Loss Of Innocence In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) follows the story of Dorian Gray; a man gifted with exquisite natural beauty, whose vanity and obsession with his own youth leads him astray in a life of sin. As Dorian slowly loses his innocence, with the obsession of living hedonistically, his portrait suffers the punishment for his sins and growing age. Dorian himself remains untouched in age; however, the portrait reflects the loss of innocence in his pursuit of atheistic and hedonistic lifestyle. The thematic overtones explored in Wilde’s book discuss many issues of value, ethics, and vice. Although Wilde writes about the downfall of Dorian Gray due to obsession of beauty, it is important to note that Dorian himself only dies when his human

The first inflection of evidence that supports the admiration of beauty by society is the painter, Basil Hallward who is obsessed with Dorian. In an effort to capture his youth snare, Basil paints a portrait. Basil’s artistic obsession with Dorian provokes a passion in his portraits to the effect where he feels lost without Dorian’s presence. Basil is transfixed in the innocence Dorian portrays, and he attempts to shield Dorian from any outside influence that will corrupt him. Basil’s obsession with shielding Dorian Gray from outside influence only causes his friend Lord Henry to become curious and seek to be introduced to him. In this example the obsession of beauty or one’s conception of trying to protect what Basil considers beautiful. The narrative moves as Basil warns Lord Henry, “He has a simple and beautiful nature… Don’t spoil him. Don’t try to influence him. Your influence would be bad” (16 Wilde). Lord Henry is the second example within this book that is entranced by the value of beauty. His introduction to Dorian is a successful one, as he influences Dorian’s perception of value, beauty, and self-worth. Lord Henry serves as a father figure to Dorian, who takes his criticism of life and love for self-indulgence very seriously. The form of beauty that Dorian initially represents is the physical attributes that Wilde and his contemporaries