The Theme Of Homosexuality In A Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

Dorian Gray’s change from an innocent youth to a pleasure seeker over the course of the novel show Wilde’s unique use of characterization. His relatable theme of deception create a novel that has and will continue to last a

Wilde, Oscar. The Importance of Being Earnest. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Alison Booth, et al. 9th ed. New York: Norton, 2005. 1879-21.

“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

Shortly after meeting Dorian for the first time, Lord Henry calmly declares, “to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul” (20). In these few words, Lord Henry foreshadows the

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 novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde originally appeared in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in 1890.  It was then published in 1891, in book form, containing six additional chapters with revisions. The first reviews of Dorian Gray were mostly unfavorable.  It was condemned for its speculative treatment  of immoral or at least uncomfortable subjects. A review in the St. James’s Gazette by Samuel Henry Jeyes, journalist and biographer was titled "‘A Study in Puppydom."   Jeyes refers to Wilde’s idle, “effeminate” characters in the book and writes: “The puppies appear to fill up the intervals of talk by plucking daisies and playing with them, and

As a whole, this opening confrontation between Lord Henry and Dorian’s initial character proves several points: one, Dorian does have his own passions and soul before meeting Lord Henry, and two, Lord Henry’s teachings initially echo Dorian’s own feelings, which are what draw him to Lord Henry over the two-dimensional Basil Hallward. Later, ironically, it is Lord Henry’s own teachings which leads to Dorian’s struggle to repress his "true self" and ultimately bring about his downfall.

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

Many poets and authors of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries used their respective mediums to broach what were then considered to be taboo or radical subjects. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word ‘radical’ as “supporting complete political or social reform. Departing from tradition; new” (Soanes 740). When using this definition, both Aphra Behn’s work, “The Disappointment” and John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester’s work, “The Imperfect Enjoyment” are easily interpreted as such. Both poems discuss sexuality and gender in new, sometimes shocking ways. Behn’s poem offers astoundingly liberal views on female sexuality, considering the time period. Despite the radical notions and expletives present, Rochester’s pushes the envelope further by exploring the extremely private issue of impotence and male sexual failure, using highly offensive language. In the year “The Disappointment” was written, traditional gender roles were still very important to society and generally adhered to. This means that men were expected not only to be ‘manly’, but to maintain a certain air of dignity and composure at all times, especially in front of women. For this reason, Rochester’s blatant disregard for social conventions in his brutally honest depiction of erectile dysfunction is simultaneously revolutionary and scandalous. To portray a male in a less-than-flattering light undermines the stereotypes society tried so hard to uphold and represents a

In 1888, Oscar Wilde published a set of fairy tales, The Happy Prince and Other Tales and "The Young King." These stories, "revealed another approach to moral situations and human relationships" (Stayley 319). The fairy tales were perhaps the first time Wilde introduced homosexual undertones into his works. For example, in the story The Happy Prince, a male bird and a statue of a Prince fall in love. Although it could be argued that the love between the Prince and the bird was only that of friends, most likely Wilde is expressing his own feelings of homosexuality through the bird and the Prince's relationship. For example,

In The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde explores the importance of physical appearances, and its relations to success in society. “Dorian experiences the psychic transformation and gradually ends up in self-destruction after alienating his self-identification” (Zhang). Wilde writes about how his main character, Dorian Grey, explores and learns about the philosophical elements of life and mortality. “To him, man was a being with myriad lives and myriad sensations, a complex multiform creature that bore within itself strange legacies of thought and passion, and whose very flesh was tainted with the monstrous maladies of the dead” (Wilde 150). Oscar Wilde is able to create a fictional world that explores many controversial issues present in real life. Wilde uses the development of his characters to discuss his opinions on several different matters relating to beauty, mortality, and the supernatural.

Throughout his life Oscar Wilde had many strong influences exerted upon him. During his early childhood his mother influenced him and into college some of his professors and certain philosophers left a substantial impression upon him. Into adulthood these influences leaked out in his writing. These influences gave him ample ideas for writing The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde's study of the Hellenistic ideals of Epicurus, his coddled lifestyle as a child and his devotion to the movement of Aesthetics and Moral Ambiguity have produced one of the most astounding works of horror fiction.

When Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, first version was published it received horrible reviews from critics. The novel’s first version was published in “Lippincott's Monthly Magazine” in July, 1890’s issue. “The St. James Gazette of June 20, 1890, refers to the ‘garbage of the French Décadents’ and the ‘prosy rigmaroles’ of the story.” There was another review 10 days later from the Daily Chronicles that called the novel a “poisonous book.” The reason why the critics’ reactions to the novel were horrible was because they thought that the novel was “immoral” and “poisonous.”

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.