Dorian Gray

The Importance and Centrality of Beauty as shown in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or is it? Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray deeply expresses its thoughts on the importance of outward beauty in both its characters and descriptions of the environment. The importance of beauty is a very integral part of the novel in both scenery and character development. Dorian’s constant inner conflict between him and the portrait and how it ultimately leads to his death. Lord Henry and his first interaction with Dorian that leads the younger boy to alter his own vision of beauty and become selfish in the way he views beauty. Lastly, how Dorian begins to desire ugliness and sin by participating in what

He eventually meets the new sitter, Dorian Gray. After a while, Lord Henry and Dorian talk in private. During their conversation, Lord Henry says:
And beauty is a form of genius-is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It is of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or spring-time, or the reflection in dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon . . . 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, . . . (Wilde, 38-39).
This gives the reader a glimpse in Lord Henry’s views on beauty. He is quite open with his views and yet self-centered all the same. His views have an immediate impact on Dorian as later in the chapter Dorian becomes jealous of his own portrait for he will age and become ugly while the portrait will remain the same. The literary critic, Richard Haslam, provides a little deeper insight on how Lord Henry acts towards Dorian,

The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame: that was all. . . . What did it matter what happened to the coloured image on the canvas? He would be safe. That was everything. (Wilde, 120-121)
Though at first unsettled by the discovery of the portraits’ odd power, Dorian quickly sees this as advantageous to him. He will forever have the beautiful and youthful face he desires, no matter how old he gets nor how many sins he commits. This passage also shows even more of Dorian’s selfish nature, with it saying as long as Dorian is safe everything is fine. Literary critic, Michael Wainwright discusses Dorian’s morals as the novel went on:
Pater must therefore find against Dorian because Wilde’s protagonist loses his moral compass in pursuit of advancement; the character’s self-aggrandizement effaces his awareness of sin. . . . He seems inherently determined to eschew morality—. . . (Wainwright,