The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Cassandra Thompson

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Wilde was a very pompous young man. He is known for being a playwright. The Picture of Dorian Gray was Wilde’s only novel. Wilde went to court for accusations of being homosexual and other actions deemed inappropriate at the time. The Picture of Dorian Gray was used as evidence against him. He was sentenced to two years of hard labor and died a few years after his release.

Wilde’s Works Lady Windermere's Fan A Woman Of No Importance Salome The Importance of Being Earnest An Ideal Husband

Literary Movements Aestheticism: a European movement during the 19th century. Declared that art was self-sufficient and valuable because it has no purpose. Extremists of the movement declares “Life for art’s sake”, and caused aestheticism to be known as the “religion of beauty” (Abram “Aestheticism”). Victorianism: During Queen Victoria’s reign, changes led to nationalism, industrialization and the formation of a middle class, and social, political, and psychological worries. “Positivism”, the value of intelligence and idea that all knowledge must have scientific evidence behind it, ruled. (Abram “Victorianism”). These two life-styles were taking place in Europe at the same time, causing upheaval in the social and literary world.

Novel Summary Dorian gets a portrait of himself painted by Basil Hallward. Upon seeing the portrait, Dorian realizes that he will one day grow old and ugly. He dramatically proclaims that he would give up his soul in order to be beautiful forever. Dorian quickly befriends Lord Henry who is quick to interfere with Dorian’s current philosophies. Dorian is introduced to a life of hedonism, and in his search for pleasure abandons his morals. The picture begins to change, turning uglier with each corruption that attaches itself to Dorian. However, no matter how many years pass, Dorian looks just as young and beautiful as he did when the picture was painted. Somehow, Dorian has truly sold his soul for beauty. The ever-uglier picture haunts Dorian, and he goes to extreme lengths to protect this secret.

Characters Dorian Gray: an extremely handsome man, glorified for his good looks. He is extremely vain and lives a reckless, “sinful” life which he hides from the public. Basil Hallward: the first friend of Dorian. He is a painter and would use Dorian as a model for his art. One day he paints a portrait of Dorian and gives it to him. Lord Henry: originally a friend of Hallward, he quickly begins to rule of Dorian’s life. He shares life philosophies that are often paradoxical, and always contrary to Dorian’s beliefs. Sibyl Vane: a fantastic actress engaged to Dorian. She refers to him as “Prince Charming.”

Argument In his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde uses the fine arts: music and theatre, as well as flowers and spirituality to invert traditional representations of beauty, showing that extreme aesthetics and vanity can lead to corruption and ugliness.

Imagery “The studio was filled with the rich odor of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amid the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn” (Wilde 3). “[the girl buried] her face in the lap of the faded, tired looking woman who, with back turned to the shrill intrusive light, was sitting in the one arm-chair that their dingy sitting-room contained” (Wilde 64).

Music “The same nervous staccato laugh broke from her thin lips…” (Wilde 49). “…exquisite taste was shown in the decoration of the dining room table, with its subtle symphonic arrangements of exotic flowers…” (Wilde 132). “I like Wagner’s music better than anybody’s”(Wilde 49).

Flowers “A rose shook in her blood, and shadowed her cheeks. Quick breath parted the petals of her lips” (Wilde 64). “In the huge Venetian lantern…lights were still burning from the three flickering jets; thin blue petals of flame…” (Wilde 94).

Theatre “She mentally elevated her son to the dignity of an audience” (Wilde 66). “Sometimes, however, a tragedy that posses artistic elements of beauty crosses our lives. If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect” (Wilde 105).

Spirituality and Religion “Through some strange quickening of inner life the leprosies of sin were slowly eating the thing away” (Wilde 161). “He knew that the senses, no less than the soul, have their spiritual mysteries to reveal” (Wilde 136).

Corruption “You have gone from corruption to corruption, and now you have culminated in crime” (Wilde 176). “…Dorian is first of all an artistic ideal, and the corruption that he undergoes in his hedonistic pursuit of pleasure is the corruption of an artistic ideal” (Baker 353).

Conclusion Oscar Wilde cleverly uses comparisons and references to traditionally beautiful things to tell the story of a man obsessed with beauty. However, he inverts the use of these beautiful comparisons to show a completely opposite side full of ugliness, just as Dorian’s obsession with beauty eventually causes his portrait to become hideous with corruption.

Works Cited Abrams, M. H. “Aestheticism.” A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th ed., 1999. Abrams, M. H. “Victorianism.” A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th ed., 1999. Baker, Houston A .Jr.. “A Tragedy of the Artist: The Picture of Dorian Gray” Nineteenth-Century Fiction, Vol. 24, No. 3, 1969, pp. 349-355. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2932864. Accessed: 22 March 2017. Google. https://www.google.com/search?q=oscar+wilde+plays&safe=strict&espv= 2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjalfD6tLPTAhWn24MKHT 7XCkgQ_AUIBigB&biw=1034&bih=619#imgrc=WYLwNE9YslpVt. Accessed 20 April 2017. Google. https://www.google.com/search?q=oscar+wilde+plays&safe=strict&espv= 2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjalfD6tLPTAhWn24MKH T7XCkgQ_AUIBigB&biw=1034&bih=619#imgrc=rzXNnTJOaFo5vM. Accessed 20 April 2017. Sarony, Napoleon. http://www.oscarwildeinamerica.org/sarony/sarony- photographs-of-oscar-wilde-1882.html. Accessed 19 April 2017. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. 1890. Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde