The Gothic Elements in the Picture of Dorian Gray

Abstract In an attempt to find out the purposes of the gothic elements in The Picture of Dorian Gray, this essay takes a close look at the three most prevailing gothic elements in the novel: the portrait, decadence, and the gothic villain by first exploring their presence and development throughout, and then examining their contributions to the characters, the plot development and the themes. First of all, the unique properties and symbolic meanings of the portrait in this novel are discussed. The purpose of the portrait is then analyzed in terms of its effect on Dorian Gray. Then, the theme of decadence is identified in the personality of the protagonist. Its purpose is then investigated by comparing and analyzing the opinions of the author on decadence with those of his contemporaries. Finally, the presence of a gothic villain is identified and its contribution to the theme is obtained by investigating the life and philosophy of the gothic villain as one of the characters in the novel. After a careful examination of the elements of decadence, the portrait and the gothic villain, it can be concluded that the purpose of the portrait in the novel is to reflect Dorian’s inner self and bring out the conflict between art and life, the purpose of decadence is to develop Dorian’s personality and enhance our understanding of character’s inner struggles, and the purpose of the gothic villain is to take the moral of the novel to a deeper level. Combining all the purposes, it can be suggested that the gothic elements in the novel serve the general purpose of depicting the nature of our lives and the conflict between morality and decadence.

Introduction
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde’s only novel, tells us the tale of a person’s journey towards doom through moral decadence. It can be observed that from the supernatural events to the delineation of murder, a great number of gothic elements can be found in this dark novel. Among these elements, three stand out as