The Unconscious Image of the Conscious Mind

Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray accentuates the life of a young Victorian, Dorian Gray, as he takes steps to corrupt the absolute being of his soul, sentencing himself to moral degradation and destruction. Dorian's view of materialistic and personal passions coincide with effective people in Dorian's life, alternating his portrait from its original design. Dorian's extreme emotions towards disturbing preoccupations turn him into a wild animal who perceives irrationally. Dorian is so infatuated with worldly desires, that he takes a moment to recognize his insanity. Youth and beauty contribute to Dorian's madness, starting with the painting of his portrait. Basil Hallward creates an elegant representation of Dorian's juvenile characteristics, making Dorian handsome and full of warmth. This portrait is to an extreme liking of Dorian, and he becomes grasped on the idea that this magnificence will stay young always, but Dorian himself will continue to age. Lord Henry believes that this work of art is priceless, as he has always had a slight obsession with Dorian. He cannot accept the fact that Basil will not put the work on display, but does state, "Genius lasts longer than beauty" (20). Basil wants to express that Dorian is a beautiful person, although Basil might just be referring to Dorian's looks. Basil's artistic temperament leads him to worshipping Dorian and his fleeting appearance of delicacy. Basil does not want life to be like art. Instead, he wants life to be art. Basil places confidence in Dorian's undeniable youth, as if he wants it to become Dorian's eternity. Dorian's fascinations perturb his actions greatly when he enters the opium dens: Yes, that was the secret. He had often tried it, and would try it again now. There were opium dens where one could buy oblivion, dens of horror where the memory of old sins could be destroyed by the madness of sins that were new. (186)
The dens distort Dorian's view of his already strange world. He is called the devil's bargain, and debates on whether he should feel guilty about imposing upon men's lives. Dorian finds that the opium dens have a far less curative effect than he hopes. Dorian's drug addiction pains his own conscience, and makes it impossible for him to escape himself. Dorian's obsessions take him to new levels of deception and aggressiveness when he becomes engrossed in a yellow book. He grows so close to the book, and appreciates the literature so greatly that he procures the book nine times in nine different colors. The influential book seems to have a unique power over Dorian, "Indeed the whole book seemed to him to contain the story of his own life, written before he had lived it" (130). Dorian shudders at the realization that this single book contains someone so much like himself. Many people influence the main character of this book, to whom Dorian is adjacent. The conspicuous members revolving around Dorian Gray's life impact his outlook and decisions, determining his vitality and bringing about his eternal misery. Basil is the paradoxical representation of Lord Henry. Basil is a worshipper of beauty, while Lord Henry is a disciple of the devil. Basil Hallward is an idealist who believes all men are good, including Dorian Gray. Basil seems to be engrossed in Dorian's life, and does not want Lord Henry to get to Dorian before himself. Not apprehending he is a good man living in a very cruel world, Basil wants to believe the best in all men, encouraging Dorian Gray to live up to the potential shown by the portrait. Basil, a true, honest, and loving person, is naive to all the men around him, including Lord Henry and Dorian Gray. Ultimately, Basil pays for his innocence with his own life while trying to influence Dorian to be a better person, but Basil's many tries fail miserably. Dorian fails as well in the crucible called love. An additional figure in Dorian's life is Sibyl Vane, the girl who causes Dorian to state: I love Sibyl Vane. I want to place her on a pedestal of gold, and to see the world worship the woman who is mine. What is marriage? An irrevocable vow. You mock at it for that. Ah! Don't mock. It is an irrevocable vow that I want to take. (82)
When Sibyl Vane notices that Dorian has dismissed his feelings for her, she is crushed, causing her brother to run rampant, searching for Prince Charming. James Vane becomes Dorian's physical representation of fear. James exists only to trouble Dorian's mind, contributing to his eventual breakdown. James is influential to Dorian, but not quite as greatly as Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry says, "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful" (25), contributing to Dorian's gruesome transformation. Henry is a hedonistic and selfish aristocrat, who has the whole world at his fingertips. Lord Henry's acquaintance with Dorian is truly nothing but a science experiment. Dorian is extremely reactive towards the words of Lord Henry. Lord Henry's motto, "Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul" (27-28), spurs Dorian into a life of wreckage and ruin in the name of pleasure. Lord Henry admires Dorian completely, but more importantly, Henry admires himself for making Dorian what he is. Lord Henry's influence commences with the painting of Dorian's portrait. The portrait of Dorian Gray mirrors the repercussions of the crimes Dorian commits. Basil and Dorian both adore the portrait, however they do not know what is in store for them in the future. The first stage of the change in Dorian's portrait occurs when Dorian banishes his feelings for Sibyl Vane. His picture becomes slightly evil. From here on, Dorian's magnificent portrait alters each day in an increasingly malicious way. "The expression looked different. One would have said that there was a touch of cruelty in the mouth. It was certainly strange" (94). Dorian's portrait takes a dramatic change when he single-handedly murders one of his best friends. Basil's comments about Dorian's soul creates a moment of madness and in a murderous haze, Dorian slaughters Basil, damaging his soul even further. Dorian then notices a cunning look in his eye and blood stains on his hands. Murdering Basil did not seem to inflict any guilt upon Dorian, but it makes him have "an uncontrollable feeling of hatred" (160). Dorian's picture reaches an all time level of wickedness, and, because of this, he attempts to destroy the painting, but instead, he kills himself. Dorian makes vivid the distortions that come upon his mirrored image. He has been a hypocrite in his attempts to cure himself. Through his epiphany Dorian decides to purge his soul, although that decision does not work out for him. Dorian completely despises the person he has become, yet he has no more drive to pick up the pieces of his broken life. He decides to destroy the one special image that is keeping him together by miniscule threads. Consequently, Dorian Gray reaches for the knife that has already done cruel deeds, and decides to commit another offense. When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognize who it was. (224) Dorian does not live up to his expectations, and refuses to comply to the betterment he hopes to achieve, resulting in his abolition from the Victorian world. Dorian Gray's infinite doom comes about through Oscar Wilde's paradoxical words, making one think about the evils of one's own life. What genuinely matters when one's soul is already corrupt? Dorian's soul is damaged but his portrait is restored, which proves how vile and unethical he was. Dorian was unable to cure himself, ignoring important aesthetics, and leading to his anticipated finish.