Lord Henry's Influence On Dorian Gray
In this novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry has a huge impact on Mr. Gray. Not the type of way a parent has an influence on a child, but in a more cynical way. Dorian Gray started his life in London by meeting Basil and Lord Henry. Basil was trying to bring out the good in Dorian, but that got him killed. On the other hand Lord Henry was Dorians best friend. To me Oscar Wilde was a lot like Lord Henry. Oscar Wilde was rich, loved the newest fashions, and fit in perfectly well in the English society. Oscar Wilde was homosexual at this time. He actually got arrested for it. What happened though was that being gay was frowned upon in the society. Wilde was married and had two children, but that didn’t stop him from coming out of the closet. His significant other was way younger and had a beautiful face. This was Lord Alfred Douglas. Their affair was out in the open and
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everyone knew. When Lord Alfred Douglas’s father found out he wrote a letter to Wilde. Needless to say Oscar Wilde was not a happy camper and sued Queensberry for libel. This was the end of Oscar Wildes life. Wilde was convicted to two years in prison for his homosexuality. After the two years in jail he came out physically and mentally tired. Wilde was broke and only had enough money to stay in cheap hotels or bunk with friends. During this time Oscar Wilde contacted his old lover Lord Alfred Douglas by writing him love letters. He didn’t make any memorable works towards the end of his life. Wilde later died of meningitis November 30, 1900 at at 46.
First comment: “I make great difference between people. I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good character, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.”
The comment above is a great example of Lord Henry’s attitude about the people he chooses to hang out with. He doesn't have any real friends that he can fully tell any of his problems too. But Lord Henry isn’t the type of person to tell anyone what he really feels. This is just like what he thinks about marriage, that it’s just for show. He chooses friends by the way they look to show society that he has good taste. Another thing that comes to mind is the saying keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Lord Henry is a smart thinker and knows the only way to make it through society is to have smart enemies. To him it’s a bonus to have intellectual enemies just because it gives off a jolly good show.
Second comment: “Pleasure is the only thing worth having a theory about,” he answered in his slow melodious voice.”But I am afraid I cannot claim my theory as my own. It belongs to Nature, not to me. Pleasure is Nature’s test, her sign of approval. When we are happy, we are not always happy.”
Lord Henry believes that pleasure does not belong to him, but to Nature. To find pleasure is to let Nature bring him something to find pleasure in. In this case, nature brought him Dorian Gray. To Lord Henry pleasure is just a test given from nature. It’s a sign of her approval. Nature is the root of his joy and pleasure. This can relate to his statement about happiness. “When we are happy, we are not always happy.” It is in human nature to find love and happiness. Lord Henry is a real life functioning robot. He programmed himself to act and think cynically.
Third comment: “I never approve, or disapprove of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life.”
Lord Henry just goes with the flow of life. It’s how he makes his life enjoyable. He’s not a character to judge what other people do. He likes to sit back and enjoy the show that is set before him. To approve or disapprove of things shows that you care about the people around you. Lord Henry is the last person in the world to show his concern towards someone.
Fourth comment: “My dear fellow, mediaeval art is charming, but mediaeval emotions are out of date. One can use them in fiction, of course. But then the only things that one can use in fiction are the thing that one has ceased to use in fact.”
This is going back to the way Lord Henry looks at marriage and relationships. To him it does not fit to marry. Marriage is just something to show off to the English society. Lord Henry states that “one can use them in fiction.” Relationships are only used in fairy tales, like the princess falling in love with her knight in shining armor. Then he goes on saying that the downfall of fiction is that it ceased to exist in the real world. He is telling all of this to Dorian, corrupting him with every word he says. But to Lord Henry this is the type of person he truly is.
Fifth comment: “Youth is the one thing worth having.”
This is towards the beginning of the novel when Dorian first meets Lord Henry.
When Dorian and Lord Henry first meet sparks are flying around Lord Henry. He’s not homosexual but he sees a person he can have some fun with. To Lord Henry, now a days in English society, youth and wealth is the only thing worth having. If you are pretty you already have a foot in the door. This is just who Lord Henry is as a character, and to him Dorian is eye candy. Lord Henry sees pleasure in Dorian. How much can Lord Henry corrupt innocent Dorian Gray? It’s one giant game for Lord Henry.
All in all, Lord Henry based from comments he makes throughout the book is a corrupt person himself. The way he runs his life and his morals can corrupt other people. Used to be innocent Dorian Gray was corrupt to the core. To Lord Henry the only way to make life fun is by toying with other people. That the only way to live in the English society is to play games. Sometimes that can catch up with you. But it doesn’t for Lord Henry. He stays the same old conniving
person.
everyone knew. When Lord Alfred Douglas’s father found out he wrote a letter to Wilde. Needless to say Oscar Wilde was not a happy camper and sued Queensberry for libel. This was the end of Oscar Wildes life. Wilde was convicted to two years in prison for his homosexuality. After the two years in jail he came out physically and mentally tired. Wilde was broke and only had enough money to stay in cheap hotels or bunk with friends. During this time Oscar Wilde contacted his old lover Lord Alfred Douglas by writing him love letters. He didn’t make any memorable works towards the end of his life. Wilde later died of meningitis November 30, 1900 at at 46.
First comment: “I make great difference between people. I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good character, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.”
The comment above is a great example of Lord Henry’s attitude about the people he chooses to hang out with. He doesn't have any real friends that he can fully tell any of his problems too. But Lord Henry isn’t the type of person to tell anyone what he really feels. This is just like what he thinks about marriage, that it’s just for show. He chooses friends by the way they look to show society that he has good taste. Another thing that comes to mind is the saying keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Lord Henry is a smart thinker and knows the only way to make it through society is to have smart enemies. To him it’s a bonus to have intellectual enemies just because it gives off a jolly good show.
Second comment: “Pleasure is the only thing worth having a theory about,” he answered in his slow melodious voice.”But I am afraid I cannot claim my theory as my own. It belongs to Nature, not to me. Pleasure is Nature’s test, her sign of approval. When we are happy, we are not always happy.”
Lord Henry believes that pleasure does not belong to him, but to Nature. To find pleasure is to let Nature bring him something to find pleasure in. In this case, nature brought him Dorian Gray. To Lord Henry pleasure is just a test given from nature. It’s a sign of her approval. Nature is the root of his joy and pleasure. This can relate to his statement about happiness. “When we are happy, we are not always happy.” It is in human nature to find love and happiness. Lord Henry is a real life functioning robot. He programmed himself to act and think cynically.
Third comment: “I never approve, or disapprove of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life.”
Lord Henry just goes with the flow of life. It’s how he makes his life enjoyable. He’s not a character to judge what other people do. He likes to sit back and enjoy the show that is set before him. To approve or disapprove of things shows that you care about the people around you. Lord Henry is the last person in the world to show his concern towards someone.
Fourth comment: “My dear fellow, mediaeval art is charming, but mediaeval emotions are out of date. One can use them in fiction, of course. But then the only things that one can use in fiction are the thing that one has ceased to use in fact.”
This is going back to the way Lord Henry looks at marriage and relationships. To him it does not fit to marry. Marriage is just something to show off to the English society. Lord Henry states that “one can use them in fiction.” Relationships are only used in fairy tales, like the princess falling in love with her knight in shining armor. Then he goes on saying that the downfall of fiction is that it ceased to exist in the real world. He is telling all of this to Dorian, corrupting him with every word he says. But to Lord Henry this is the type of person he truly is.
Fifth comment: “Youth is the one thing worth having.”
This is towards the beginning of the novel when Dorian first meets Lord Henry.
When Dorian and Lord Henry first meet sparks are flying around Lord Henry. He’s not homosexual but he sees a person he can have some fun with. To Lord Henry, now a days in English society, youth and wealth is the only thing worth having. If you are pretty you already have a foot in the door. This is just who Lord Henry is as a character, and to him Dorian is eye candy. Lord Henry sees pleasure in Dorian. How much can Lord Henry corrupt innocent Dorian Gray? It’s one giant game for Lord Henry.
All in all, Lord Henry based from comments he makes throughout the book is a corrupt person himself. The way he runs his life and his morals can corrupt other people. Used to be innocent Dorian Gray was corrupt to the core. To Lord Henry the only way to make life fun is by toying with other people. That the only way to live in the English society is to play games. Sometimes that can catch up with you. But it doesn’t for Lord Henry. He stays the same old conniving
person.