Ethics And Ethics In Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray

1.Introduction

The picture of Oscar Wilde is still fuzzy and incomplete but in the popular imagination, he remains an iconic, larger-than-life figure – largely because of his public persona and modus vivendi: He was a flamboyant dandy and a brilliant wit; a refined, decadent aesthete. Professionally, he produced excellent prose pieces and composed arguably mediocre poetry, and he vociferously proposed unconventional theories and principles of art and aesthetics. Yet, Wilde continues to be shrouded in a dense cloud of mystery: he is, above all, an insoluble enigma. While he may at times give away the real and authentic nature of his complex self, at other times this self cunningly conceals itself behind a mask . In a sense, Wilde knew exactly how to transcend history with a strange, shadowy presence that will forever stain the existence of humanity.

The principal and overriding objective of the following essay is to examine and discuss the relationship between Wilde’s ethics and aesthetics whose connection Wilde ostensibly tries to sever already in the preface to “The Picture of Dorian Gray” . Before examining this connection more closely, however, it is appropriate to consider the context in which the novel was received when it came out in a serialised version in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in 1890. To provide a solid theoretical foundation

Wilde’s generous contribution of paradoxes, irony and satirical wit may have left this impression, but his “style” enabled him to explore the complexities of human nature, interpersonal relationships and of culture and society in general. Beneath the polished surface, Wilde was not entirely unconcerned about the response to “Dorian Gray”. He edited material and added new chapters and a preface for book publication the following year (Ellmann