“Because you have the most marvellous youth, and youth is the one thing worth having” (Wilde 29). This sentence became the root that sets in the mind of Dorian Gray which in turn instils the fear of aging.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde first published in July 1890 on the magazine of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine and immediately caused an uproar due to its perceived allusion to homosexuality as it was an assault on the repressive Victorian Era during that time.
Many of the literature works that we assume as successful in fact deal with more than only one subtext. Freud believed that personality has three structure; the id, the ego and the superego (McLeod). And this Freudian theory is reflected on Wilde’s successful novel of The
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Epicurus (342270 B.C.E.), a Greek philosopher active during the Hellenistic period, had a defining influence on those identified as Aesthetes and Decadents (Konstan) . The movement has its roots in the Romantic period and the Pre-Raphaelites and spread in Western Europe and America during the late 19th century. According to Johnson, “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” (10). Aestheticism attempts to separate art from life in order to reduce moral implications. Art should be beautiful and pleasure its observer, but to imply further reaching influence would be a mistake. The explosion of aesthetic philosophy in English society, as exemplified by Wilde, was not confined to merely art, however. Rather, the principles of this philosophy extended it to life itself. 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 as a promoter for just this sort of aesthetic lifestyle. However, the story of the rise and fall of Dorian might instead embody an allegory about morality meant to critique, rather than endorse the obeying of one’s impulses as thoughtlessly and dutifully as aestheticism
The term “gothic” comes from the name of the Germanic tribes “the Goths”, who were seen as barbarians, uncivilized, savage human beings. Later, the term was used to describe an architectural style that appeared in the Twelfth Century in Western Europe , and also to illustrate a new type of novel issued in Romanticism, in the second part of the Eighteenth Century.
...s to live and experience as much as you can in the short time you are allotted. He shows how art can help an individual experience moments of exhilaration, but he also warns that one should connect to the innate beauty of art rather than impose their own morality into art. Though Dorian Gray fails to separate his own morality from art he is the character that most accurately illustrates Pater’s philosophy. Henry does illustrate the ideals of Pater’s philosophy through his dialogue, but the reader must not ignore Basil’s firm belief against Henry’s dedication to the words that he preaches. As Dorian embodies the ideals of Pater he also shows the dangerous side of Pater’s philosophy. Pater’s philosophy is not naturally corrupt, but when Dorian chooses to ignore morality through the murder of Basil he shows the wicked extremes to which Pater’s philosophy can be taken.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Patrick Gillespie, Editor. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007.
Have you ever heard the saying, "If looks could kill"? Well, they can. Oscar Wilde reveals how looks can be charming, deceitful and even deadly.
Obsession in its nature is toxic; it turns people into gods, and leaves no room for their actual selves. Celebrities are the idols of the modern world, where ever they go, a fan follows them dying to get their attention. Dorian Gray, who was loved by nearly all of London for his charm and beauty, who’s biggest fan, Basil, worship of him lead to bitterness. The theme of obsession in The Picture of Dorian Gray is seen through both those who worship Dorian Gray, and the portrait, which is the object of Dorian's obsession. Although Wilde displays obsession through Basil's worship of Dorian, and even Dorian's obsession with himself and his youth, the modern day celebrity is a parallel to Dorian, who is worshipped by many at first for their beauty, wealth or fame, but the nature of the worship eventually leads to chaos.
...This essay discusses enough of The Picture of Dorian Gray to explain how floral imagery impacted the novel’s meaning. The use of floral imagery and symbolism has earned Wilde a place as one of the greatest and most influential writers of all time.
Dorian Gray is a grand Gothic experiment from the moment in Basil Hallward’s studio when he desperately swears that he “would give [his] soul” if only he “was to be always young, and the picture … was to grow old” in his stead (Wilde 28). Even before this moment, Dorian was a test subject of Lord Henry’s, who wanted to see how many of his own ideas he could inject into the boy. This influence rapidly planted in Dorian the ideas of eternal youth and beauty and led to the encasement of his soul in the portrait. After the switch, Dorian not only is under Lord Henry’s influence, but he is also Oscar Wilde’s subject. In his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde manipulates Dorian, his surroundings, and his circumstances to capture a realistic portrayal of the character’s downfall by depicting the nature of the body, mind, and soul, and the relationship they share.
Innocence may be easily corrupted by a malignant outside influence. The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray shows that corruption and bad influence may be easy to pursue. Author Oscar Wilde attempts to highlight that corruption may not come in the form of materials, but also in the forms of friends, society, etc. Dorian’s youth is easily corrupted by the influence of not only Lord Henry but also by the society and the substances which he chooses to use and abuse now and then. The corruption takes a toll on Dorian’s behavior significantly, and the readers notice that it ultimately leads to his demise. In this novel, we see the corruption of Dorian’s unscathed innocence and his beauty by various outside sources.
Oscar Wilde`s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is written primarily out of the aesthetic movement of the Nineteenth Century. Therefore, the text contains a profuse amount of imagery which reflects the concepts of beauty and sensory experiences. By taking the aesthetic approach, Wilde was able to revive the gothic style through grotesque imagery of the portrait and the character whose soul it represents. Wilde is not using gothic elements to shock his audiences; rather he uses the gothic to capture the hideousness of Gray`s corruptness which leaks out of the painting and into the tone of the entire text.
When Dorian Gray first meets Lord Henry at the studio of artist Basil Hallward, he is fascinated with Lord Henry’s wit and the radical social doctrines that he advocates. Dorian is easily molded and falls for the argument he hears. According to Lord Henry the goal of new hedonism, “to realize one’s nature perfectly…to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream” (198-199). As far as philosophies go this seems rather innocuous until Lord Henry goes on to clarify that, “every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us…the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing” (199). Lord Henry’s advice entices the malleable Dorian, who does not seem to realize that Lord Henry may advocate giving in to every impulse, even the destructive ones, but he does not follow this advice himself. As Basil Hallward informs Lord Henry, “you never say a moral thing, and you never do a wrong thing. Your cynicism is simply a pose” (188). Dorian, however, takes Lord Henry’s advice concerning new hedonism at face value and the results are disastrous.
Aestheticism was a popular dogma in the late 1800s that centered on the belief that art should exist for beauty alone. This doctrine is defined as an “exaggerated devotion to art, music, or poetry, with indifference to practical matters” and “the acceptance of artistic beauty and taste as a fundamental standard, ethical and other standards being secondary” (“Aestheticism,” def. 1 and 2. In Oscar Wilde’s sole novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, aestheticism was a fashionable belief accepted by society at the time. Oscar Wilde uses the moral deterioration and ultimate destruction of Dorian Gray in The Picture of Dorian Gray to emphasize the negative effects of society’s preoccupation with aesthetics and offer a moral for the reader. In this novel, Oscar Wilde displays Dorian’s moral corrosion negatively in order to convince his audience of the detrimental effects of aestheticism.
This idea of Aestheticism transformed the people of 19th century Europe. The Picture of Dorian Gray was written in 1890, during the height of the Aesthetic movement. This practice and lifestyle demonstrates the values of English society at the time. They were very concerned with self-image, and self-gratification. This lifestyle corrupted many people’s attitudes towards themselves and others. The values of European Society during the late 19th century were very focused on vanity. PROVE THIS WITH QUOTE. This explains the vain an...
In Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty is depicted as the driving force in the lives of the three main characters, Dorian, Basil and Lord Henry. Dorian, the main character, believes in seizing the day. Basil, the artist, admires all that is beautiful in life. Lord Henry, accredited ones physical appearance to the ability of achieving accomplishments in life. Beauty ordains the fate of Dorian, Basil, and Lord Henry. The novel embodies the relationship of beauty and morality. Beauty is not based on how attractive an object is to everyone, but how attractive it is to one.
He attempted to make a submission for the Chancellor’s Essay, but was not able to write to his standards. This was very unusual for him due to his background in writing and ancient literature. It was because of this that he began travelling around England, France, and the United States to give lectures and learn as much as he could about writing. Throughout all of this, he was publishing poems in magazines, which were eventually put into one book that was received well by the public. This inspired a new confidence in Wilde, which made him want to write as much as he could. He began writing shorter fictions, including The Happy Prince and Other Tales and Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime and Other Stories. More and more stories were published and adored by the public. He became critically acclaimed as his works became more and more popular. In 1890, The Picture of Dorian Gray was published as a story in a magazine, but was heavily criticised for its decadence, which Wilde still followed due to his beliefs in Aestheticism. He responded harshly, saying that they were just misinterpreting the novel. He says, “...those who have artistic instincts will see its beauty and those to whom ethics appeal more strongly will see its moral lesson.” To him, the story perfectly encapsulated the aesthetic movement. Despite this, he heavily revised the book to appeal more to the critics before it was published
He also blames all the misery of his life on the hideous painting of him (152). Dorian's hatred towards the two pieces of art mirror how Victorian society looks upon art created by people like Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde's plays, essays and other works of art are looked upon poorly by some in the Victorian era as his work was considered by some to be corrupt. Oscar Wilde, however, uses the book The Picture of Dorian Gray to subtly counter these points. “All art at once” surface and symbol.