Dorian Gray Blindness

Themes of the evil and representations of the devil also feature in Dorian Gray. The devil is represented by Lord Henry Wotton – his worldview and words have a profound effect on the innocent minded Dorian, who takes Henry's philosophy into practice. Hence, symbolically Henry is the evil influence upon Dorian. Evil is also showcased through the deal with the devil that Dorian makes. In the beginning of the novel, Dorian desires to sell his soul in order to remain young and beautiful forever. His wish is granted and that sets in motion the path of infamy which Dorian will take. In Wilde's time, Morality, Hedonism and culture's obsession with beauty and youth were key issues in society. Wilde understood this and included such themes into Dorian Gray. Hence, making the text relatable and vital to the period in which Dorian Gray was penned. Wilde in Dorian Gray is making a wider statement about society – Victorian era Britain was supposed

“There were passions in him that would find their terrible outlet, dreams that would make the shadow of the real evil” (Wilde,115). The author reveals pleasure as the driving force of many characters within Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, but this search for pleasure becomes fatal once taken into the hands of Dorian Gray. Throughout the novel Dorian Gray changes his opinion on pleasure based on what he requires in order to escape reality. With each death and misdeed he is responsible for; Dorian must search harder for a more drastic form of release. His path declines from his innocent beginnings with Sybil Vane, to the pleasure he finds in corrupt relations, and finally his need to escape the reality of killing a former

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.

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.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, a novel laced with sin, treachery, and raging battles of inner conflict, is Oscar Wilde’s sole novel. Considered immoral and scandalous upon publication, the book centers around a young man named Dorian Gray, who does not age or reflect the darkness of his heart outwardly, and instead a portrait of him bears the damage his destructive life wreaks on his soul. However, the meaning of the story extends past the simple fact that Dorian lives a life of immorality—he walks the path that takes him there with his two friends, Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotten. The two attempt to guide and influence Dorian throughout the novel in their own ways, and are a vital piece of Dorian’s tale. Basil and Henry act as character foils as well as a symbolic angel and devil for Dorian Gray’s character, and also contribute themes of choosing one’s own fate.

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.

In this novel, beauty and youth reign over everything. In Victorian period, The Picture of Dorian Gray was characterized as scandalous and immoral. Typical idealistic image of behavior and modesty inherent to old time Victorian England was discredited in the novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray contained radical ideals for the period of time it was written. Dorian represents all what was disgraceful and forbidden condemned in Victorian

The Picture of Dorian Grey as a novel in the Victorian Era was shocking to readers of the time due to the open nature of topics like: sexuality, greed and corruption. A Freudian perspective of the characters: Basil, Lord Henry and Dorian can be seen as the Id, Ego and Super Ego. Basil is the Super Ego, he conforms to a certain extent and tries to make Dorian lead a moral life when it comes to desperate times of the loss of the 'real Dorian'; Lord Henry can be seen as the Id, the immoral character who tries to convince Dorian to submit to his natural urges and passions; Dorian is the Ego, one who in the beginning is in between the two and has a power struggle within as to how he should act as a character in the novel. In answering this question and exploring the conflicts shown in the novel one must look at the gender, identity and sexuality.

One of the greatest forces in the world is the influence the human soul has among individuals. Laurence Sterne wrote No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two project of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time. In Oscar Wilde’s work, Dorian Gray was profoundly conflicted internally by forces that had opposing principles and ideologies which ties into the one of the biggest themes in the novel, good vs. evil. On the one hand, there’s the evil that breeds hedonism- Lord Henry.

Both Dorian Gray and Dr. Faustus had self-serving aspirations that goaded both characters to covenant with demonic powers; however what these aspirations the immoral protagonists had differed. Dorian Gray was an innocent youth that went down a course of exceptional hedonism under the influence of Lord Henry and his own volition. Dorian’s journey starts when witnessing Basil’s portrait of him stating, “If it was I who were to be forever young, and the picture that were to grow old!” unknowingly selling his soul through the words, “I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give!” (Wilde 42). It was this desire to stay eternally youthful that allows Dorian to freely experience society’s vices. The furthest extent of Dorian’s sin was his murder of former friend Basil, who wishes to have Dorian’s influence, “be for good, not for evil” but in the end this opportunity for redemption was literally stabbed in the back (Wilde 197). This climax of Dorian’s wickedness leads him to question his actions and the dualist nature between his angelic appearance and devilish essence; the guilt of his sins weighing heavily on Dorian’s mind. Dorian reminisces of the past stating:

Gray wonders whether or not he will ever change. Although he longs for his purity, he tends to let the influence of others get the best of him. On the night of Basil's murder, Dorian on impulse shows the painter his changed art. Although his friend fills with “disgust and loathing” he begins to pray, telling Gray it was never too late to change (Wilde 90). At this moment, Dorian stares at his painted soul, consumed with an "uncontrollable feeling of hatred for Basil” (Wilde).

Each person has a tendency to act a certain way around specific groups of people, however, the core of one’s personality can never truly change. By having created a perfect, yet, fictitious character, Dorian Gray deceives “high society… [with his] wealth and outer surface, [while] his victims and past accomplices in sin, know better,” than to believe that he is the youthful and innocent man he claims to be (Fritz 1). Lost in the greed of wanting to remain eternally handsome, Dorian continues to lead a dishonest life in which he loses the morals he had during

In chapter 20 of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian reflects on his past crimes and wonders whether he will ever change and retrieve his innocence again. Throughout the final chapter of the novel, the elements of Gothic novel that Wilde explores conveys the idea of the pursuit of individualism. Dorian’s wild, racing emotions clearly show how much he is driven by his readiness to fulfill his desires under any circumstance. Through this, the use of specific words and punctuation markings highlight Dorian’s personal yearning of removing himself from his past.

Assimilating to the role of a tragic hero, Dorian Gray exhibits an unconventional philosophy, hedonism, which contradicts the norms of the Victorian Era. Through this characteristic, his devotion to the aesthetics of his life takes precedence over morality and ethics. Extolling at the magnificence of his painting, symbolizing the consequences of his transgressions, is the manifestation of the temptation that has corrupted the sanctity of his cerebral cortex. In essence, his obsession with “eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins” were the focus of his existence from which the allusion to the Faustian legend can be interpreted as dealing with supernatural forces of nature to further his conviction. Tempted by the extravagant luxuries that are limited to humanity for a short period of time hinders one from using it to its full potential. Relinquishing his virtues by bequeathing it to the portrait, he surrenders to his temptations as he “draws the screen back into its former place in front of the picture, smiling as he did so… if the picture was to alter, it was to alter. That was all.” Desiring a selfish satisfaction that goes against conventional wisdom qualifies as a sin, due to his excessive lifestyle consisting of no consequences. His principles have been bestowed upon another entity to feel the ramifications of Dorian’s eternal youth, which enables him to abuse the wonders of appearance to his heart’s content. His surrendering to the temptation of eternal youth is one trait that essentially

The novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, tells the story of a man obsessed with the pursuit of beauty and youth. He goes as far as to sell his soul, both literally and figuratively, in order to maintain his own youthful beauty. To preserve his youthful beauty, Dorian Gray allows his sins to be captured in a canvas self-portrait. However, in doing so, he does not take into account the impact his actions will have on others as well as on his own soul. In the novel, the titular character desires the power and privilege that youth and beauty brings, but he does not realize the true sacrifice such power requires.