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Basil Hallward, the artist who paints the soul of Dorian Gray, can be seen as the book’s only positive character. Basil seems to be too pure for the aesthetic period that surrounds him. When he paints what can clearly be called his masterpiece, Basil offers to give it away instead of showing it off, where it would grant him fame and fortune. He gives the painting to Dorian because his is afraid that he revealed too much about himself on the canvas. Dorian is worried that the viewers will be able to tell of his extraordinary interest, and even his love of the model in the picture. Basil proves many times in his limited appearances that he is a man who is too quick to see the good in people, and slow to give up on those who seem too sinful to …show more content…
Basil has far fewer interactions with Dorian than Henry does, and each one has a different tone. Their first interaction comes before Dorian is corrupted by Henry, and is a model working for Basil. Basil is surprised and upset with Dorian’s attitude, and blames Henry for Dorian’s new attitude. Before Dorian leaves, Basil urges him to cancel his plans with Henry, and instead dine with himself that night. Basil knows that Henry with only continue to fill Dorian’s head with malicious and selfish thoughts. The next time Basil shares dialogue with Dorian is the day after Sybil's death. Basil can see that Henry’s influence on Dorian has continued to change the naive young man that he had one painted. Basil is shocked with the new Dorian, and says “You look exactly the same wonderful boy who, day after day, used to come down to my studio to sit for his picture. But you were simple, natural, and affectionate then… Now I don’t know what has come over you. You talk as if you had no heart… It is all Harry’s influence”(Wilde 105). Basil decides it is time to tell Dorian the truth, in a last-ditch effort to save him from Henry’s influence. Basil admits that his feilings for Dorian are much stronger than friendship, and also much different than love. Basil sees Dorian as a virtuous perfection, too pure for the outside world. Unfortunately Dorian only responds by saying Basil’s confession was disappointing, showing he shares Henry’s love for good drama, and cares nothing about real
Basil goes to speak to Dorian to tell to him of the rumors they have been spreading. Many people believe him to be immoral and a corrupting influence that must be avoided to keep one’s good name. Hearing such rumors trouble Basil because he worships Dorian so strongly and is so devoted to him. He even refuses to exhibit the portrait of Dorian, the imitation he made, “Because, without intending it, I have put into it some expression of all this curious idolatry.” (13 Wilde) Basil feared that the world would be able to tell how much he adored Dorian. Continuing his conversation, Basil claims “but you, Dorian with your pure, bright, innocent face, and your marvelous untroubled youth—I can’t believe anything against you.” (127 Wilde) Which is to say that Basil believes that when one commits sin it changes the man’s outward appearance, corrupting him and since Dorian is beautiful he is without sin...
To begin with, Dorian 's decision to befriend Lord Henry is the first choice he makes that leads to his downfall. In the first place, Lord Henry makes Dorian conscious of his own astonishing youth and beauty. This is illustrated from the first encounter Dorian has with Lord Henry; "... You have the most marvellous youth, and youth is the one thing worth having....You have a wonderfully beautiful face, Mr. Gray" (16). He later on says, "The moment I met you I saw that you were quite unconscious of what you really are , of what you really might be. There was so much in you that charmed me that
When the reader first meets Dorian, it is only through a story told by Basil. Basil’s story reveals little, if anything, about Dorian. Similarly, when Lady Brandon describes Dorian, nothing is revealed about him.
Obsession is described as a persistent thought dominating the mind, but of all the types of obsession, idolatry is the most common example, which is seen through both Basil’s worship of Dorian, and society’s worship of celebrities. Basil’s worship of Dorian is depicted early in the book, before Dorian is even a real introduced. Basil expresses how powerful his feelings for this man are, “Something seemed to tell me that I was on the verge of a terrible crisis in my life…It was not conscience that made me do so: it was cowardice. I take no credit to myself for trying to escape,” (Wilde 10). Dorian has so much control over Basil that he feared he would lose control of himself, that the intensity of his feelings would lead to a crisis, showing exactly how powerful obsession can be. Basil’s feelings for Dorian cannot be seen as love, especially later on in the novel, he confesses he believes Dorian is truly perfect and had f...
It is blatant from the beginning of the novel that homoerotic energies permeate the story. Basil has always been intrigued, obsessed, and fascinated by the beautiful, perfect Dorian Gray. Nonetheless, Basil dies in Chapter XIII of The Picture of Dorian Gray – that is, he dies near the middle of the story. This death is premature, because the romantic relationship between Basil and Dorian is not explored even though it is apparent that just before he dies, Basil still feels love and tenderness towards his protégé Dorian. Although Dorian does not seem to have any romantic interest in Basil, he does need Basil as a guardian angel until the end of the story. Dorian is akin to Faustus in Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus,” for he naïvely lusts after knowledge and sells his soul to Mephistopheles – Lord Henry in The Picture of Dorian Gray – to obtain this knowledge. In “Doctor Faustus,” the good angel is a recurring figure that stays with Faustus until near Faustus’ death, forever urging the Doctor to repent. Basil, however, is a shadowy figure and is not able to give Dorian good advice until the end of the story.
In the first chapter of the novel, Basil and Harry began speaking about Dorian. Basil tells Harry of his feelings toward Dorian:
Wilde says that Dorian’s journey begins with Ordinary World. He is a young and good looking male. He has a normal life till he met Basil and Lord Henry. He now receives the Call of Adventure. When he met Basil at a party, they become friends and everything is still good until he met Lord Henry. He captured the imagination of Basil and for Lord Henry is how he knows that Dorian can do anything with his looks and perfection. Basil made a portrait of Dorian. Lord Henry made Dorian realize that he is not doing anything wrong and he is perfect no matter what. This is how
Harry slowly exerts control over Dorian in two simple ways. First he implants ideas and reactions into Dorian’s sub-conscience leading him to believe that the thoughts that are flowing from his head are his own, not Lord Henry’s. After Sybil’s death, Harry consoles Dorian, or at least that is how Dorian sees the encounter. “You have explained me to myself, Harry…I felt all that you have said, but somehow I was afraid of it, and I could not express it to myself. How well you know me!”. It is not that Harry knows Dorian so well, but that Lord Henry has influenced and molded Dorian’s coping mechanisms. The young man will now follow this pattern of denial each time he is faced with remorse, guilt, or sadness. Henry himself admits to the fact that he is experimenting with Dorian, “It was clear to him that the experimental method was the only method by which one could arrive at any scientific analysis of the passions: and certainly Dorian Gray was a subject made to his hand, and seemed to promise rich and fruitful results”.
Basil was brave enough to risk a new and prosperous life and said, “I shall come with you, Dorian, if you wish it. I see I have missed my train. That makes no matter… All I want is a plain answer to my question.” (Wilde, 257) Basil shows that he does not care about what happens to him and his future, he just wants to please Dorian’s requests.
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 all 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’s beauty is greatly appreciated by Basil, and he is the one who makes Dorian realize his beauty and charms.
Although Wilde halts short of stating that Basil and Lord Henry have sexual feelings for Dorian , the language he uses to describe their devotion for Dorian is unmistakably the language of deep, romantic intimacy. “Tell me more about Mr. Dorian Gray. How often do you see him?”. “Every day. I couldn’t be happy if I didn’t see him everyday. He is absolutely necessary to me”. This common motif of homoerotic bonds between men plays a large role in structuring the novel. Basils painting is born from his adoration of Dorians beauty , comparatively Lord Henry is overcome with desire to seduce Dorian. This sense of camaraderie between men fits into Wildes aesthetic values, for it returns him to his past where the philosophy of beauty was not only the basis of society but fundamental to culture. As a homosexual living in an intolerant society, Wilde asserted this philosophy in order to justify his own lifestyle.
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
...n goes on to murder Basil in a moment of pure hatred, allowing Lord Henry to ultimately succeed in his aims of winning Dorian’s soul.
Basil Hallward, a painter, knows the corruptive influence that Lord Henry can impose upon his model, Dorian Gray. Basil does not want Lord Henry to even meet Dorian because he is afraid that Dorian will be influenced and ruined. Basil begs Henry by saying, "Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad. The world is wide, and has many marvelous people in it. Don't take away from me the one person who gives to my art whatever charm it possesses: my life as an artist depends on him" (Wilde 10). Right from the beginning Wilde begins to show what type of person Lord Henry is. Lord Henry's influences pose a threat to Dorian. Basil is well aware of this.
Seemingly striving after impersonality and aesthetic perfection in his work, Basil feels the greatest anxiety of having put "too much of himself" into his picture of Dorian (Chapter 1, page 20) that he can't exhibit it. To display his work of art in public would, in a sense, amount to exposure of Basil's attraction to Dorian Gray. This is one reason, and another reason is that he may fear that more people will see and get attracted by Dorian Gray. He admits to Lord Henry that "he is much more to me(Basil) than a model or a sitter."In his deep consciousness, he is quite possessive and self-contemptuous. He refused to introduce Dorian Gray to...