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Henry's philosophy in dorian gray
Hedonism in dorian grey
The influence of lord henry in the picture of dorian gray
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A product of Lord Henry's contradicting hedonistic philosophies, Dorian Grey forms a double personality comprised of a truthful painting representing his soul and an the antithesis that is himself, much like Henry's epigrams that often contain an inverse to their initial message. Seduced by Henry's poisonous whisperings, Dorian becomes obsessed with his own beauty and maintaining the illusion of youth. In order to do this he must separate his external appearance and internal soul. His duality can be explained through a thought that crossed Lord Henry's mind after visiting Dorian's aunt and learning about his difficult childhood: "behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic." Lord Henry is referring how although Dorian …show more content…
Although it would seem that Dorian's exquisite beauty is representative of the good part of the epigram, it is quite the opposite as his beauty embodies Henry hedonistic views. Instead the good is found in the second part of the sentence, representative of Dorians ugly soul, as it reveals the truth and exposes Dorian for what he really is. The flipped meaning behind what Lord Henry is saying links to how many epigrams seem to say one thing but really mean something else. A comparison can be drawn between this superficiality and the falseness of Dorian's appearance. In correlation with the deceiving nature of the epigram above, Dorian himself is deceived by the lack of correspondence between exterior and soul. This concept is captured when Lord Henry tells Dorian, "When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and always ends by deceiving others." (Wilde 38) Although this quote is referring to Dorian's relationship with Sibyl, it can also be applied to Dorian's relationship with beauty. Dorian is in love with his reflection, however his intimate familiarity with the work of art, being himself, makes him a poor judge of
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde introduces Dorian Gray as a mysterious and beautiful young man. He has no opinion and is very similar to a ball of clay, in the sense that he has no opinion and is free to be molded by whoever takes interest in him. Basil and Lord Henry both take interest in the young man. While both praise his physical beauty, Lord Henry wants to turn him into a hedonist minion. He convinces Dorian that he is a perfect candidate to live life according to his pleasure and that Basil is a poor influence upon him. Dorian takes this to heart and lives his life this way. He exchanges the purity of his soul for the beauty of his youth in certain painting. This breaks him down. He becomes less and less welcome by those who once admired him. He gets blackballed from clubs, has promiscuous sex and spends seventy-two hour periods in London’s opium dens. His life of seeking pleasure makes him more and more unhappy. When Basil shows up, he wants some one to sympathize with him and tell him that what he has done is not his fault. During the scene of Basil’s murder, Dorian’s want to be seen as good is apparent, but his unwillingness to accept fault and his corrupt ideology drive him to kill Basil, unveiling a new, malicious side to Dorian Gray.
In the beginning of the book, Dorian seems to be an innocent, charming, beautiful young man, and even referred to as “a wonderful creation” (ch 2). Dorian is described as this amazing person, with looks comparable to a God, charm that could swoon any woman, and a mesmerizing persona about him with the ability to draw anyone near, yet he seems to be so imperceptive to himself. His attitude of simplicity causes readers to be fond of him, passing their first judgments that he could not possibly be evil. As the story moves along readers see the first inkling that Dorian may not be so perfect. Dorian comments on “how sad it is…[that he] shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But the picture will remain always young” (ch 2). This statement lets readers inside Dorian’s thoughts, showing how shallow and frivolous Dorian views life to be. He places so much value and esteem on looks alone, forgetting that being painted should be an honor, or at the very least...
Lord Henry becomes a monster through his interaction with Dorian Gray. The critic Liebman provides an interesting way to look at Lord Henry in The Picture of Dorian Gray: “Henry is, first, a scientist and an intellectual, whose most outstanding trait is his curiosity” (Liebman). Similar to Victor Frankenstein, Lord Henry wishes to know about the human soul and human nature. Liebman continues: “‘a complex personality,’ like Dorian's, gives him an opportunity to examine the human species in its natural habitat” (Liebman). When The Picture of Dorian Gray is viewed in this lens, it seems that Lord Henry’s intent is poison Dorian’s belief system to see how much a pure, innocent man can change. Basil warns Lord Henry about how vulnerable Dorian is: “Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad” (Wilde 23). Henry knows what he is doing, which makes him accountable for Dorian’s descent into derangement. When Henry plants seeds of immorality in Dorian’s mind, Dorian almost can’t help but become a monster. Lord Henry causes Dorian Gray to shift from “a simple and beautiful nature”(Wilde 23) to having “no heart” and “no pity” (Wilde 128). Lord Henry is at fault because he intentionally created a monster, and although he didn’t intend to hurt anyone, he started a cycle of violence that ended with several dead, including
Obsession is described as a persistent thought dominating the mind, but of all the types of obsession, idolatry is the most common example, which is seen through both Basil’s worship of Dorian, and society’s worship of celebrities. Basil’s worship of Dorian is depicted early in the book, before Dorian is even a real introduced. Basil expresses how powerful his feelings for this man are, “Something seemed to tell me that I was on the verge of a terrible crisis in my life…It was not conscience that made me do so: it was cowardice. I take no credit to myself for trying to escape,” (Wilde 10). Dorian has so much control over Basil that he feared he would lose control of himself, that the intensity of his feelings would lead to a crisis, showing exactly how powerful obsession can be. Basil’s feelings for Dorian cannot be seen as love, especially later on in the novel, he confesses he believes Dorian is truly perfect and had f...
“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a novel written by Oscar Wilde. The story takes place in England, where the artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray. During his stay at the artist’s studio, he gets introduced to Lord Henry who later becomes one of the most influential people in his life. Dorian Gray becomes aware of his amazing beauty and youthfulness due to the portrait and wishes that the portrait ages instead of him. His wish comes true, Dorian remains beautiful and youthful while the portrait changes. Lord Henry becomes his best friend and motivates him to live in abundance, to sin and always strive for beauty. After a while, Dorian discovers that his portrait doesn’t only age, but also changes face expression as a result of all his sins and evil deeds. Dorian gets anxious by the fact that the portrait shows his evil soul and is scared that somebody will see it, therefore he hides it. The portrait haunts Dorian although it’s hidden. As Dorian’s sins gets worse, he feels that he can’t handle the pressure anymore and decides to destroy the portrait that shows his true self.
The soul is the primary focus of The Picture of Dorian Gray. The term is used freely in the book with Dorian making a wish right in the beginning. Dorian exclaims “’If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that – for that – I would give everything! I would give my soul for that!’” (28). Dorian does not arrive at this wish independently, however. Right off the bat Dorian is influenced by Lord Henry. Lord Henry and his yellow book are the harbingers that bring the corruption to Dorian’s soul. The soul is very much a physical thing in this world.
Although Wilde halts short of stating that Basil and Lord Henry have sexual feelings for Dorian , the language he uses to describe their devotion for Dorian is unmistakably the language of deep, romantic intimacy. “Tell me more about Mr. Dorian Gray. How often do you see him?”. “Every day. I couldn’t be happy if I didn’t see him everyday. He is absolutely necessary to me”. This common motif of homoerotic bonds between men plays a large role in structuring the novel. Basils painting is born from his adoration of Dorians beauty , comparatively Lord Henry is overcome with desire to seduce Dorian. This sense of camaraderie between men fits into Wildes aesthetic values, for it returns him to his past where the philosophy of beauty was not only the basis of society but fundamental to culture. As a homosexual living in an intolerant society, Wilde asserted this philosophy in order to justify his own lifestyle.
Basil Hallward, a painter, knows the corruptive influence that Lord Henry can impose upon his model, Dorian Gray. Basil does not want Lord Henry to even meet Dorian because he is afraid that Dorian will be influenced and ruined. Basil begs Henry by saying, "Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad. The world is wide, and has many marvelous people in it. Don't take away from me the one person who gives to my art whatever charm it possesses: my life as an artist depends on him" (Wilde 10). Right from the beginning Wilde begins to show what type of person Lord Henry is. Lord Henry's influences pose a threat to Dorian. Basil is well aware of this.
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.
Moreover, his first sin being the starting point of his inevitable future after meeting the infamous Lord Henry is Dorians introduction to his own beauty. As a result, his vanity is displayed through his self portrait
Dorian Gray's life is dictated by his physical appeal. His beauty lies within his youth. Dorian's perception of beauty allows him to love. He is convinced that his beauty allows him to accomplish anything he desires regardless of the consequences and still be loved by his friends. He uses his beauty to mitigate his evil actions. Dorian says, “I don't wish to know anything about them. I love scandals about other people, but scandals about myself don't interest me. They have not got the charm of novelty.” Youth and beauty are the most precious things to Dorian. In his life, beauty is of utmost importance. Then he sees the picture of himself, painted by Basil, absorb his sins and this changed his view. “I hope it is not about myself. I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else,” Dorian said. He aspired to have had a good life rather than one filled with artificial meaning and beauty. The moral beauty of Doran lies within the portrait of himself. The portrait imitated his life. He finally realized that beauty cannot help him escape his evil actions. He deeply lamemted his wish that the portrait bore the burden of his age an...
In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray slowly becomes more influenced by things and people around him. Eventually, Lord Henry gifts him with a book describing a wealthy man’s pursuit of aesthetically and sensually pleasing items. “The yellow book” has a much stronger effect on Dorian Gray’s perception of beauty than Lord Henry Wotton does. Although it can be argued that Lord Henry introduced Dorian to the idea of aestheticism, the “yellow book” drives Dorian to live a life full of it, and changes his focus. Dorian shows the fact that he is not strongly influenced by Lord Henry through his interactions with Sibyl. Contrary to this, Oscar Wilde illustrates the substantial influence the yellow book has on Dorian by one, the
The Picture of Dorian Gray was a remarkably well-written book due to the reaction of its themes by society. In the preface of the novel, Wilde introduces the opinion that "...there is no moral or immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all." Numerous views can be taken upon this fastidious comment. Many would agree that Wilde is justifiably correct because the preface was written with the intention that his readers understand the deeper meaning of the themes than worrying about whether it is considered morally acceptable; or perhaps, the view that it could be considered moral or immoral by the impact it has on the readers' lives. Even though there are several positions held on what The Picture of Dorian Gray's most important meaning is about, the most prominent is the novel as a moral book. Lord Henry Wotton immediately begins to corrupt Dorian's mind after they first meet by forcing his immoral thoughts of "yielding to temptation" which allows Lord Henry to hold his attention. After listening for quite a while to Lord Henry's views, Dorian begins to change his own to match them, and therefore begins to live a life of immorality. The yellow book is a device that Lord Henry uses to further corrupt and drive Dorian deeper into the pits of sin. Through Lord Henry's influence, the changes in Dorian Gray, and the impact of the yellow book, Oscar Wilde efficiently reveals The Picture of Dorian Gray as a moral book.
In analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, concepts such as influence and the origin of evil in Dorian Gray play an exceptionally valuable role in understanding the motives of the characters. Although some critics argue characters such as Lord Kelso significantly influence Dorian’s corruption, Lord Henry Wotton’s toxic personality undeniably impacts Dorian the most. Throughout the course of the novel, Lord Henry remains the ultimate source of evil and uses deception and persuasion to poison Dorian from a naïve boy to a destructive monster.
To avoid getting hurt, he pretended to be Lord Henry: decadent, cynical, eloquent, rebellious, and a bit evil in the eyes of bluenoses. Dorian Gray is what he would like to be: be loved, taste all the beauties and exquisite in life and die for what he wants to defend. In this novel, Wilde portrays his philosophy of "aesthetic idealism." He favored nature when it was explained as an internal individualistic impulse, just like Lord Henry who suggests that beauty is the greatest good and doing so diminishes the role of the soul. He does this out of a half-facetious, half-earnest pursuit of that which is more genuine, less socially constructed and therefore less hypocritical.