever conversed with me till this night on the subject of Love.” (The Monk, p. 66-67)

“His head was continually muffled up in his Cowl; Yet such of his features as accident discovered, appeared the most beautiful and noble. […] Ambrosio on his side did not feel less attracted towards the Youth; With him alone did He lay aside his habitual severity. When He spoke to him, He insensibly assumed a tone milder than was usual to him; and no voice sounded so sweet to him as did Rosario’s.[…] Ambrosio was every day more charmed with the vivacity of his Genius, the simplicity of his manners, and the rectitude of his heart: […] He could not help sometimes indulging a desire secretly to see the face of his Pupil”(The Monk, p. 29)

From the passage above, it can be said that there is an implied homoerotic relationship established between Ambrosio and Rosario, especially the way that the former admires the latters, in terms of both beauty and intellect. Both consume their love after the revelation of Rosario’s true gender, although his/her real identity seems to be even more complicated when one discovers that he/she in facts is an evil spirit (demon). Nevertheless, Matilda pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman, exploits the sexual controversy as well brings confusion of the gender roles. Jerrold Hogle comments in his article “The Ghost of the Counterfeit—and the Closet—in The Monk” on Rosario/Matilda as an example of counterfeiting that closes down the homoerotic overtones of desire: “As Walpole does in thus tracing and erasing his own sexual preference from his book, Lewis both acts out and conceals that kind of desire, flirting with but finally resisting any “coming out” in The Monk’s pursuit of counterfeits that definitely turn out to be leads worth of social and superhuman punishment”. (Hogle, 1997, [n.pag])

When analysing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray it is good to know that there is an uncensored copy of the novel. In 1889 Wilde completed the story and submitted it to “Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine”. The magazine’s editor, J. M. Stoddart, however, already censored some part of the story before it was official published. Nevertheless, after the publication Wilde still got much critic for it supposed homosexual references. There was much controversy that the issue of the magazine had to be withdrawn.

“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book,” wrote Oscar Wilde in the preface to the 1891 edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray. “Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.”

Of course critics did not agree with his statement and the novel was re-edited for a second time before the expanded version was published by Ward, Lock and Company in 1891.

Some of the most fascinating (censored) scenes are these between Dorian and Basil, the artist of Dorian his painting. Since the beginning it becomes clear from that Basil has a very passionate admiration of Dorian and his outstanding beauty. There is an obvious physical attraction, that strong that Basil almost encounters paralysis, that confirms the first indications of homosexualtity. One can argue that this is just a form of aestheticism instead of sexual attraction. However, further in the text more homoerotic codes and themes emerge:

“Suddenly I found myself face to face with the young man whose personality had so strangely stirred me. We were quite close, almost touching. Our eyes met again.”

The relation between Basil and Dorian seem to go further than just that of a painter and his muse, on multiple occasions traces of flirting can be discovered. For example when talking to Lord Henry, Basil confesses:

“I know he likes me. Of course I flatter him dreadfully. I find a strange pleasure in saying things to him I know I shall be sorry for having said. I give myself away. As a rule, he is charming to me, and we walk home together from the club arm in arm, or sit in the studio and talk of a thousand things.” (The Picture of Dorian Gray, [n.pag])

Basil acknowledges how weak he is whenever Dorian is involved, his gives himself away and cannot control what he says. “Walking arm in arm” is again an indication of their physical attraction. Basil has very strong feelings for Dorian, a passion that almost turns into a obsession, he worships him.

Lord Henry: “But you don’t really worship him?”

Basil: “I do.”

Lord Henry: “How extraordinary! I thought you would never care for anything but your painting,—your art, I should say. Art sounds better, doesn’t it?”

Basil: “He is all my art to me. . . “ (The Picture of Dorian Gray, [n.pag])

In a conversation between Basil and Dorian, the former confesses to have more feelings of the latter then is normal between friends. He is totally enchanted by Dorian and even adores the man:

“It is quite true I have worshipped you with far more romance of feeling than a man should ever give to a friend. Somehow I have never loved a woman.[…] Well, from the moment I met you, your personality had the most extraordinary influence over me. I quite admit that I adored you madly, extravagantly, absurdly. I was jealous of everyone to whom you spoke. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I was with you. ”(The Picture of Dorian Gray, [n.pag])

Another intriguing remark is the possiviness that Basil has towards Dorian. The man is his art, muse, friend, lover, and Basil does not want to share him or the painting with anyone else. He is consumed by Dorian and cannot stand the thought of losing him. The conversation follows:

“You would not have understood it; I did not understand it myself. One day I determined to paint a wonderful portrait of you. It was to have been my masterpiece. It is my masterpiece. […] I felt, Dorian, that I had told too much. Then it was that I resolved never to allow the picture to be exhibited. You were a little annoyed; but then you did not realize all that it meant to me.”(The Picture of Dorian Gray, [n.pag])

The second part of Basil’s confession only further emphasises his helplessness. He is unable to understand his very passionate and personal feelings. Whatever drives him more insane is the thought that Dorian never will be able to understand him and his feelings, questioning if Dorian can ever return the love.

Aestheticism is rooted in the 18th century and spread in Western Europe and America during the late 19th century. It revolves around a devotion to art and it represents the significance of beauty compared with other values such as morality and material utility. As Robert Vincent Johnson notes, “aestheticism is not one single phenomenon, but a group of related phenomena, all reflecting a conviction that the enjoyment of beauty can by itself give value and meaning to life”. ‘Aestheticism,’ as Johnson maintained in his book Aestheticism – The Critical Idiom, ‘attempts to separate art from life in order to reduce moral implications. Instead of letting attitudes towards life influence the work of art, art is valued for the immediate aesthetic pleasure it entails’. However, Aestheticism threatened the Victorian respectability and morality by putting an emphasis on sensuous pleasure and a life ideal of beauty.

Oscar Wilde is regarded as one of the leading figures in literary Aestheticism. He was generally viewed as a controversial symbol for Aestheticism, mainly because of his appearance. In his article The Life of Oscar Wilde, Hesketh Pearson argues that Wilde was introduced to the aesthetic principles by his college teachers, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. He kept Patter’s words of philosophy with him everywhere and named them his “Golden book,” because to him they were life changing. Ruskin inspired Wilde to teach others about his aesthetic interests.

Wilde is recognized for writing poems, plays, short stories, criticism and one novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, written during his late career (first published in 1890 and revised in 1891), which concerns the issue of devotion to art. The story involves three main male characters who are seeking beauty in life; Lord Henry, a wise teacher of aesthetic principles, Basil Hallward, an artist, and Dorian Gray, a model learning about aesthetic values. The novel mainly concerns a discussion among these three characters, who are fascinated by each other’s beauty and opinions. The story was fiercely debated regarding whether it is morally repulsive, due to the focus it places on fascination between men, or a work of Aestheticism.

The ambiguity in the interpretation of the novel provoked my interest in exploring the role Aestheticism might have played in it. There are several critical works about Wilde, mainly biographies about his life, focusing on the fame he received for his personality and the way his life ended tragically in prison and misery. Furthermore, he is often mentioned in texts about Aestheticism, since he is one of the most famous symbols of The Movement, but most of these works discuss his other literary contributions.

This essay attempts to examine the principles of Aestheticism in order to investigate whether the novel is written in accordance with aesthetic principles and sets out some powerful arguments to show how the two main characters in the novel resemble Wilde himself, especially when it comes to getting introduced to the Aesthetic philosophy and living a life according to those principles. This essay will also discuss how the story was received by society, how Wilde changed the text, and why he refuted the mainstream ideology of the Victorian era. The writer holds the idea that Wilde uses The Picture of Dorian Gray to show his own interpretations of Aestheticism.

The theoretical approach that is used in this essay is based on the perspectives of New Historicism. ‘In New Historicism it is important to research the author’s life, the author’s social surrounding and how people reasoned during the author’s lifetime and relate that information to the literary work’.

This essay will start by tracing biographical elements in the novel; how two literary works influenced it and how the two main characters actually resemble Wilde himself. It will then pay attention to aesthetic objectives and the aesthetic style, Victorian influences on Aestheticism, as well as explore how the story was received and why Wilde revised the novel.

Oscar Wilde prefaces his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with a reflection on art, the artist, and the utility of both. After careful scrutiny, he concludes: “All art is quite useless”. In this one sentence, Wilde encapsulates the complete principles of the Aesthetic Movement popular in Victorian England. That is to say, real art takes no part in molding the social or moral identities of society, nor should it. Art should be beautiful and pleasure its observer, but to imply further-reaching influence would be a mistake. The explosion of aesthetic philosophy in fin-de-siècle English society, as exemplified by Oscar Wilde, was not confined to merely art, however. Rather, the proponents of this philosophy extended it to life itself. Here, aestheticism advocated whatever behavior was likely to maximize the beauty and happiness in one’s life, in the tradition of hedonism. To the aesthete, the ideal life mimics art; it is beautiful, but quite useless beyond its beauty, concerned only with the individual living it. Influences on others, if existent, are trivial at best. Many have read The Picture of Dorian Gray as a novelized sponsor for just this sort of aesthetic lifestyle. However, this story of the rise and fall of Dorian Gray might instead represent an allegory about morality meant to critique, rather than endorse, the obeying of one’s impulses as thoughtlessly and dutifully as aestheticism dictates.

In the novel, Lord Henry Wotton trumpets the aesthetic philosophy with an elegance and bravado that persuade Dorian to trust in the principles he espouses; the reader is often similarly captivated. It would be a mistake, however, to interpret the novel as a patent recommendation of aestheticism. To the aesthete, there is no distinction between moral and immoral acts, only between those that increase or decrease one’s happiness; yet, Dorian Gray refutes this idea, presenting a strong case for the inherent immorality of purely aesthetic lives. Dorian Gray personifies the aesthetic lifestyle in action, pursuing personal gratification with abandon. Yet, while he enjoys these indulgences, his behavior ultimately kills him and others, and he dies unhappier than ever. Rather than an advocate for pure aestheticism, then, Dorian Gray is a cautionary tale in which Wilde illustrates the dangers of the aesthetic philosophy when not practiced with prudence. Aestheticism, argues Wilde, too often aligns itself with immorality, resulting in a precarious philosophy that must be practiced deliberately.

Dorian Gray is often read as an explicit proclamation of the worthiness of living life in accordance with aesthetic values. This is due in part to the flourishing Aesthetic Movement of Victorian England at the time of the novel’s publication, as well as Oscar Wilde’s association with the movement itself. The Aesthetic Movement, which coincided with the Industrial Revolution at the end of the nineteenth century, emphasized the artistic aspect of a man’s work in producing a variety of goods, from furniture to machines to literature. Oscar Wilde, however, proposed that the principles of the Aesthetic Movement extend beyond the production of mere commodities. In Joseph Pearce’s biography, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, Pearce recalls Wilde’s own perspective on the popular movement. Speaking of aestheticism, Wilde is quoted:

It is indeed to become a part of the people’s life . . . I mean a man who works with his hands; and not with his hands merely, but with his head and his heart. The evil that machinery is doing is not merely in the consequence of its work but in the fact that it makes men themselves machines also. Whereas, we wish them to be artists, that is to say men.

In his exposition of aestheticism, Wilde applies the philosophy in a more universal sense, stressing the positive influences of aestheticism in one’s life beyond mere craftsmanship. Just as the machines that mass-produce materials with the intervention of human thought are labeled “evil,” Wilde similarly condemns men who act as metaphorical machines, programmed to behave in accordance with society’s ideas of propriety rather than allowing themselves to act freely and achieve the greatest amount of happiness. Wilde’s eloquent advocacy of an aesthetic lifestyle is paralleled in his depiction of Lord Henry in Dorian Gray. Lord Henry lectured to the impressionable Dorian, “We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. . . . Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden itself”. Wilde, through Lord Henry, laments the stifling nature of his contemporary Victorian society and how the supposed morality it boasts necessitates self-denial and rejection of life’s most beautiful aspects. Lord Henry warns that without an enthusiastic embrace of aestheticism, one will perpetually anguish with the desire of precisely what he must deny himself, all for the sake of propriety. This philosophy espoused by Wilde and Lord Henry often leads, not surprisingly, to the conclusion that Dorian Gray is a declaration of Wilde’s, promoting the adoption of purely aesthetic lives without qualification. This, however, is too shallow of an interpretation.

Opponents of a purely aesthetic lifestyle will certainly cite what they consider an inevitability: one’s desires and impulses, though when acted upon result in a more pleasurable life, will at times be undeniably immoral. It is at these times that the virtues of the wholly aesthetic life become questionable. The ruination of Dorian Gray, the embodiment of unbridled aestheticism, illustrates the immorality of such a lifestyle and gravely demonstrates its consequences. Wilde uses Dorian Gray not as an advertisement for aestheticism, but rather, he uses Dorian’s life to warn against aestheticism’s hostility toward morality when uncontrolled. Wilde himself admits, in a letter to the St. James’s Gazette, that Dorian Gray “is a story with a moral. And the moral is this: All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment”. Aestheticism does well to condemn the renunciation of desires, but it is an excessive obedience to these desires that is subversively dangerous. Therefore, in the practice of Wilde’s aestheticism, forethought and constraint are necessities, yet too often lacking, and without them, one is doomed to suffer the same fate as Dorian Gray.

The character of Dorian Gray and the story of his profound degeneration provide a case study examining the viability of purely aesthetic lives. Dorian lives according to what Lord Henry professes without hesitation, and what Lord Henry inspires Dorian, through persuasive rhetoric, is an attitude indifferent to consequence and altogether amoral. As Wilde writes, Dorian’s newfound position is “never to accept any theory or system that would involve the sacrifice of any mode of passionate experience. Its aim, indeed was to be experience itself, and not the fruits of experience, sweet or bitter as they may be”. Under Lord Henry’s mentorship, Dorian, once the epitome of wide-eyed youth, behaves with no regard for the ramifications of his actions, diligently pursuing instant gratification without thought of its implications, whether they be “sweet or bitter.”

Dorian’s relationship with the actress Sibyl Vane plainly illustrates this marked change in personality. Dorian pursues Sibyl from first sights, intent on acquiring her before he ever attempts to truly know her. Indeed, Dorian’s love for Sibyl is overtly superficial, as evidenced by Dorian’s own description of his infatuation with Sibyl: “I loved you because you were marvelous, because you had genius and intellect, because you realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art”. Dorian is not attracted to Sibyl’s character of personality, but rather her acting talent and enthralling performances; this is what enchants the aesthetically inclined Dorian. When Sibyl leaves the stage, then, she no longer serves a purpose in Dorian’s aesthetic life, and thus, Dorian abandons her unceremoniously. Dorian does not regret informing Sybil that, “Without your art, you are nothing”. The tragedy of Sybil’s later suicide, brought about by utter despair at her desertion, is lost on Dorian, who instead enjoys the dramatic intrigue of the occasion. For Dorian, whose uncontrolled aestheticism rejects the concept of morality, the immorality of his actions goes unrecognized. In fact, Dorian declares excitedly, “It seems to me to be simply like a wonderful ending to a wonderful play. It has all the terrible beauty of a Greek tragedy, a tragedy in which I took a great part, but by which I have not been wounded”. Here, the adverse consequences of aestheticism surface in Dorian’s life. In his pursuit of his own pleasures, a distinctly narcissistic attitude emerges, and the incompatibility of morality and unconditional aestheticism becomes all the more apparent.

The emergence of narcissism in Dorian and its correlation with his newly adopted aesthetic philosophy is integral to Wilde’s novel as it emphasizes the frequent hostility between aestheticism and morality that Wilde cautions against. Dorian Gray exposes the immorality of self-absorption, as Dorian’s portrait becomes more disfigured with each one of Dorian’s selfish acts. This self-absorption, then, appears to be an inevitable consequence of aestheticism. Only a more deliberate practice of aestheticism may harness this egotism and avoid the immorality Dorian embodies. Interestingly, in his essay “Come See About Me: Enchantment of the Double in The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Christopher Craft recognizes a mirroring of the Greek myth of Narcissus in the life of Dorian Gray. According to mythology, Narcissus, upon catching a glimpse of his reflection in a pool, becomes so enraptured by it that he stood and admired it endlessly, unmoving for the rest of his life. As Craft notes, this self-absorption “is a commitment that, like Dorian’s, graduates fully until death”. Narcissus becomes so infatuated with himself that the rest of world effectively ceases to exist or affect him and, as Craft argues, “it is into precisely this silent delirium that Dorian unwittingly steps” when he allows Lord Henry’s aesthetic philosophy to so dominate him. Dorian enjoys a life of eternal youth, with only his portrait aging in parallel with Dorian’s immorality; so, as Dorian sinks into the depths of narcissism, he maintains his external beauty, and his portrait degenerates instead. Eventually, as in the myth of Narcissus, such egotism has its consequences. When Dorian, disgusted with the decrepit picture of the supposedly “real” him, destroys it in a fit of anger, Dorian too is destroyed. Wilde writes that after Dorian’s death, “it was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was”. In the end, as a testament to the purely aesthetic life, the only legacy Dorian leaves behind—everything that identifies him as who he was—is his superficial jewelry.

There is an argument, then, made by Wilde for a new aestheticism, approached with more constraint than Dorian employs. This argument is based not only in the moral obligation of the individual, but with the betterment of all of society in mind. Matthew Arnold, in his essay “Culture and Anarchy,” provides reasoning against the ethos of Lord Henry’s aestheticism and an unconditional application of it. Arnold focuses on its detrimental effects on society and the possibility for societal improvement when aesthetic tendencies are properly controlled. There appears to be agreement, then, between Wilde and Arnold; Wilde’ novel provides a failed example of the purely aesthetic life, and when scaled to a larger society, a similar result is understandably expected. As Arnold views his contemporary society, it is arranged hierarchically, dividing the aristocrats, the middle-class, and the working-class, all of which, Arnold laments, are inclined to live hedonistically, pursuing pleasure and only what is comfortable and easy. Dorian Gray embodies just his defect in Arnold’s society. Arnold argues, however, that “there are born a certain number of natures with a curiosity about their best self with a bend for seeing things as they are . . . for simply concerning themselves with reason and the will of God, and doing their best to make these prevail;—for the pursuit, in a word, of perfection”. Arnold is optimistic that some may pursue beyond the immediately pleasurable and act to perfect themselves both morally and intellectually. This pursuit of perfection, however, is likely an arduous and uncomfortable task, and is therefore incompatible with pure aestheticism. Some concessions must be made for the absolute aesthete, then, for such transcendence occur.

Dorian Gray, for much of Wilde’s novel, fails to embody Arnold’s ideal, as in his hedonistic life he is seen “creeping at dawn out of dreadful houses and slinking in disguise in the foulest dens in London,” despite being once too honorable for such debauchery. Dorian exemplifies a regression in social intellect from his beginnings rather than the kind of transcendence hoped for by Arnold. Dorian displays no such pursuit of intellectual perfection as he is slowly corrupted and in turn corrupts others, luring them with him into the slums and opium dens of London. Arnold refers to those able to transcend social classes in society as “aliens,” hinting at their rarity to the point of foreignness and to their almost mythical quality. The mere existence of these aliens, however, provides hope that the utter hedonists of society may learn to harness their damaging tendencies, and in doing so, better the intellectual and moral state of humankind.

Wilde, too, recognizes this ability to control the hedonistic temptations associated with aestheticism, as demonstrated by the last stages of Dorian’s life. Mitsuharu Matsuoka, in his essay “Aestheticism and Social Anxiety in The Picture of Dorian Gray,” notes that, as Dorian’s death approaches, “Dorian ultimately reacts against his lifestyle, choking on his New Hedonism,” at which point “a great sense of doom hangs over Dorian” (Matsuoka 78). Indeed, Dorian appears to realize the consequences of his unbridled aestheticism; however, he is much too far gone to salvage. Dorian reveals his epiphany to Lord Henry: “The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us. I know it”. Unfortunately for Dorian, this realization comes too late to save his soul from its degradation, long-nurtured by a purely aesthetic life, and he is destroyed. The realization itself, however, is indicative of Wilde’s argument woven throughout Dorian Gray. Despite Wilde’s publicly advocating the principles of aestheticism, Dorian’s demise illustrates Wilde’s recognition that aestheticism needs to be properly controlled. While the pursuit of beauty and happiness in life is always Wilde’s ideal, he also implies that the consequences of one’s actions must be thought out and the impact of one’s decisions, beyond oneself, must also be carefully considered before acting on any impulse.

The Aesthetic Movement in fin-de-siècle England, as interpreted by Oscar Wilde, revolved around the ideal that the utility of one’s actions should be to create the maximal amount of beauty and pleasure in one’s life, and nothing more. Wilde’s Dorian Gray appears, at first glance, to promote this philosophy unequivocally. Indeed, a lifestyle based on this aestheticism is espoused in Wilde’s opening preface as well as throughout Lord Henry’s professorial lectures. Upon closer inspection, however, Wilde’s novel is not as wholly embracing of aestheticism as this implies. Wilde realized and depicted in the life of Dorian Gray, a need for a more controlled and deliberate approach to aestheticism, without which morality will inevitably be elusive. The adoption of unrestrained aestheticism, as exhibited by Dorian, results in a lack of remorse, self-absorption, and intellectual regression. For the sake of preserving morality, a concept proven incompatible with pure aestheticism, more deliberation is necessary from the aesthete in deciding upon action. If, in the pursuit of one’s desires and of the beautiful aspects of life, the condition of others’ or of one’s own intellect is jeopardized, the enjoyment garnered must sometimes be sacrificed for the greater good. As Wilde makes clear, it is only through a more restrained philosophy that aestheticism and morality may eventually align.

Beauty is accepting and embracing someone unique interior and exterior characteristics. For some people, beauty makes them feel special among their peers. In this case, it is an excellent surprise that Dorian looks are more than he could ever imagine or wish for, and they make him look somehow unique. This feeling brings forth self-selection, which is part of human nature, the same as the feeling of wanting to belong, of being all-knowing about everything, and being willing to fit in amongst friends (Cenk 169). Evident by the people with unique looks, they find it challenging to engage freely in ordinary human life. This feeling leads to exclusion from all forms of socialization and social ethics, for they are led by an aspect of doing either good or immorality in most cases.

In the novel, the theme of salad days is the epicenter of all scenes as witnessed, cutting through all characters, main and minor. Through the beauty of Dorian, the character of Henry is displayed as a give and take or leave it type. He gives out a self-destruction statement to Dorian Gray without offering much guidance and letting him choose his path despite being aware of the route he might take. This statement is evident when he says that he just briefed Dorian about his beauty, and it is upon him to decide what to do with it. Peer pressure takes a path leading him to self-destruction without much ado. However, feeling unique and rare, he would walk head high, seeking a way to fulfill his desire. It is in the bounds of the story where the great saying, “the most beautiful flower is the rarest,” is witnessed. And in this case, the rarest thing takes the wrong turn, for nobody expects it to run off its kindness.

In the novel, the looks of the young Dorian Gray seem to be both strengths and weaknesses of his mentor in art, Basil Hallward. Basil likes the beauty of Dorian’s face, even painting it in a portrait. (Bowser 70) He admires Dorian to the extent of confessing that he cannot work or let a day pass without seeing the beautiful face, or the day will not be a day anymore. It is here when Lord Henry notices Basil’s idol in Dorian’s outstanding beauty and wishes for more of it even if he did it as a secret admirer by not having to play all his cards at a look. Every man has a weak point in his most robust joint, and this is Basil’s weakness. His acceptance is met when he seems to be derailing Lord Henry from getting to close terms with the beautiful prince. But finally, there they are, and Henry tells the young man how handsome he is to pull strings, unleashing the subject of aesthetic beauty and self-destruction. Being moved by his words, Dorian looks at the imposter picture of his looks on Basil’s art, and his face is so pleased to see the most attractive person in his life.

Suddenly, the face of Dorian becomes grey, and his heart is filled with the aggression of regrets that make him feel inadequate to the point of even crying. Despite being happy with his beauty, he was gloomy, for it was just but a passing cloud. Thus, youth and beauty are just like beauty and the beast. They are nothing much but illusion clout clinging to a passing cloud. Lord Henry, therefore slowly tosses his poison into the mind of Dorian, making him hardly find peace and be ruled by youths indulging in sinful thoughts. He has to enjoy his moment before torments commence at an old age, when his face’s slackening, bony jaws, and growing ugly will be the theme in those days (Fry 180). Led by Lord Henry’s advice, the young man lets go of his conscience, and beauty becomes his walking stick.

Over a series of scenarios, youth, beauty, and death are intertwined throughout the novel when the young vulnerable Dorian falls deep in love with one beautiful Sybil on sight (Leonard 123). Sybil is an actress at one of the shows when Dorian sets eyes on her and falls in love with her. After witnessing her martyrdom death while performing her art, and later she miraculously resurrects backstage, Dorian sees her as an immortal. Living forever young and maintaining his cute face has always been his wish. Nevertheless, the worst and most tragic thing was when Sybil took her life days after staging the presentation. Most people think differently about it, but Dorian, obsessed with beauty, thinks that it is the best thing that has ever happened to Sybil. He thinks it is absurd that she is dead, but also, it is one of the best things to ever happen to her. Sybil will forever maintain her beauty in this life and the next.

Sooner after the Sybil incident, Dorian escapes the verge of aging up through the supernatural transformation of the beautiful portrait by Basil. The portrait seems to take his wish that it ages up and he is younger daily. This time his appearance is beyond mortality and filled with happiness without measure. The new hobby of the boy destroyed friendships and got in between lovers (Fry196). After a long time of guilty doings, he starts admiring being ugly and preserving his innocence, something he lost long ago when he took his beauty for a walking stick.

Youth is just but a rose flower in its blossom stage of age. Similar incidences in the modern world are seen when the hottest chicks around make sure that people notice their presence the same as the cute men in the beauty rhyme mix. They all seem to know everything when they jiggle around like walking trophies. Creating a room of temptation for their peers is what they all do as they pile up in a mad competition of who will get the desire they acquire. Nevertheless, the questions of who will be the queen of the famous game of body counts and breaking up love birds’ hearts without mercy start to flow. Killing ever-existing friendships is their drill as they walk themselves down the aisle of Dorian Gray while living a lie, a life Alice in Wonderland, and the tales of Monalisa while painting the picture in tint. They all get wasted with words of regret guiding them down the mysterious hall of fame—the eternal tame of tortured souls with no one to blame.

Most people view beauty as the appealing part of an individual face or even body shape. One can be ugly in the looks of men, yet so beautiful. The beauty that comes from the inside guides us to the light and gives us what we desire. Henry says that the very phrase is meant to build or destroy Dorian Gray in the novel. The expression is clear, so is his path bare to give him less danger to face, for he will always be aware and wear his protective gear. The saying overrules him that he will never get another chance in his life to enjoy his youth and so are the most beautiful people.

Work Cited

Bowser, Rachel A. “Suggesting a Surface: The Picture of Dorian Gray and Suspicious Reading.” Studies in the Novel, vol. 54, no. 1, 2022, pp. 65–79, 10.1353/sdn.2022.0003.

Fry, Katie. “Extrahuman Transcendence in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Fictional Worlds and Philosophical Reflection. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2022. 175-197.

Cenk, T. A. N. “A Hegelian Dialectic Reading of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Trakya Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 12.23: 169-187.

British Victorian Era writer Oscar Wilde’s book ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ has the distinction of being the only novel ever written by its author. The predominant theme running through the novel is that there is a deep-rooted evil prevalent in mankind. Dorian Gray, around whom the story revolves, is initially a compassionate and morally upright man. As the events in the novel unfold, he gradually develops into an evil, wicked and merciless man who feels no guilt or regret for any of his wrongdoings. He succumbs more and more to the influence of evil that leads to his ultimate tragic end.

The development of Dorian Gray’s character is an excellent elucidation of how evil in humans can surface, fester and get out of control if left unfettered. At the outset, Dorian is the model of perfection of male youth and handsomeness. The innate evil in him is initially provoked by Lord Henry Wotton, a rich man with a venomous tongue. Wotton, is enthralled by the “full-length portrait of a young man [Dorian] of extraordinary personal beauty” (Wilde: 2) as painted by Basil Hallward, and befriends the young man.

He praises Dorian’s handsome physique but snidely remarks that it is just caused by youth that is not an everlasting part of life – it would soon end and the person would change and become ugly and disfigured with age {“Youth! Youth! There is absolutely nothing in the world but youth!” (Wilde: 26)}. Dorian is totally taken in by Wotton’s glib flattery along with his fascinating theories, and begins developing a paranoia about youth, fervently wishing {“I would give my soul for that” (Wilde: 29)} that his portrait would take his place in real life, and wither with the vagaries of age while Dorian’s physique does not undergo any change.

Dorian’s spiral downward into the abyss of evil begins with his rude rejection of his lady love Sibyl Vane whom he earlier professed to have loved. Sibyl takes his rejection very badly. She feels that her whole world has caved in and that she has got nothing to live for. Fatally heartbroken, she commits suicide. Dorian’s response upon hearing the news is to callously admit his role in the tragedy but dismiss it as unimportant, talking instead about nature and surroundings (“Yet the roses are not less lovely for all that [Sibyl’s death]” (Wilde: 111)}.

As time passes, Dorian’s wrongdoings grow worse. He starts robbing jewelry and gets involved with the cream of top society as well as the morally degraded robbers and ruffians at street level. Dorian then commits his worst sin by killing of Basil Hallward, the innocent man who was always ready to help him. Basil’s killing signals the start of Dorian’s last lap in life. Unable to shake off his guilt at killing his best friend, Dorian tries to destroy his conscience as symbolized by his portrait, but ends up kills himself in the process. He is found “withered, wrinkled and loathsome of visage, lying on the floor in evening dress with a knife in his heart,” while his portrait has miraculously returned to its original state, a “splendid portrait” of their master as witnessed by Dorian’s awed servants (Wilde: 254)

Lord Henry Wotton is motivated by desire for sensual pleasures, a man full of “wrong, fascinating, poisonous, delightful theories” (Wilde: 87). His theories are radical and designed to shock and deliberately try to degrade traditional notions of truth . Basil has deep affection for Dorian and tries his best to dissuade him from getting too deeply involved with the weird theories and influence of Wotton. Basil’s affection for Dorian, like Sybil’s love for the misguided man, turn out to be ruinous to them both.

In the end, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ does well to highlight the evil present in human beings. The only barricade that prevents evil have a domineering influence over mankind is the specter of negatives results that humans believe will ensue; this possibility acts as an effective deterrent against evil controlling human life and behavior. Wilde himself wistfully identifies himself with the three main characters: “Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry what the world thinks of me; Dorian what I would like to be – in other ages, perhaps” (Wilde: Back Matter).

The novel exemplifies Wilde’s outstanding ability to inject a mixture of fantasy and realism into his writing. He displays his excellent mastery of morbidity by depicting fascinating scenes such as “He [Dorian] rushed at him [Basil], and dug the knife into the great vein that is behind his ear, crushing the man’s head on the table, and stabbing again and again” (Wilde: 179), and Basil’s lifeblood dropping “drip, drip on the threadbare carpet” (Wilde: 180), that provide a clear and chilling picture to his readers. Another characteristic of his writing is his preference of dialogue over real action.

The characters in the novel interact with each other more by word of mouth while action events are relatively few . A third characteristic of Wilde’s writing style is his penchant to use paradoxes. Henry Wotton , Dorian and Basil frequently exchange paradoxes throughout the novel.

Reference

Wilde, Oscar. “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” USA: Modern Library. 1998.

The issue of immortality as portrayed in the novel ‘The Portrait of Dorian Gray’ is one of the main themes, which the novel unveils throughout its plot. In this novel, the writer tries to bring out the issue of immortality in which various happenings seem to portray an aspect of immorality; as various events unfold from one scenario to another (Kohl, 1989: 138-145).

One situation where immortality is well reflected is when Lord Henry tells Dorian to seek to preserve her beauty and seek pleasurable activities. Dorian on learning this seems to think his beauty is ‘long-lasting’; thus his portrait that Basil was painting seemed to be the one which was mortal on his behalf (Gillespie, 1995: 24-54).

This character of Dorian expressing both good outward appearance and bad inner self is shown when Lord Henry says, “Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders… I should fancy that crime was to them as art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary sensations” on explaining the character of Dorian. As Dorian sins refusing Sybil’s hand in love affairs; compelling her not to stop acting, he notices she is not interested anymore in the art of acting. Sybil’s act of showing Dorian true love and not interested in acting anymore reveals the immortality of love in Sybil for Dorian, but not the pretended love in acting (Kohl, 1989: 138-145).

The portrait of Dorian is unveiling the untold immortality in it; when Dorian is killed by James and his portrait left lying by his side showing his beauty yet, he as the living had died. Further, it is ironic that Dorian previously was referring to his image as mortal while he was describing himself as the mortal one. This novel ends up by showing how the mortal beauty can still be preserved in portraits while our human body can never be immortal; as shown by the killing of Dorian by James, Sybil’s brother (Gillespie, 1995: 24-54).

The separation of the body from the character is well explicated by Dorian who to a great extent is very handsome physically, but his character does not reflect his physical appearance. As Dorian’s body is very beautiful his personality on the other hand is portrayed as quite daring, and this is shown when he kills Basil just because he focused on the sneering of his portrait once he sins. The portrait of Dorian is showing the shadow of Dorian’s beauty; which is the controversy with Dorian’s personality (Kohl, 1989: 138-145).

For instance, as it happens to Sybil who falls deeply in love with Dorian explains how she was easily carried away by Dorian’s beauty; when she explains of him as ‘the charming Prince’. He falls in love with Dorian so deeply that she even extends to leave her career of acting to show her real love to Dorian, instead of the pretended love she showed in acting. This to a great extent shows the immortality of the love in Sybil for Dorian; which she finds it hard to mix with the temporary and pretended love in her acting (Gillespie, 1995: 24-54).

Generally, the theme of immortality as it is revealed throughout the plot of the book seems to constitute the writer’s main focus on writing this novel. To a great extent, the author succeeds to bring into focus the issue of symbolism and how various happenings or objects reflect immortality in this book to a greater insight of the book.

Works cited

Gillespie, Michael. “The Picture of Dorian Gray: What the World Thinks Me.” Twayne: Twayne Publishers, 1995: 24-54.

Kohl, Norbert. “Oscar Wilde: The Works of a Conformist Rebel.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1989: 138-145.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde tells a story of a young man’s moral downfall at the end of the 19^th century. The eponymous protagonist poses as a model for his friend Basil, a talented painter. While doing so, Dorian meets Lord Henry, a selfish aristocrat who lives for the sensual pleasures of every kind, and immediately introduces Dorian to his worldview. Once the portrait is finished, Dorian wishes to always be as beautiful as the painted image so that the portrait would grow old, ugly, and decrepit instead of him. Inexplicably, his wish comes true: any vice Dorian engages in only affects the portrait, but his youthful beauty remains untarnished forever. Influenced by Lord Henry, Dorian pursues the latter’s hedonistic lifestyle. He hurts those around him, parting with Sybil, the actress he claimed to love because she ceased to entertain him, and killing Basil once he learns the truth about the portrait. In the end, Dorian lashes out at the portrait that becomes unbearably ugly and offends his narcissist sensibilities – only to kill himself and return the painting to its original beauty.

The story of Dorian’s moral degradation, mirrored by the ghastly changes of his portrait, still leaves a question of causality open. The protagonist’s downfall is evident, yet an inquiring reader will wonder what the primary reason behind it was. Answering this question requires analyzing how Dorian interacts with other people – in the course of the novel, including such essential characters as Basil, Lord Henry, Sybil – and the eponymous portrait itself. When completed, this analysis reveals that, ultimately, Dorian has no one to blame for but himself, however tempting it might be to assign the guilt to an outside party. From the very beginning, Dorian is a narcissist who takes Basil’s adoration for granted, is ready to accept Lord Henry’s teachings, and only likes Sybil insofar as she serves his craving for variety.

Since Basil is the one to introduce the audience to Dorian by describing him in detail, it is only natural to start the assessment of Dorian’s relationships with other characters wit. Technically, the relationship between Basil and Dorian likely qualifies as friendship – in Chapter 1, he even directly states that they “became friends at once” (Wilde). However, the text soon reveals that there is much more than an ordinary friendship between the two – at least as far as Basil is concerned. The painter confesses that he wants to see Dorian every day and even states that the latter “is absolutely necessary” to him (Wilde). Moreover, Basil says: “He is all my art to me now,” thus equating his dedication to art and his infatuation with Dorian. This – almost religious – dedication exceeds friendship – rather, it is an obsession, plain and simple. Basil perceives Dorian as an epitome of everything beautiful and fair – of all things that he, as a painter, feels an obligation to depict and preserve for eternity.

Analyzing the relationship between Dorian and Basil as a kind of artistic obsession is one avenue of approach, but there are also rather evident homosexual subtests in it. Admittedly, nothing in the text directly suggests any sort of sexual tension between them – quite on the contrary, Basil invokes the “ideal of male love as a friendship that is intellectually and spiritually productive” (Grech 160). However, numerous details hint at Basil’s rather homoerotic perception of his supposed friend. When saying the latter’s name for the first time in the entire novel – “Dorian Gray’s good looks” – Basil immediately links it to the idea of physical beauty (Wilde). Moreover, the activity these two engage in as a painter and a model is also suggestive in its own right. It requires Basil to appreciate Dorian’s appearance and Dorian – to stay still and be perceived as an aesthetic object. There is no question that Dorian’s physical beauty has a tremendous effect on Basil, and while the two never demonstrate anything resembling a romantic relationship, there is an evident homoerotic subtext to Basil’s infatuation.

Regardless of whether one prefers to interpret the connection between Dorian and Basil as an artist’s obsession or an enamored man’s homosexual attachment, it definitely impacts the protagonist. After the portrait is finished, Dorian suddenly spans angrily at the painter, claiming that he is no more to Dorian than a bonze figurine (Wilde). It already happens after Dorian’s first conversation with Lord Henry, and one might suggest that it is an early result of the wicked aristocrat’s bad influence. Even the text seems to suggest this: Basil thinks to himself that it is “so unlike Dorian to speak like that” (Wilde). However, by Basil’s own acknowledgment, Dorian had a tendency to be “terribly thoughtless” about other people’s feelings even before meeting Lord Henry (Wilde). It may well be connected to the painter’s admitted tendency to flatter Dorian excessively – which, the young man appears to have perceived as his just due. Thus, the relationship between Basil and Dorian, whether artistic, implicitly homosexual, or both, demonstrates that Dorian was a narcissist capable of cruelly disregarding other people’s feelings even prior to meeting Lord Henry.

That being said, Lord Henry is still one of the central characters in the novel and, perhaps, the most significant influence on Dorian through the entirety of its plot. It is hard to categorize the relationship between these two as friendship, love, or even obsession with either beauty of innocence. Rather, the hedonistic aristocrat poses as a self-proclaimed mentor for Dorian and aims to shape the young man in his image. The very first time Lord Henry encounters Dorian, he immediately begins to preach his hedonistic creed: “the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it” (Wilde). The fact that some of the more exquisite pleasures are frowned upon, if not outright forbidden, by society, does not mean much to Lord Henry: he even refers to these social restrictions as “monstrous laws” (Wilde). This drive to pursue sexual pleasures, regardless of any “discrepancy with social regulation and social expectation,” is what the cynical aristocrat is trying to teach Dorian (Jiansheng, p. 52). Since Dorian indeed spends the greater part of the novel pursuing and satisfying his desires, Lord Henry appears to be a successful mentor.

Just as with Basil, only one interpretation of the relationship between Dorian and Lord Henry would not suffice – and, just as Basil, Lord Henry poses as an artist perceiving Dorian as an aesthetic object. Apart from being a corrupting mentor, the satiated aristocrat seems to fancy himself creator making art pieces of art of other people’s souls and lives. Lord Henry expresses his desire to meet Dorian soon after Basil says: “He is all my art to me now,” thus awakening the aristocrat’s own artistic interest (Wilde). Later, he likens talking to Dorian to “playing upon an exquisite violin,” further solidifying the latter’s role as an art object (Wilde). Finally, when Dorian has an existential crisis and decides to change for the better, Lord Henry’s reaction is rather telling: “You are quite perfect. Pray, don’t change” (Wilde). Viewing the Dorian as his masterpiece – and a perfect one at that – Lord Henry is infuriated by the latter’s decision to change without his consent. Hence, the corrupted aristocrat has twofold power over Dorian: first as a mentor over his student, and then as an artist over his creation.

Yet the extent of this power deserves due consideration, as it appears that Lord Henry only controls Dorian because the young man wants and allows him to. Admittedly, at first sight, the aristocrat’s control over Dorian may seem absolute: he corrupts him with a single short speech as if his words have magical power. As Stern rightfully noted, Lord Henry’s effect on Dorian’s personality indeed appears to the reader as “immediate and direct” (p. 759). However, there is a clear indication that corruption occurs only because Dorian is already willing to accept the change. Upon hearing Lord Henry’s preaching, Dorian admits to himself that they “seemed… to have come really from himself” and touched something deep within him (Wilde). This willingness to live solely for one’s pleasures is already within Dorian and ready to spring to life – Lord Henry is not the one to put it there. As innocent and pure as he appears to Basil, deep down, Dorian is already prepared to fall down morally, and his mentor only succeeds in corrupting him because he finds a willing apprentice.

Dorian’s relationship with Sibyl, the only woman he actually claims to love in the entire novel, also contributes to the idea that he is mainly responsible for his own downfall. When he meets Sibyl, he is enamored wit only with her beauty and feminine grace but, first and foremost, with her acting abilities. He explicitly enjoys having seen her “in every age and in every costume,” suggesting it is Sibyl’s ability to assume many faces that attracts him (Wilde). However, the actress falls so deeply in love with him that, instead of performing her roles consciously, she is now “merely acting out her own personality” (Li, p. 565). Disappointed beyond measure by Sibyl’s loss of acting ability, Dorian breaks up with her, and the ensuing despair drives her to suicide.

The story of this relationship illustrates that Dorian is already corrupt even before he openly adopts Lord Henry’s lifestyle. When he proclaims Sibyl is the love of his life, Lord Henry criticizes those who cling to one romantic interest for “their lack of imagination” (Wilde). According to him, one should never limit oneself to a single partner when there is more to be had. Dorian is initially angered that his mentor perceived him as unfaithful. However, his subsequent breakup with Sibyl reveals that he valued her ability to act out different personalities rather than the one true Sybil behind them all. It is her “flowing among multiple identities” that satisfies Dorian’s desires, and once she is not acting anymore and stays faithful to her own personality, she is of no more interest to her love (Zhang, p. 378). Thus, even as Dorian indignantly rejects Lord Henry’s ideas of romantic unfaithfulness, he already acts in full accordance with them. By desiring varied sensual experiences provided by different women rather than a steady union with just one, Dorian shows that he lived the creedof Lord Henry even before openly succumbing to him.

There is no apparent causality between Dorian’s interactions with his portrait and the character’s moral downfall – the portrait is the means of falling rather than the reason behind it. Still, the portrait as a narrative tool already establishes Dorian’s narcissist preoccupation with himself. When seeing Basil’s completed work for the first time, Dorian is overcome with bitter sadness at the idea that he will once lose his beauty and youth. He exclaims: “How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young” (Wilde). This rumination leads him to the idea that having the portrait aging and becoming ugly instead of himself would be great. Dorian is unable to see neither the value of the painting as an object of art nor the admiration Basil has poured into it. He remains blind to anything that is not him and his beauty and only perceives a marvelous piece of art as a tool to further his interests.

This approach applies to the people as well, as Dorian’s inherently hedonistic sensibilities prompt him to value other people only insofar as they are conducing to his pleasure. Once again, the portrait reveals Dorian’s true attitude to those around him and his eerie indifference to their suffering unless removing it may make himself better. After breaking Sibyl’s heart and returning home, Dorian eventually decides to reconcile with the girl and make her happy. However, the only reason why he does this is seeing “a touch of cruelty” on the lips of his once-perfect portrait, which he wants to remove by setting things right (Wilde). Closer to the end of the novel, Dorian resolves to lead a virtuous life – but only to “expel every sign of evil passion” from the portrait, as it has become too unbearable to look at (Wilde). Even when Dorian decides to do something good, whether in the beginning or at the end of his journey, it is only to make himself feel better and satisfy his narcissist self-perception.

As one can see, there are multiple parties involved in Dorian’s moral downfall, but, ultimately, he is the one responsible for his degradation. Dorian’s relationship with Basil reveals that he already perceived flattery as his just due and could be utterly indifferent to the suffering of the others, even without anyone’s corrupting influence. The protagonist’s interactions with Lord Henry strengthen this assumption even further. Although the latter influence him as a mentor and, in a sense, creator, this influence only happens because Dorian is ready to accept it. Even the brief relationship with Sibylshowss that Dorian adheres to Lord Henry’s hedonistic values even before openly acknowledging them. Lastly, the character’s interactions with the eponymous portrait reveal that he only attempts to do good things to promote his narcissist sense of self-worth. Considering this, one may safely assume that Dorian Gray already bore his own destruction within his soul before the events of the book.

References

1. Grech, Leanne. Oscar Wilde’s Aesthetic Education: The Oxford Classical Curriculum. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
2. Jiansheng, Yan. “Art Regression: On Unconsciousness Trend of The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Canadian Social Science, vol. 13, no. 5, 2017, pp. 50-53.
3. Li, Hao. “Vision and Self-Consciousness in The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Canadian Review of Comparative Literature, vol. 44., no. 3, 2017, pp. 565-578.
4. Stern, Simon. “Wilde’s Obscenity Effect: Influence and Immorality in The Picture of Dorian Gray.” The Review of English Studies, New Series, vol. 68, no. 286, 2017, pp. 756–772.
5. Wilde, Oscar. “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Project Gutenberg. Web.
6. Zhang, Yan. “From Self-Identification to Self-Destruction –A Mirror Image Interpretation of Dorian Gray’s Psychic Transformation.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research, vol. 7, no. 2, 2016, pp. 377-381

Introduction

Canonical literature is writing that influences people decision, way of life and behavior. The writing does not age and can stand test of time. In most cases canonical literature is preserved to show how an old writing can be perfectly related to modern life and time. Not all writingscan be considered as canonical. Outstanding writing may have a place in the canon. Such writings should show values that are related to real or human experiences and thoughts towards decisions and also engagement.(Daniel and Wild,2009).

Canonical writing should also reveal people and what they can actually do. People can adapt evil or good traits depending on their adaptation and understanding. Perception is a vital factor, as a deep thought can be translated differently in such writing. Cultural beliefs play a great role in canonical writing.

Social classes are a constant factor. Like in the modern or real world, people are divided into many groups that define the line of separation. (Joseph, 2008), this can be based on money one has acquired, the education or talent in a certain field. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a canonical literature because it matches the above explanation in many ways.

Compatibility of the picture of Dorian grey with canonical literature

Values

Canonical values are evident in The Picture of Dorian grey. Throughout the novel, there is little or no sense or evidence of old crafts or behaviorsthat cannot be seen in the current life. People act and live exactly as people do today. The novel was written over a hundred years ago, yet it still displays current human behavior and thoughts.(Wild and Moira,2005).

Dorian Grey falls in love with a beautiful woman. Later this love turns sour. For the rest of his life, he cannot find true love and becomes marred with guilt and other ill behaviors. This setting can be considered to be normal, and it is what can ordinarily happen in life. People with special education, such as chemists, for example, are sought for. Dorian needs help of a chemist to dissolve a body. In the current life, chemists have a certain education and can therefore carry out specific tasks.(Wild,2007).

Attitude

The attitudes reflected in canonical literature can be found in The Picture of Dorian Grey. Guilt and moral responsibility is highly evident in the novel. The attitudes in canonical literature show that people react or respond to life situations is the same way. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian is a handsome man and wants to maintain that image. People do not like wearing out or having a wrinkled face.

It may represent sadness or lack of vigor in life. Joy and contempt is a pursuit of many people. Dorian wants to remain young and attractive for a very long time. Frustrations are also evident throughout the novel. When Dorian damps his lover because she cannot act any more she commits suicide. People react to frustration in different ways and levels.(Michael,1995).

People believe in revenge and karma. Dorian wants to kill anybody who is out to expose his real personality. An angry brother of his dead lover, Sibyl, wants to kill him because he broke heart of his sister.Dorian shows that he fears for his life when he takes off. Towards the end of the novel, Dorian stabs his portrait only to have himself killed and with an old body. The renewal of the portrait clearly shows the aspect of karma.(Stanley,2000).

Culture

Cultural beliefs and obligations are also evident in the novel and can be compared to the modern times. A belief in leadership is in existence. Strong and wealthy individuals influence major decisions of the land. Dorian’s close friend is a lord. He is powerful and influential.(Shantaram,1981).

People do respect and value life in the novelThe Picture of Dorian Gray. When Sibyl commits suicide after being heartbroken, her brother is angry. Dorian is also indulged in many other vices. People who recognize him want him to be punished.(Anon,1978).

Conclusion

The Picture of Dorian Gray is an exemplary piece of literature as the characters themes and plot clearly depict things that can influence modern culture and contemporary way of life. From the explanations above, each aspect or lesson showed in the novel is significant to human needs, reactions and perspectives. This makes the culture of the current world (David,2005).

Social setting of relationships and frustrations are major. Dorian falls in love with Sibyl and later on dumps her. People nowadays fall in love for a short time and break up due to a small misunderstanding or unimportantreason. They later regret their decisions. Revenge is common place for today’s way of life. People find satisfaction by pursuing equality in evil or good. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, James wants to kill Dorian because his sister was dead.

Respect for law and leadership in Dorian Grey is now evident in modern culture. The powerful people in the society are feared and influence major decisions. Dorian’s close friend Lord Fermor is influential. In the current culture, people listen to powerful people and follow their decisions as well. (Longxi,2005).

The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the many literatures that have shaped western people’s thoughts and perceptions to come up with a certain common culture.

References

Anon, (1978).The Dalhousie review, Vol. 58. the University of California: The Review Publishing Co.

Daniel, C. & Wild, O. (2009).The picture of Dorian Gray, New York, NY, ADBO.

David, J. (2005).The popular & the canonical: debating twentieth-century literature 1940-2000. London: Routledge.

Stanley P. B. (2000).Cliffs notes on Wilde’s The picture of Dorian Gray. New Jersey: Wiley.

Shantaram, B. D. (1981).Jaina canonical literature: an appraisal Dept. of Jainology and Prakrits. Mysore: University of Mysore.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the most brilliant works as it touches upon really important issues: beauty, sin, love, art, virtue. There are numerous questions to address. One of the most interesting questions is concerned with love. Some may claim that his first and true love is Sibyl Vane. However, I argue that he does not love the poor girl. So, can Dorian’s feelings to Sibyl Vane be regarded as love to a woman? Is Sibyl Vane Dorian’s True Love?

When reading the first passages concerning the poor actress and Dorian’s fascination, it may really seem that the young man falls in love with the beautiful girl. Dorian assures his friend Lord Henry that he really loves Sibyl (Wilde 51). These words make the reader think of the great and pure love of the two young and beautiful creatures. However, it is soon clear that Dorian has no feelings to the girl. He is fascinated by her talent. He loves her inspiration and her devotion to art. The young man is fascinated by a dream, not a girl.

When the girl loses her ability to act, Dorian is disappointed. He is cruel and impatient. He confesses (to himself rather than to Sibyl) that he loved her because she had “genius and intellect”, because she “realised the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art” (Wilde 85). It turns out that the only pure love Dorian experiences is love to art, not to a woman.

Therefore, the answer to the question cannot be so definite. Obviously, Dorian does not love the girl. However, he does love Sibyl Vane who is a kind of symbol of greatness of art. Dorian loves the image he creates. He falls in love with his own Sibyl Vane. Thus, Dorian does love Sibyl Vane, but this woman has nothing to do with the material world. This is the symbol of beauty and greatness of art.

I think this is one of the central ideas of the book. In this way Wilde reveals his own views concerning art. Admittedly, Wilde was one of the greatest figures of the movement of aestheticism. The author worshiped art and beauty. This can be vividly seen in the book. Thus, the author reveals his idea that the beauty of a woman is something that passes soon. However, only art is immortal. Dorian is deprived of the ability to love a woman. He can only truly appreciate art and beauty (his own youth and beauty).

I believe art should reflect reality, not vice versa. However, Wilde as well as his creation (Dorian) lived in a somewhat distorted world. Thus, Dorian tries to create an ideal world to live in. He is not interested in real feelings and real happiness. He seeks for phantoms created by the world of art. These ideas corrupt the young man who becomes an evil creature incapable of love or any affection.

Dorian falls in love with a dream and, at the same time, he destroys the beautiful world around him. Did Dorian love Sibyl Vane? The answer is positive. However, this love has nothing to do with material world as Dorian creates his own Sibyl Vane and falls in love with his ideal in his ideal world of beauty and art.

Works Cited

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray, New York: Penguin Classics, 2003. Print.

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 youth’s 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 Gray’s 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.