As mentioned the portrait is the most important and influencing piece of art in the novel. Due to the picture Dorian realises his own beauty and also mortality. Furthermore he does not treat it like a separated piece of art but like a part of himself; “With a stifled sob the lad leaped from the couch, and, rushing over to Hallward, tore the knife out of his hand, and flung it to the end of the studio. "'Don't, Basil, don't! 'he cried.' It would be murder'” (Wilde 29). After Sybil's death it becomes clearer that Dorian treated her like a work of art. Because she lost her value Dorian is not emotionally connected to her. Therefore her death does not affect him very strongly, “why is it that I cannot feel this tragedy as much as I want to” (Wilde 97). Moreover he sees his own life as an artwork. Like Sybil did he compares his life with a theatre performance. “It seems to me to be simply …show more content…
When Basil confronts Dorian with the rumours about him he is willing to reveal his secret to Basil. At this point Dorian's corruption has been so advanced that he does not know whether to regret or don't regret that pact (Wilde 150). First, Basil is shocked, and cannot believe that the pact was for real. His attempts to purify Dorian fail. Instead he get angry about Basil. In that moment Dorian seems to hear a message from the picture, “Dorian Gray glanced at the picture, and suddenly an uncontrollable feeling of hatred for Basil Hallward came over him, as though it had been suggested to him by the image on the canvas, whispered into his ear by those grinning lips” (Wilde 151). Consequently Dorian kills Basil. Due to the portrait Dorian murders his only true friend and so his only positive influence. There is no chance of redemption for him anymore. Dorian's coolness and cruelty show again when he blackmails Alan Campbell. At all cost his secret must be unrevealed, therefore he forces Alan to get rid of Basil's
Dorian, some way or another, made everyone do something for him. His beauty and persuasion can’t be stopped by anyone but himself. Dorian gains Sybil Vane’s love and then throws it away. Dorian uses his charm to make Basil Hallward fall in love with him and uses him only because Basil allows him to. Dorian makes Alan Campbell dispose of Basil’s dead body or else he will reveal one of Campbell’s secrets. All of these are examples of how Dorian destroys his relationships and causes the deaths of anyone who gets close to him. Sadly, Dorian doesn’t even care.
During the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, three people die: Sibyl Vane, Basil Hallward, and James Vane. In one way or another Dorian played a part in each of their deaths. Kestner says that the second type of narcissism is the inability to feel (217). Dorian feels no remorse for the deaths of these people and takes no responsibility for his part in it. Sibyl Vane committed suicide after Dorian’s brutal rejection of her. Dorian murdered Basil after showing him the painting. Basil was trying to save Dorian’s soul by begging him to confess his sins. Dorian flew into a rage and stabbed Basil, afterwards “he felt strangely calm” (Wilde 152). He justified his actions by saying that Basil was “the friend who had painted the fatal portrait to which all his misery had been due” (Wilde 152). Then Sibyl Vane’s brother, James Vane, came to get revenge on Dorian Gray and ended up dying when Dorian distracted a gunman during a hunt. None of Dorian’s friends on the hunt cared that the man has died; they only care that he has “spoiled [their] shooting for the day” (Wilde 193). These are the type of people which Dorian surrounds himself, people who will continue his down fall. The friends only care about beauty and titles which then influences Dorian to look at the world in the same way. Oscar Wilde added multiple encounters with Dorian’s friends as a criticism of society. The
The classic novel by Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray inspires beauty, and romance. The main focus of the novel is aesthetics, a philosophical view detailing the nature of creation and appreciation of art and beauty. The tragedy of the young Dorian Gray after becoming misled by his companion, Lord Henry Wotton, is one that causes many to reform ideas on life and purpose. Lord Henry believes in hedonism, a thought stating that pleasure is the only true good; he declares, “The only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfilment of the senses” (Wilde). This outlook is tempting for many persons, including that of the title character, Dorian Gray. In contrast to Lord Henry is an artist named Basil Hallward, whom perceives Dorian to be his muse; serving as inspiration, and purpose. Basil has many moral traits including trust, compassion, and kindness. His infatuation with Dorian causes him to change his art and style, composing an exquisite painting of the young boy. Basil states, “the work I have done, since I met Dorian Gray, is good work, is the best work of my life…his personality has suggested to me an entirely new manner in art, an entirely new mode of style. I see things differently.” (Wilde). Dorian becomes so mesmerized by the beauty of the picture and the words of Lord Henry that he wishes for the picture to depict his sins and age, rather than his physical being. To the surprise of the young Dorian, his wish becomes fulfilled. This theme shares similarity to the Faust story, as the title character exchanges his soul for pleasures
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde introduces Dorian Gray as a mysterious and beautiful young man. He has no opinion and is very similar to a ball of clay, in the sense that he has no opinion and is free to be molded by whoever takes interest in him. Basil and Lord Henry both take interest in the young man. While both praise his physical beauty, Lord Henry wants to turn him into a hedonist minion. He convinces Dorian that he is a perfect candidate to live life according to his pleasure and that Basil is a poor influence upon him. Dorian takes this to heart and lives his life this way. He exchanges the purity of his soul for the beauty of his youth in certain painting. This breaks him down. He becomes less and less welcome by those who once admired him. He gets blackballed from clubs, has promiscuous sex and spends seventy-two hour periods in London’s opium dens. His life of seeking pleasure makes him more and more unhappy. When Basil shows up, he wants some one to sympathize with him and tell him that what he has done is not his fault. During the scene of Basil’s murder, Dorian’s want to be seen as good is apparent, but his unwillingness to accept fault and his corrupt ideology drive him to kill Basil, unveiling a new, malicious side to Dorian Gray.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical fiction novel written by Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray is referring to two portraits, first of all is the portrait of Dorian Gray painted by Basil Hallward, the painter in this novel, and the second one is the literary picture of Dorian Gray created by the author in this novel. The physical beauty of the main character of this novel, Dorian, remains unchanged even after 18 years but the painting of Dorian is changing horribly throughout this story to reflect the corruption of Dorian’s soul.
At the beginning, the general mood looks like pure and innocent expressed by the descriptions as follows: "the rich odours of roses...the light summer wind...the heavy scent of lilac"(Wilde 5). This opening scene precisely symbolizes the world in which Dorian is situated at present. Just like the beautiful setting, Dorian is a "beautiful creature"(7) and the portrait Basil draws shows Dorian's "extraordinary personal beauty"(5). In other words, Dorian is in front of the mysterious gate of life that has immense possibilities. At this point, Dorian is ignorant about both the world of idealistic art and the world of mundane, earthly values. Dorian merely possesses "all youth's passionate purity"(17).
He refuses to repent after Basil sees his soul: “though your sins be as scarlet; yet I will make them as white as snow” (233). Dorian becomes so angry that he strikes Basil. He knew that he wouldn’t let Basil live after seeing the portrait, so this was no accidental death. Dorian also does not want to feel any guilt for his actions, so he thinks killing Basil will take that away. Also, he sees Basil as a “thing” that’s getting in his way. By calling Basil’s body a “thing,” he is objectifying Basil, like he did with Sibyl, so he can justify his actions and not face the reality of what he has done. This allows Dorian to take away the human aspects of Basil and to disregard the value of Basil’s life. Wilde underscores Dorian’s lack of empathy when he commits the most selfish act of all: murder. Wilde uses the most deplorable act against humanity to emphasize the danger of acting on selfish impulses. Like Odysseus, Dorian is unable to understand the value of human life. They also both act on selfishly in order to feel
In his search for hedonistic pleasure, Dorian Gray ruins many reputations and is the cause of a few deaths. Even Basil points out that Dorian is linked to destroyed lives, realizing that “One has a right to judge of a man by the effect he has over his friends. Yours [Dorian’s] seem to lose all sense of honor, of goodness, of purity. You have filled them with a madness for pleasure. They have gone down into the depths. You led them there” (143). This is why Sibyl kills herself because after being introduced to pleasure, she cannot act anymore and Dorian unreasonably rejects her. Consequently, after hearing of Sibyl’s death, Dorian is grief-stricken, but quickly recovers and becomes an insensitive Lord Henry clone again: “You [Dorian] were the most unspoiled creature in the whole word. Now, I [Basil] don’t know what has come over you. You talk as if you had no heart, no pity in you. It is all Harry’s influence” (104). Instead of truly acce...
Basil from ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ uses art to immortalise Dorian, therefore, trying to defeat Time not for himself but for the one he admires and Olaussen argues that ‘most prominent conclusion drawn by most literary critics is that Basil is infatuated with Dorian’. It is true that Dorian’s beauty is much more than simply aesthetic to the artist, but gives him the inspiration to ‘recreate life in a way that was hidden from [him] before’. From this, it is clear that the wish made by Dorian to the painting was only part of the reason that his prayer was answered, and that Basil’s true love and admiration for his subject seemed to breathe life into the work. Without Basil and his ‘abstract sense of beauty’, Dorian would not have been so moved by Lord Henry’s words as the painting leads him to think of the future, of becoming ‘dreadful, hideous, and uncouth’. This idea that Basil successfully immortalises Dorian and therefore defeats Time is thwarted by his death at the hands of the very thing he tried to protect from it.
In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde readers are presented with a vast depiction of the art of immorality in the face of ignorant innocence portrayed by the character Dorian Gray. In the beginning it seems to be a quaint novel on artistry and the paradoxical relationship between two lifelong friends by the name of Basil Hallward and Lord Henry. The plot takes a surprising twist when introduced to the real center of attention, the character of the seemingly innocent Dorian Gray. Upon this introduction Wilde then begins to tell the tale of what a life of secrecy and deception will lead to without the consciousness of a moral threshold and the inescapable burden of Dorians horrid accumulation of sins. The deception begins with a simple shout out to the heavens for the impossible to be granted. This then flourishes into unspeakable acts caused by an Egyptian statue, bringing misfortune to Dorian Gray by giving him exactly what he so desperately desires, thus teaching the world a lesson. Not everything we so strongly desire the world to provide is good for the soul.
In this novel, we see the corruption of Dorian’s unscathed innocence and his beauty by various outside sources. Dorian first meets Basil, who values Dorian’s beauty so much that he is Basil’s muse for art, his way of living. Basil wants to cherish Dorian forever, and wants to keep him for himself. Additionally, at first, he cherishes Dorian’s beauty more than he does his personality. As an artist, Basil is completely enamored by Dorian’s beauty, and he says, “what the invention of oil-painting was to the Venetians, the face of Antinous was to late Greek sculpture, and the face of Dorian Gray will some day be to me” (Wilde 12).
Dorian Gray is a grand Gothic experiment from the moment in Basil Hallward’s studio when he desperately swears that he “would give [his] soul” if only he “was to be always young, and the picture … was to grow old” in his stead (Wilde 28). Even before this moment, Dorian was a test subject of Lord Henry’s, who wanted to see how many of his own ideas he could inject into the boy. This influence rapidly planted in Dorian the ideas of eternal youth and beauty and led to the encasement of his soul in the portrait. After the switch, Dorian not only is under Lord Henry’s influence, but he is also Oscar Wilde’s subject. In his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde manipulates Dorian, his surroundings, and his circumstances to capture a realistic portrayal of the character’s downfall by depicting the nature of the body, mind, and soul, and the relationship they share.
Dorian Gray's life is dictated by his physical appeal. His beauty lies within his youth. Dorian's perception of beauty allows him to love. He is convinced that his beauty allows him to accomplish anything he desires regardless of the consequences and still be loved by his friends. He uses his beauty to mitigate his evil actions. Dorian says, “I don't wish to know anything about them. I love scandals about other people, but scandals about myself don't interest me. They have not got the charm of novelty.” Youth and beauty are the most precious things to Dorian. In his life, beauty is of utmost importance. Then he sees the picture of himself, painted by Basil, absorb his sins and this changed his view. “I hope it is not about myself. I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else,” Dorian said. He aspired to have had a good life rather than one filled with artificial meaning and beauty. The moral beauty of Doran lies within the portrait of himself. The portrait imitated his life. He finally realized that beauty cannot help him escape his evil actions. He deeply lamemted his wish that the portrait bore the burden of his age an...
Basil wants Dorian to go back to his old ways. It is at this point that the reader can see that Dorian is actually being affected by his conscience, something that has not been seen in him since the beginning of the book. It is at this point that Dorian begins to go back to how he was before and feels the need to reform. However, Dorian is unable to accept how drastically he himself has changed, and attempts to excuse it. This can be seen when Dorian cries, “Each of us has heaven and hell in him, Basil.” Dorian is showing despair, proving that he realizes that he understands that he has committed many sins and thrown away his life, but still wants to explain it away. Despite this, Dorian attempts to shock Basil by showing how drastically his painting has changed to reflect what Dorian has done. However, Basil instead prays for Dorian and shows him love, which Dorian cannot accept. Dorian kills Basil, but realizes that he has made a mistake. He starts trying to reform in order to get rid of the ugliness of the picture and return it to how it was
He also blames all the misery of his life on the hideous painting of him (152). Dorian's hatred towards the two pieces of art mirror how Victorian society looks upon art created by people like Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde's plays, essays and other works of art are looked upon poorly by some in the Victorian era as his work was considered by some to be corrupt. Oscar Wilde, however, uses the book The Picture of Dorian Gray to subtly counter these points. “All art at once” surface and symbol.