Art for Arts sake - Analysis of the Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray

The work of literature I chose to analyze is called The Picture of Dorian Gray. It is the only published novel that was written by Oscar Wilde. In these papers I am going to briefly describe the main characters and the plot of the novel, then I am going to write about the historical period in which was the book written and how is this period reflected in the book. The last part of my work will be an analysis of Lord Henry´s influence on Dorian Gray.
The story is set in London towards the end of the 19th century. The main character of the book is a young and extremely handsome man named Dorian Gray. He is sitting to a painter called Basil Hallward. Basil is greatly inspired by the beauty of the boy and Dorian becomes painter´s muse. In the artist’s studio Dorian also meets Lord Henry Wotton, a man of great intellect and immoral views.

When the painting is finished, Basil and Henry are shocked by the exquisiteness of the picture. Dorian also admires the way the picture depicts his look, but he becomes frightened when his new friend, Lord Henry, tells him that his beauty will fade with age, whereas the picture will remain the same. Dorian makes a passionate wish that he would remain young and the picture aged instead of him. Being influenced by Lord Henry, Dorian abandons the life of virtues and starts the life of vices. His behavior seems to be reflected in the portrait and Dorian quickly realizes that his wish has come true. Scared by what he sees in the picture, Dorian decides to hide the portrait in a locked room. However, this event doesn´t change anything, Dorian continues his life of deception and cruelties. Then one evening he meets the artist again. After he showed him the picture, Dorian´s hatred of painter´s work overwhelms him and he kills Basil. Dorian tries to carry on with his life as usual, but the feelings of guilt grow stronger and stronger. Finally, Dorian decides to destroy the picture and all the bad memories it represents. By doing so, Dorian actually kills himself.

The Picture of Dorian Gray was written in 1889 in a period known as “Victorian England.” The term refers to the reign of Queen Victoria over the British Empire and the culture within it during 1837 to 1901.
The main values of the Victorian culture were puritanism, hard work, family and public face. The public face and social status were very important during this period. Because of that people avoided some topics during conservation or pretended that they know nothing about it, for example. But the reality was usually the right opposite. (ROEBUCK 2011) When O. Wilde presented his novel, it was criticized as scandalous and immoral for its openness. For his protection and explanation Wilde revised the novel in 1891 by adding a preface and six additional chapters. The preface answers the critics who charge The Picture of Dorian Gray with being an immoral tale:

Wilde believed that art possesses an intrinsic value—that it is beautiful and therefore has worth, and thus needs serve no other purpose, be it moral or political. This attitude was revolutionary in Victorian England, where popular belief held that art was not only a function of morality but also a means of enforcing it. (sparknotes.com – The Picture of Dorian Gray)

During the Victorian period several types of novel were produced. The most popular one was “Victorian novel”. It is a realistic novel, where hard work and progress is eventually rewarded and vices are punished. Among other types of novel such as fantasy, adventure or detective novel in the second half of the 18th century also emerged gothic novel. (VÍT 2011)

The Picture of Dorian Gray contains several themes which are typical for a gothic novel: supernatural presence, darkness and rain, murder and suicide, characters with mysterious past and a secret room. (CUMMINGS 2011) In comparison to another gothic novel of the period, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Wilde´s novel does not differ a lot. The main characters of both novels are passionate, cruel, influenced by another person and both characters have power over the others. The main difference might be the theme of love. Wuthering Heights presents love as something unique, passionate and rather immortal, whereas The Picture of Dorian Gray shows us love as a reasonable fact with some duration which depends on human qualities such as acting skill, good look or possession.

Before meeting Henry, Dorian was an innocent young boy who had probably followed the strict Victorian social codes. It is because of Henry that Dorian makes all the cruelties. The evil wish is one of the first signs:
Ah! Realize your youth while you have it. Don’t squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! (WILDE 1974: 22)

The more time the two spend together, the more Dorian is affected and the more Dorian uses Henry´s ideas rather than his own. “Ah! That is one of Harry´s views, isn’t it, Mr. Gray? I always hear Harry´s views from his friends.” (WILDE 1974: 45) He is gradually transformed until nothing remains of his original personality. By my opinion this change is completed when Dorian leaves Sibyl because of her bad performance:
Cruelty! Had he been cruel? It was the girls fault, not his. He had dreamed of her as a great artist, had given his love to her because he had thought her great. Then she disappointed him. She had been shallow and unworthy. (WILDE 1974: 90-91)

Henry 's vices become Dorian 's. How can the reader know which actions are really Dorian´s and which actions are controlled by Lord Henry? Very interesting fact is, that at the beginning of the novel Dorian actually asks Henry, whether he has a bad influence on people:
Have you really bad influence Lord Henry? As bad as Basil says?
There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr. Gray. All influence is immoral from the scientific point of view.
Why?
Because to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. He becomes an echo of someone else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. (WILDE 1974: 18)

It is obvious that Henry knows very well about the effects of his influential behavior. Does he influence people around him on purpose? Or is it just a matter of his complete indifference? I think this question is answered in the preface of the novel. “It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.” (WILDE 1974: xxiv)
I always enjoy reading Lord Henry´s theories. I think these notions are overall valid, but no extreme is good. This extremeness of Dorian´s actions caused his final downfall by my opinion. I also like this novel because it reminds me how easily can be human mind manipulated. It also made me think about myself. Am I also like Dorian Gray?

Bibliography

BRONTE, Emily. Wuthering Heights. London: Penguin Books.1994. ISBN 0-14-062012-5
CUMMINGS, Michael J. The Picture of Dorian Gray, A study guide. Cummings Study Guides. [online]. 2012. [cit. 2012-01-12]. Dostupný z WWW: www.cummingsstudyguides.net
ROEBUCK, Olga. British culture of the 20th century. (Seminar) Pardubice. University of Pardubice, 14 October 2011.
SPARKNOTES Editors. SparkNote on The Picture of Dorian Gray. SparkNotes.com [online]. 2009, [cit. 2012-01-06]. Dostupný z WWW: www.sparknotes.com
VÍT, Ladislav. British literature II. (Lecture) Pardubice. University of Pardubice, 5 October 2011.
WILDE, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Oxford University Press. 1974. ISBN 0-19-281553-9

Bibliography: BRONTE, Emily. Wuthering Heights. London: Penguin Books.1994. ISBN 0-14-062012-5 CUMMINGS, Michael J. The Picture of Dorian Gray, A study guide. Cummings Study Guides. [online]. 2012. [cit. 2012-01-12]. Dostupný z WWW: www.cummingsstudyguides.net ROEBUCK, Olga. British culture of the 20th century. (Seminar) Pardubice. University of Pardubice, 14 October 2011. SPARKNOTES Editors. SparkNote on The Picture of Dorian Gray. SparkNotes.com [online]. 2009, [cit. 2012-01-06]. Dostupný z WWW: www.sparknotes.com VÍT, Ladislav. British literature II. (Lecture) Pardubice. University of Pardubice, 5 October 2011. WILDE, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Oxford University Press. 1974. ISBN 0-19-281553-9