Masculinity In Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray

In Oscar Wilde's “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” he defines masculinity in tangible terms such as age, attractiveness, profession, and philosophy instead of decency and sincerity. Harry, Basil, and Dorian are members of the upper-class society and the most qualified among those in their professions. However, their expertise causes the men to struggle with their masculinity and question the masculine social norms. The men are codependent and immature, but Lord Henry is portrayed as unlikely to learn from his experiences. His extreme preaching and inability to follow a professed immoral lifestyle is significant in understanding Henry as a symbol of the male ego. Basil is somewhat feminized when he represents the male conscience, but his masculinity
As white wealthy males, they have all the advantages of society, but the homoerotic undertone leaves us to believe that Harry, Basil, and Dorian do not fit the standard of masculinity during their time. Wilde creates a tension in these roles with a society dominated by beautiful elitists, governing through vanity, cruelty, and violence. Wilde suggests “the thoroughly well-informed man---that is the modern ideal. And the mind of the thoroughly well-informed man is a dreadful thing. It is like a bric-a'-brac shop, all monsters and dust, with everything priced above its proper value” (10). Wilde's idea of masculinity would conclude that the ideal male is complicated and those closest to achieving traditional masculinity are more vulnerable to deception and are exploited because of
He is young, attractive, impressionable, and a combination of the masculine influences of Henry and Basil. Wilde creates the idea that superficial masculinity overpowers genuine masculinity as Dorian follows the teachings of Henry instead of Basil. After Sibyl Vane's suicide, Dorian becomes even more so influenced by Henry. Henry implies to Dorian “we have emancipated them, but they remain slaves looking for their masters, all the same. They love being dominated” (75). Dorian indoctrination as masters to women is nothing new in theology, however, the hyperbole of the speech indicates the extremeness in the masculine society of which all three men reside. Basil's death becomes Dorian's demise, indicating that men have more influence and greater value than women. Dorian's confession minimizes his conscience as he admits, “ A man who is a master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, enjoy them, and to dominate them” (79). It seems that Wilde would define any emotion or empathy to be feminine, and that masculinity is defined by logic and fact. While Basil seems to be feminized by his consciousnesses, Henry is the masculine figure due to his lack of morality, and Dorian's conscience awareness and disregard of it leaves us to believe Wilde would conclude the web of masculinity can not be defined by social