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Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
PROFESOR COORDONATOR:
CANDIDAT:
LAZEA IOANA GABRIELA
CAMELIA AVRAMESCU
2011
GABRIELA
Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………...3
1. Chapter I: Oscar Wilde’s Life and Work……………………………….4
2. Chapter II: The Picture of Dorian Grey……………………………….....6
3. Chapter III: The Picture of Dorian Grey - Themes and motifs………....9
Précis…………………………………………………………………………….12
Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….13
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Introduction
As Oscar Wilde himself admitted, the notion of “a young man selling his soul in exchange for
eternal youth” was an old idea in the history of worldwide literature and it always happened because,
regardless the timeframe, young people especially, influenced by a society which placed great
emphasis on appearances, had become obsessed with themselves.
This is also the case of Dorian Grey, the main character of “The Picture of Dorian Grey”, a
gothic melodrama written by Oscar Wilde. The story focuses on an extremely handsome young man,
who, under the influence of Lord Henry, proposes to live a life dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure.
Until the end of the story, he himself remains fresh and healthy in appearance, while his portrait
mysteriously changes into a horrible image of his corrupted soul.
Perhaps not surprisingly the book provoked a storm of hysterical protests when it was
published, being considered scandalous and immoral by the critics of those times. Although Wilde
didn’t denied the obvious lack of morality in the book, he replied that according to the first principle of
aestheticism, art serves to no other purpose, moral or political, but to offer beauty and this is what
makes it has valuable.
To be honest, before reading Dorian Grey, I have never thought of narcissism as being an
important psychical illness. Now, looking around and noticing so many people looking almost perfect,
who are yet not pleased with their physical appearance, I can’t help myself comparing them with
Dorian Grey. I believe this novel can be considered like a mirror of more and more people in our
society who are blinded by artificial beauty and thus they forget about the real meaning of life.
To conclude, taking into account the fact that even Oscar Wilde admitted that the main
characters were reflections of himself (Basill Hallward is what he thinks he is; Lord Henry is what
people thinks about him and Dorian is what he would like to be), it would be interesting to share some
details of this striking novel and its author’s life which seems to be the source of inspiration.
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Chapter I
Oscar Wilde’s Life and Work
Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900) was an Irish
writer and poet. He was born into a family of both material and cultural means. His father, Sir William
Wilde was a well-off oculist and ear surgeon, and his mother, Jane Francesca Elgee, used to write
poetry under the pen-name of “Speranza”.
After majoring in classical studies at Trinity College, Dublin, Oscar won a scholarship to
Oxford and there established a brilliant academic record. At Oxford he came under the influence of the
aesthetic theories of John Ruskin and, more importantly, of Walter Paler and whole-heartedly
embraced the literary doctrines of aesthetic movement. Wilde excelled in his studies, winning many
prizes and awards including Oxford's Newdigate Prize for his poem "Ravenna" (1878).
After graduating in 1878, he settled in London where he quickly established himself as a
spokesperson for the school of “art for art’s sake”. He delighted his listeners not only by his polished
wordplay but also by uttering options that were both outrageous and incongruous. But Wilde also
continued to write poetry. His first collection, simply titled “Poems”, was published in 1881.
That same year he set off on a long tour of America and Canada to deliver lectures on
aestheticism. He arrived back in Europe in 1883 and while not further lecturing lived in Paris, France.
In 1884 Wilde married Constance Mary Lloyd with whom he had two sons Cyril and Vivyan. The
Wildes settled in Chelsea, London where Oscar continued to write and work for such magazines as the
Pall Mall Gazette and became editor of Woman's World in 1887. His volume “The Happy Prince and
other tales”, originally written for his own children, enjoyed a great success. It was followed by the
novel “The Picture of Dorian Grey” (first published in a magazine), which despite some incongruence,
was very well written and received. Its by now famous preface, turned out to be highly reflective of
Oscar Wilde’s literary creed.
In 1891 Wilde met English poet Lord Alfred Douglas "Bosie", son of John Douglas, 9th
Marquis of Queensberry. It was the beginning of a tumultuous relationship that would cause many
problems for Oscar and eventually lead to his downfall. Alfred had a tempestuous relationship with his
father which disapproved of his son's lifestyle.
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When he learned of his son openly living with Wilde, he set out to defame Wilde. For the
opening performance of “The Importance of Being Earnest” in 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London,
the Marquis planned to publicly humiliate Wilde, calling him a “Sodomite”. Oscar found out and
applied for a warrant for Queensberry’s arrest accusing him of publishing libel. But not long time after,
Queensberry was acquitted and Wilde charged with "gross indecency" for homosexual acts. The
outcome of the sensational trial was a sentence of two years hard labor which Wilde served most of at
the Reading Gaol outside of London. While in prison, Wilde turned to his pen and wrote many essays,
poems, and letters including one dedicated to Alfred, “De Profundis”.
Oscar Wilde emerged from prison on 19th May 1897, financially destroyed and spiritually
downcast. He went first to Berneval, before joining Lord Alfred Douglas in Italy. In 1898, he wrote one
of his greatest works “Ballad of Reading Gaol”, which drew on his experiences in prison.
But Wilde lasting fame rests, first and foremost, on his engaging plays, scintillating comedies,
remarkable for their adroitly contrived plots and witty dialogue. The comedies are: “Lady
Windermere’s Fan” (1892), “A Woman of No Importance” (1893), “An ideal Husband” (1895) and the
“Importance of Being Earnest” (1895, probably the best of all four). What make these plays so special
are the sparkling paradoxes and the playwright’s knack for stagecraft and theatrical effects.
Opposed to these comedies is Wilde’s drama “Salomé”, originally written in French, translated
into English by Lord Alfred Douglas, and made an opera by the German composer Richard Strauss.
Adopting the name Sebastian Melmoth, Wilde went to Paris, penniless, and is said to have
reunited with his friend and lover of many years, Canadian journalist Robert Baldwin. In 1900 Wilde
visited Rome and during a serious illness that year was baptized a Roman Catholic.
Oscar Wilde died of meningitis on 30 November 1900 and now rests in Père Lachaise cemetery
in Paris.
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Chapter II
The Picture of Dorian Grey
1. Context
Wilde published his first and only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, before reaching the
highest step of his career. The first edition appeared in the summer of 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly
Magazine. It was criticized as scandalous and immoral.
Dissatisfied with its reception, Wilde revised the novel in 1891, adding a preface and six new
chapters. The Preface (as Wilde calls it) anticipates some of the criticism that might appear at the novel
and answers critics who claim The Picture of Dorian Gray being an immoral tale. It also summarily
establishes the principles of Wilde’s philosophy of art. Devoted to a school of thought and a mode of
sensibility known as aestheticism, Wilde believed that art has its own value namely, the fact that is
beautiful and therefore has worth, and thus needs serve no other purpose, be it moral or political.
This attitude was revolutionary in Victorian England, where, according to popular belief, art
was not only a source of morality but also a means of emphasizing it. In the Preface, Wilde also warned
readers against finding meanings “beneath the surface” of art. Part gothic novel, part comedy of
manners, part treatise on the relationship between art and morality, The Picture of Dorian Gray
continues to present its readers with a puzzle to sort out. There is as likely to be as much disagreement
over its meaning now as there was among its Victorian audience, but, as Wilde notes near the end of
the Preface, “Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.”
2. Plot Overview
In the stately London home, the well-known artist Basil Hallward meets Dorian Gray. Dorian is
a cultured, wealthy, and extremely beautiful young man who instantly captures Basil’s artistic
imagination. When the novel begins, the artist is completing his first portrait of Dorian as he truly is,
but, as he admits to his friend Lord Henry Wotton, the painting disappoints him because it reveals too
much of his feeling for this subject. Lord Henry, a person who enjoys scandalizing his friends by
celebrating youth, beauty, and the selfish pursuit of pleasure, disagrees, saying that the portrait is
Basil’s masterpiece. Dorian arrives at the studio, and Basil half-hearted introduces him to Lord Henry,
who he fears will have a negative influence on the impressionable, young Dorian.
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Basil’s fears are well founded. Before the end of their first conversation, Lord Henry upsets
Dorian with a speech about the passing nature of beauty and youth. Worried that these, his most
impressive characteristics, are disappearing day by day, Dorian curses his portrait, which he believes
will one day remind him of the beauty he will have lost. In a moment of weakness, he pledges his soul
if only the painting could bear the burden of age and infamy, allowing him to stay forever young
Over the next few weeks, Lord Henry’s influence over Dorian becomes stronger. The youth
begins a life dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure. He falls in love with Sibyl Vane, a young actress who
plays in a theater in London’s poor neighborhoods. She refers to him as “Prince Charming” and refuses
to account the warnings of her brother, James Vane, that Dorian is not suitable for her.
Dorian invites Basil and Lord Henry to see Sibyl perform in Romeo and Juliet. The girl,
affected by her emotions for Dorian, loses her acting abilities, wondering how she can pretend to love
on the stage now that she has experienced the real thing. Dorian rejects her, saying her beauty was in
her art, and he is no longer interested in her if she can no longer act. When Dorian returns home he
realize his wish has come true because the portrait now bears a sneer and will age with each sin he
commits, while his own appearance remains unchanged. He decides to reconcile with Sibyl, but Lord
Henry arrives in the morning to say Sibyl has killed herself. At Lord Henry’s persuasion, Dorian
decides to consider her death a sort of artistic triumph and to put the matter behind him. Meanwhile,
Dorian hides his portrait in a remote room of his house, where no one other than he can enter.
Lord Henry gives Dorian a book that describes the wicked exploits of a nineteenth-century
Frenchman. It becomes Dorian’s bible as he sinks ever deeper into a life of sin and corruption. He lives
a life devoted to pleasure with no connection to conventional standards of morality or the consequences
of his actions. Over the next 18 years, Dorian experiments with every vice and his reputation suffers in
circles of polite London society, where rumors spread regarding his scandalous facts. His peers
nevertheless continue to accept him because he remains young and beautiful. The portrait, however,
grows increasingly wizened and hideous.
On a dark night, Basil Hallward arrives at Dorian’s home to request him an account about the
rumors that plague his reputation. Dorian does not deny his debauchery, showing Basil the nowhideous portrait. Hallward, horrified, asks him to repent but Dorian claims it is too late for penance and
kills Basil in anger.
The night after the murder, Dorian goes to an opium den. James Vane is nearby and hears
someone refer to Dorian as "Prince Charming." He follows Dorian outside and attempts to shoot him,
but he is deceived when Dorian asks James to look at him in the light, saying he is too young to have
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been involved with Sibyl 18 years earlier. James releases Dorian but is approached by a woman from
the opium den who twits him for not killing Dorian and tells him Dorian has not aged for 18 years.
During a dinner, Dorian notices James Vane peering in through a window, and he becomes
overwhelmed by fear and guilt. When a hunting party accidentally shoots and kills Vane, Dorian feels
safe again. He decides to change his life but cannot muster the courage to confess his crimes, and the
painting now reveals his supposed desire to repent for what it is: hypocrisy. In a fury, Dorian picks up
the knife he used to stab Basil Hallward and wants to destroy the painting. There is a crash, and his
servants enter to find the portrait, unharmed, showing Dorian Gray as a beautiful young man. On the
floor lies the body of their master, an old man, horribly wrinkled and disfigured, with a knife plunged
into his heart.
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Chapter III
The Picture of Dorian Grey - Themes and motifs
The Supremacy of Youth and Beauty
The first principle of aestheticism, the philosophy of art by which Oscar Wilde lived, is that art
serves no other purpose than to offer beauty. As we can see in The Picture of Dorian Gray, beauty
reigns. It is a means to enliven the wearied senses, as indicated by the effect that Basil’s painting has on
the cynical Lord Henry. It is also a means of escaping the brutalities of the world: Dorian distances
himself, not to mention his consciousness, from the horrors of his actions by devoting himself to the
study of beautiful things: music, jewels, and rare tapestries. In a society that prizes beauty so highly,
youth and physical attractiveness become valuable commodities. Lord Henry reminds Dorian of as
much upon their first meeting, when he laments that Dorian will soon enough lose his most precious
attributes. In Chapter Seventeen, the Duchess of Monmouth suggests to Lord Henry that he places too
much value on these things. Indeed, Dorian’s eventual death confirms her suspicions. Although beauty
and youth remain of extremely importance at the end of the novel, the portrait is, after all, returned to
its original form. So the novel suggests that the price one must pay for them is exceedingly high.
Indeed, Dorian gives nothing less than his soul.
The Superficial Nature of Society
It is no surprise that a society that prizes beauty above all else is a society founded on a love of
surfaces. What matters most to Dorian, Lord Henry, and the polite company they keep is not whether a
man is good at heart but rather whether he is handsome. As Dorian evolves into the realization of a
type, the perfect blend of scholar and socialite, he experiences the freedom to abandon his morals
without censure. Indeed, even though, as Basil warns, society’s elite question his name and reputation,
Dorian is never excluded from public life. On the contrary, despite his lifestyle, he remains at the heart
of the London social scene because of the “innocence” and “purity of his face.” As Lady Narborough
notes to Dorian, there is little (if any) distinction between ethics and appearance: “you are made to be
good—you look so good.”
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The Negative Consequences of Influence
The painting and the yellow book have a profound effect on Dorian, influencing him to
predominantly immoral behavior over the course of nearly two decades. Reflecting on Dorian’s power
over Basil and deciding that he would like to seduce Dorian in much the same way, Lord Henry points
out that there is “something terribly exciting in the exercise of influence.” Falling under the sway of
such influence is, perhaps, unavoidable, but the novel ultimately censures the sacrifice of one’s self to
another. Basil’s idolatry of Dorian leads to his murder, and Dorian’s devotion to Lord Henry’s
hedonism and the yellow book precipitate his own downfall. It is little wonder, in a novel—that the
sacrifice of one’s self, whether it should be to another person or to a work of art, leads to one’s
destruction.
Aestheticism and duplicity
Aestheticism is a strong theme and is related with the concept of the double life. A major theme
is that aestheticism is simply an absurd abstract that only serves to disillusion rather than dignify the
concept of beauty. Wilde highlights Dorian's pleasure of living a double life. Not only does Dorian
enjoy this sensation in private, but he also feels "keenly the terrible pleasure of a double life" when
attending a society meeting just 24 hours after committing a murder.
This duplicity and indulgence is most evident in Dorian's visit to the opium dens of London.
Wilde conflates the images of the upper class and lower class by having the supposedly upright Dorian
visit the impoverished districts of London. Lord Henry asserts that "crime belongs exclusively to the
lower orders... I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring
extraordinary sensations", which suggests that Dorian is both the criminal and the aesthete combined in
one man. This is perhaps linked to Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,
which Wilde admired. The division that was witnessed in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, although extreme,
is evident in Dorian Gray, who attempts to contain the two divergent parts of his personality. This is a
recurring theme in many Gothic novels.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The picture of Dorian Gray, “the most magical of mirrors,” shows Dorian the physical burdens
of age and sin from which he has been spared. For a time, Dorian sets his conscience aside and lives his
life according to a single goal: achieving pleasure. His painted image, however, asserts itself as his
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conscience and follows him with the knowledge of his crimes: there he sees the cruelty he showed to
Sibyl Vane and the blood he spilled killing Basil Hallward.
Homoerotic Male Relationships
The homoerotic relationships between men play a large role in structuring the novel. Basil’s
painting depends on his adoration of Dorian’s beauty. Similarly, Lord Henry is overcome with the
desire to seduce Dorian and mold him into the realization of a type. This camaraderie between men fits
into Wilde’s larger aesthetic values, for it returns him to antiquity, where an appreciation of youth and
beauty was not only fundamental to culture but was also expressed as a physical relationship between
men. As a homosexual living in an intolerant society, Wilde asserted this philosophy partially in an
attempt to justify his own lifestyle. For Wilde, homosexuality was not a sordid vice but rather a sign of
refined culture. As he claimed rather romantically during his trial for “gross indecency” between men,
the affection between an older and younger man places one in the tradition of Plato, Michelangelo, and
Shakespeare.
The Yellow Book
Lord Henry gives Dorian a copy of the yellow book as a gift. Although he never gives the title,
Wilde describes the book as a French novel that charts the outrageous experiences of its pleasureseeking protagonist .The book becomes like a bible to Dorian, who buys nearly a dozen copies and
bases his life and actions on it. The book represents the profound and damaging influence that art can
have over an individual and serves as a warning to those who would surrender themselves so
completely to such an influence.
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Précis
Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 – 30 November 1900), the Irish writer and poet, was born in
Dublin to parents who were both prominent citizens. He was an extravagantly colorful figure in an age
of sobriety, a dandy and brilliant wit that caused wonder wherever he went.
At university Wilde read Greats, and proved to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin, then
at Oxford. However, he became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism
(led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin).
Wilde dared to have an open homosexual affair with Lord Alfred Douglas and this was to cost
him his reputation: the boy’s father forced a public trial and Wilde was sent to prison for homosexual
activities.
But Wilde’s success for 17 years in England and America were, of course, not limited to his
self-advertising stuns as a dandy. In his writings he excelled in a variety of genres: as a critic of
literature and society, as a novelist, as a poet and dramatist. Much of his prose, including The Picture of
Dorian Gray, develops Pater’s aestheticism, particularly in the sense of superiority of art to life and its
lack of obligation to any standards of mimesis. Although the preface to the novel emphasizes that art
and morality are totally separate, in the novel itself, at least in its latest chapters, Wilde seems to be
expounding a moral lesson on the evils of self-regarding hedonism.
No one seeking an understanding of Wilde and his ideas can afford to ignore The Picture of
Dorian Gray touching, as it does, on so many of the themes of this great writer, such as the nature and
spirit of art itself, aestheticism, and the dangers inherent in it. It is a work concerning sense and
sensibilities which, although not shocking by the standards of the late twentieth century, offended
against many of the deeply held beliefs and social attitudes of the fin de siècle.
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Bibliography
1. Michael Alexander, A History of English Literature, 2000.
2. Galea Ileana, Victorianism and literature, Cluj-Napoca, Dacia.1996.
3. Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, WORDSWORTH CLASSICS, 1992.
4. Ellmann Richard, Oscar Wilde and as ed., Oscar Wilde: A Collection of Critical Essays, 1969.
5. Derek R. Allen, Paul G. Smith, Fabio G. Malgaretti. Words Words Words – A History of
Anthology of Literatures in English, Distributed by Medialibri S.R.L., La Spigua languages,
2003.
6. http://www.cmgww.com/historic/wilde/
7. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/doriangray/
8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray
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