Analysis Of Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray is notorious for his breathtaking good looks so much that his beauty was desired by all men throughout his entire life. "I know, now, that when one loses one's good looks, whatever they may be, one loses everything. Your picture has taught me that. Lord Henry Wotton is perfectly right. Youth is the only thing worth having. When I find that I am growing old, I shall kill myself" (Wilde, 28).This is a great example of foreshadowing because Dorian does become so upset with his life and aging that he kills himself. It shows how dependant he was on beauty even until the very end of his life. It is ironic that he traded his soul for eternal beauty and in the end the only thing he wanted was his soul and no beauty. Since Dorian is beautiful he starts to think the only thing that matters in life is beauty, he only sees the importance of

Most people are taught from a young age what is right, and what is wrong. These teachings set up the basis for later discovering one’s personal values. In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, these same principles are applied and challenged by Wilde. Not only does he question morality and human nature, but also the ideas of the Aesthetic movement- which influenced the ideals and behavior of Dorian Gray. Through Dorian’s morally ambiguous character, Wilde asserts that one is not purely good or evil, but a mixture of the two; Wilde establishes this theme when Dorian breaks up with Sibyl Vane, murders Basil Hallward, and stabs his decaying portrait.

  "I do not think that one person influences another, nor do I think there is any bad influence in the world," Oscar Wilde uttered when under trial (Hyde 353). Although this statement may be true, one of Wilde's most famous works shows a great deal of the effects of people shaping one another, causing one to wonder about Wilde's sincerity in that statement. The Picture of Dorian Gray shows variations on the existence and purposes of influence, displaying two types of personal influence: obvious manipulations such as that of Lord Henry upon Dorian and that of Dorian over Sybil Vane, and those that are more often overlooked such as the more subtle manipulation of Dorian over

In the book, The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, there is a character named Lord Henry Wotton. He is the story's antagonist and whom critics often think most resembles Oscar Wilde. Wilde remarks "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages perhaps." Within the preface of The Picture Of Dorian Gray, there lie the lines "Those who go beneath the symbol do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their own peril." From Wilde's statement, we can assume that there is a part of Wilde represented in each of the main characters, but how they represent him is up for the reader to decide.

In the beginning of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian is viewed highly by Basil and is claimed to be his sole inspiration. By this little description we read of Dorian, the reader can already see how Dorian at the beginning of the book has a strong presence. However Basil describes Dorian as having a “simple and beautiful nature”(pg-12) and tells Lord Henry, “Don’t spoil him. Don’t try to influence him. Your influence would be bad.” (pg-12). Lord Henry is the first person to start to influence and change Dorian into being deceitful. The second factor that changes Dorian is the painting. In chapter two, Basil finishes the Painting and presents it to Dorian. Instead of being filled with joy, Dorian realizes that he will grow old and the Painting will stay young. Later in the story the Portrait changes to show a sneer around Dorians mouth. The reason for this is because Dorian broke Sybil’s heart. After learning about Sybil’s suicide, Dorian accepts that the Painting will show ageing while he appears to have not aged. This forces Dorian to lock away his painting and this also shows Dorian being deceitful with his looks.

Similarly to Macbeth, Dorian Gray decides that he doesn’t want to age. Dorian says“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!

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, is a novel about greed and ruin. Dorian Gray, received infinite youth from a portrait of him, which portrays all his sins and wrongdoings on itself, rather than his body. This freedom from morality leads Dorian Gray down a road of destruction until his sins are returned to him and he meets his end. Through a psychoanalytic Freudian lens, it is clear that Dorian Gray exhibits many of Sigmund Freud’s theories, including his theory of personality, the Oedipus complex, and the defense mechanisms.

Also at this initial stage of the novel, Dorian makes his fateful wish for eternal youth, immediately after "recogniz[ing] himself for the first time" at the impetus of Lord Henry (24). This desire to remain youthful does indeed come true for Dorian; his true youthful character remains with him throughout the novel, though he often tries to repress and extinguish it.

It is interesting to note that he doesn't ask for it to show his sins, only take on his aging. The painting gets progressively more horrible throughout the story, but it is not just aging it shows, it seems to portray an awful decay. Dorian uses a mirror to compare himself to the painting (one that Lord Henry gave him) and seems to take pleasure in his corruption: "...looking now at the evil and aging face on the canvas, and now at the fair young face that laughed back at him from the polished glass. The very sharpness of the contrast used to quicken his sense of pleasure. He grew more and more enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul ... wondering sometimes which were the more horrible, the signs of sin or the signs of age" (Wilde 106). The use of the mirror further points out his narcissism. This is also the same mirror that he crushes under his feet the night he tries to "kill" the painting.

You will suffer horribly.... Ah! realize your youth while you have it. Don't squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing. . . . A new Hedonism-- that is what our century wants." Through him, Dorian faces the harsh realization that his physical attributes are ever fading. Upon this sudden insight, he dreads the physical burden of aging. He envies the perpetual beauty of Basil's masterpiece. As Dorian says, "If it were only the other way! 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! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" The materialization of this wish and the metamorphosis it will ensue are to bring his demise. Dorian's figure remains immaculate while the picture bears his abhorrent transformation. This is first confirmed following his amorous relationship with Sibyl Vane, an actress he meets at an infamous theatre. Like him, she is characterized by an entrancing beauty and a youthful naivety. Mesmerized by one another, they promptly exchange vows of fidelity. Dorian invites Henry and Basil to

He is even told by Lord Henry he is far too charming to go into philantropy. This remark may be the beginning of the flattery that opened Dorian's mind up to his corruption. Dorian is being moved by Harry's speech about cherishing youth and enjoying it. His mind was being challenged by the thought of his own passions until the point when he proclaimed "stop! You bewilder me. I do not know what to say. There is some answer to you, but I cannot find it. Do not speak. Let me think. Or rather let me try not to think". Dorian allows himself to be corrupted. He begins to fear aging and begins to think that everything will be loss with the loss of his youth and beauty. Dorian goes from no worries to this thought as Harry speaks. He was convinced that this "new Hedonism" was the way. This shows the weakness of his mind in his youth it is also the begginning of his fate. With this flaw of character, Dorian seemed to write his fate unknowingly. When Basil Hallward, the painter, rewarded Dorian with the portrait he replied "If I were to be the one always young, and the picture grow old! For that-for that-Iwould give everything!…Iwould give my soul for that!". This was just a plea at the depth of his sorrow, a remark made totally through whim.

“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! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!" (Wilde 30-31). After making this deal Dorian start to become a horrible person he make his girlfriend and soon to be fiance Sibyl to commit suicide after he yelled at her, he smokes cigarettes, ruins other people's lives, does drugs such as opium, and goes on to kill Basil. All of society knows that something is up with Dorian because he has never aged and still looks like he's twenty. As the years go on Dorian begins to lose his soul while still remaining young which seems similar to the state of limbo in “Inception” where you don't grow older physically but your mind and soul do. Dorian eventually goes on a downward spiral after killing Basil and sees that the painting gets ugly for every bad deed he does.. So in response he tries to do a good deed to change the painting. But when this backfires and the painting gets worst he stabs it which basically means he stabbed his soul and he ends up dying and the painting returns to normal.

Next in Campbell’s monomyth comes the Master of Two Worlds in which the hero/heroine fully understands the “new world” as well as the “regular” world. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian takes upon the knowledge of pre-eternal-beauty and post-eternal-beauty and incorporated it in the life he continues to live which becomes the life post-eternal-beauty and misery. Time continues and Dorian knows his hidden away portrait self “ages” while he lives with no impact or changes. He now lives as this so-to-speak immortal--due to his youth--in a mortal world. Although he does not contain the exact qualities of an immortal, he has the ability to live forever young in appearance while claiming the power and responsibility that comes with it.

Beauty and youth is a very fickle topic to most. It is highly desired and some go through somewhat unconventional means to achieve their version of beauty. But how far would one be willing to go? Even if one were to preserve their beauty for an extended period, how far would one be willing to go to prevent others from finding out their true selves? This is what Dorian Gray faces in “The Portrait of Dorian Gray.” Before seeing his portrait, Dorian was a young, pure, and beautiful boy who was very modest and would brush off the many compliments he received. But after taking in his beauty and realizing the fragility of it, he goes in a crazy rage, and wishes that the painting would be the one to grow old and ugly instead of him. His wish is granted and he is horrified as he watches himself decay through the painting. This causes a drastic change in his character and morals as he develops from an innocent boy into a sinful and wretched man.

Dorian expresses his undeniable vanity all the while inflating his ego. His ego is expressed when he views the picture of himself that Basil has pained of him and he believes that it has undeniable beauty that he enjoys. When he sees it he says that he would give everything if it were him “who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old!” (Wilde 19). The making of this wish is because Dorian loves himself and his looks more than anything and doesn’t was his physique to be tarnished with age and the problems that come with it. This wish is what results in the problems that he himself has to endure throughout the novel. The wish in the end hurts him more than hurts him. Dorian similarly has a very big ego relating to his social standing in the community he is a part of. When he almost got blackballed at the West End club he believes that