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Do women play a significant role in the novel? What is Lord Henry’s view on women? Provide quotes

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Do women play a significant role in the novel? What is Lord Henry’s view on women? Provide quotes

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“Besides, women were better to suited to bear sorrow than men. They lived on their emotions. They only thought of their emotions. When they took lovers, it was merely to have someone with whom they could have scenes” (Ch 7, 74)

“I am analysing women at present, so I ought to know… I find that, ultimately, there are two kinds or women, the plain and the coloured. The plain women are very useful. If you want to gain a reputation for respectability, you have merely to take them down to supper. The other women are very charming. They commit one mistake, however. They paint in order to try and look young. Our grandmothers painted in order to try and talk brilliantly… as long as a woman can look ten years younger than her own daughter, she is perfectly satisfied.”

“I am afraid that women appreciate cruelty, downright cruelty, more than anything else. They have wonderfully primitive instincts. We have emancipated them, but they remain slaves looking for their masters, all the same. They love being dominated…!

In the previous quotes we can observe that women represent a passive and weak gender in their society. They suffer but at the same time they like suffering.  They are not intelligent, they are stupid and they have to paint themselves to look young and beautiful. Beauty is the only thing why women should be respected. Another comment made by Harry was that Dorian’s wife should not act, because women in their society are meant to be at home cleaning and doing the chores.
Karen Schvint

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Contribution 3) e. Can we associate Dorian Gray to the mythological character of Narcissus, always longing to possess the person he sees reflected in the water? How? Provide examples from the text.

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Contribution 3) e. Can we associate Dorian Gray to the mythological character of Narcissus, always longing to possess the person he sees reflected in the water? How? Provide examples from the text.

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We can associate Dorian Gray to Narcissus because both were proud, young and fell in love with their own beauty. Their handsomeness was useless, they did not know how to deal with it, empty-selfish souls and too much vanity led them to dead.

“ It was his beauty that had ruined him, his beauty and the youth that he had prayed for. But for those two things, his life might have been free from stain.” ( Oscar Wilde,1891:page 252)

Katherine Morales

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Contribution: How is the institution of marriage portrayed in The Picture of Dorian Gray? Provide quotes.Henry is married with Victoria. But they do not have an affectionate relationship, they are distant. Victoria gets to know about her husband views from his friends. Henry even knows that she adores pianist. They both know that they are unfaithful. Victoria tells Dorian about her affairs: “I have simply worshipped pianists- two at a time sometimes, Harry tells me.” (Wilde, 1891: 39). In addition, the wife is seen as romantic. When Harry´s wife leaves, he tells Dorian to never marry a women with straw-coloured hair because they are so sentimental. Henry represents the husband figure, he portraits indifference. He even tell that he has loved many actresses. He could be a womanizer but without affection while his wife is emotional. Furthermore, it is a pathriarchal society and Henry knows this when he says the following about women: “They love being dominated.” (Wilde, 1891: 83)Ingrid Micale

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Contribution: How is the institution of marriage portrayed in The Picture of Dorian Gray? Provide quotes.Henry is married with Victoria. But they do not have an affectionate relationship, they are distant. Victoria gets to know about her husband views from his friends. Henry even knows that she adores pianist. They both know that they are unfaithful. Victoria tells Dorian about her affairs: “I have simply worshipped pianists- two at a time sometimes, Harry tells me.” (Wilde, 1891: 39). In addition, the wife is seen as romantic. When Harry´s wife leaves, he tells Dorian to never marry a women with straw-coloured hair because they are so sentimental. Henry represents the husband figure, he portraits indifference. He even tell that he has loved many actresses. He could be a womanizer but without affection while his wife is emotional. Furthermore, it is a pathriarchal society and Henry knows this when he says the following about women: “They love being dominated.” (Wilde, 1891: 83)Ingrid Micale

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Oscar Wilde had aesthetic values that he strongly stood for. When he wrote the book, there were people that though it was immoral and it didn’t actually teach you anything; though, he claimed that Dorian Grey was ‘a story with a moral’, showing you that “all excess, as well as all renunciation brings its own punishment” ( Letters, p.430). let’s take into account that by that time any kind of homosexual behavior was punishable under the Criminal laws of Amendment  Act of 1885, there were accusations of obscenity and effeminacy detected in the novel. Oscar had to write a preface to defend his standards, the same insists that artist can express everything and anything, ‘an artist is the creator of beautiful things’ and if its shows diversity it means that it’s new and worth it.

In the book the personalities of the male characters stand for these values, Lord Henry is one of them and in the quote above he tries to explain how he believes that men should live without any denial and feel free to express their feelings and the impulse of joy. He thinks that it would be brave for a man to stop poisoning his brain by giving up because of the feeling of fear; he promotes making mistakes as something we should do, since the only thing we can get from them is regret and learning, if we don’t try we’ll never know, and the temptations will get stronger and we’ll get sicker.

Camila Fagundez

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Contribution: Do women play a significant role in the novel? What is Lord Henry’s view on women? Provide quotes.

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Contribution: Do women play a significant role in the novel? What is Lord Henry’s view on women? Provide quotes.

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The novel portrays the role of women of the 19th century during the Victorian era. Their role was to mantain their maternal and caring nature. Women have a passive role in the novel, they are described as silly and what men expected from them was to run the house.
Lord Henry in the novel criticizes both women and marriage. He does not believe in love. This quotation gives a clear representation of Lord Henry´s beliefs about women: " My dear boy, no woman is a genius: women are a
decorative sex."( Wilde, 1891: 54) He also states the following : " They never have anything to say, but they
say it charmingly" ( WIlde, 1891: 54) Here it can be seen that he does not care what a woman has to say, he also thinks that nothing intelligent can be said by a woman.

Wilde, O ( 1891) The picture of Dorian Gray, Ireland: Planet Pdf

Acevedo Julian

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c) Are there any homoerotic bonds between men in the novel? Which one(s)?

Upon analysing “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, I have come to the conclusion that there are many instances of homoerotic bonds between men; not straightforwardly implied though, and this is due to the time in which the author, Oscar Wilde, wrote the novel. This being said, homosexuality had a negative connotation at the time, that is, it was badly seen, and this is the reason why the novel alludes to homosexuality the way it does - indirectly. At the time, London was prejudiced against homosexuality; hence, broaching such a subject in public was forbidden. Besides, Dorian firmly rejected the idea of either selling or exhibiting his portrait because if he did so, he would have showed the secret of his own soul.

Nonetheless, there are many instances of homosexual overtones in the novel, as aforementioned. Firstly, we learn from the very first chapter that the painter, Basil, has grown fond of a good-looking young lad called Dorian Gray and, as a result, of a portrait of his own making.

Moreover, Henry raises the question of something forbidden, as it the case of love between two men, and he also suggests that one should stop resisting temptation as it is the only way to deal with it in life.

Quotations portraying homoerotic bonds between men as follows:

In Basil’s words:

- “When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. […] I have grown to love secrecy.” [Chapter 1; pp. 7]

- “The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.” [Chapter 1; pp. 8

- “Every day. I couldn’t be happy if I didn’t see him evey day. He is absolutely necessary to me.” [Chapter 1; pp. 11]

- “But he is much more to me than a model or a sitter. […] I know that the work I have done, since I met Dorian Gray, is good work, is the best work of my life. […] The merely presence of this lad – for he seems to me more than a lad  […] Harry! If you only knew what Dorian Gray is to me!” [Chapter 1; pp. 12]

- “Because, without intending it, I have put into it some expression of all the curious artistic idolatry. […] There is too much of myself in the thing, Harry – to much of myself!” [Chapter 1, pp. 12]

- "Don't speak. Wait till you hear what I have to say. Dorian, from the moment I met you, your personality had the most extraordinary influence over me. I was dominated, soul, brain, and power, by you. You became to me the visible incarnation of that unseen ideal whose memory haunts us artists like an exquisite dream. I worshipped you. I grew jealous of every one to whom you spoke. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I was with you. When you were away from me, you were still present in my art. Of course, I never let you know anything about this. It would have been impossible. You would not have understood it. I hardly understood it myself. I only knew that I had seen perfection face to face, and that the world bad become wonderful to my eyes -- too wonderful, perhaps, for in such mad worships there is peril, the peril of losing them, no less than the peril of keeping them” [Chapter 9; pp. 92]

In Henry’s words,

- “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to 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. […] You, Mr. Gray […] have had passions that have made you afraid, thoughts that have filled you with terror, day-dreams and sleeping dreams whose mere memory might stain your cheek with shame" [Chapter 2; pp. 18]

- DAIANA KIFER -

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How is the institution of marriage portrayed in The Picture of Dorian Gray? Provide quotes.

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How is the institution of marriage portrayed in The Picture of Dorian Gray? Provide quotes.

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The idea of marriage in The picture of Dorian Gray is that marriage happens because of convenience, happiness is not the aim of marriage because happiness is not about love.
"Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed." (Ch 4, 40)
This clearly shows that marriage is seen as a contract from both parts. Women are the sensitive and 'curious' ones, and men are the ones who marry just because; marriage is not important for men and both of them, women and men, end up being disappointed because marriage is not what they expect it to be.
They also have the idea of a double life, wife and husband just share the title of a 'couple' but they don't know much about each other.
"... I never know where my wife is, and my wife never knows what I am doing..." (Ch 1, 7)
Another important issue about marriage is that a man should never marry to an ordinary woman. However they consider Sybil as an extraordinary woman because she does not console herself, she dies for Dorian.

By Karen Schvindt

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Contribution: Homoerotic bonds between men in the novel.

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Contribution: Homoerotic bonds between men in the novel.

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This theme is present from the very first chapter of the book, when the painter, Basil, and Lord Henry are discussing Basil’s new painting. Basil has become very fond of a young and handsome man in whom Basil made a portrait of and has put into it an expression of “curious artistic idolatry” (Wilde 14). Basil’s admiration and attraction towards Dorian Gray is very important in the novel, as it displays the homoerotic theme and sets up the structure for the novel to be based off the portrait that Basil makes of Dorian. Lord Henry also displays the theme of homoeroticism when he is talking to Dorian about his own philosophical ideas. Lord Henry tells Dorian that the only way to get rid of temptation is to “yield to it,” and that if you resist it, “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” (Wilde 21). This mention of something “forbidden” implies a forbidden love, such as one between two males. This also references the setting at which the novel was written and how homosexuality had a negative connotation describing it as monstrous .
References: https://eng4wevil.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/homoeroticism-in-the-picture-of-dorian-gray/

Fernanda Garcia

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About the marriage:

…“Not at all, answered Lord Henry, not at all, my dear Basil. You seem to forget that I am married, and the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deceptions absolutely necessary for both parties. I never know were my wife is, and my wife never knows what I am doing. When we meet- we do meet occasionally, when we dine out together, or go down to the Duke’s- we tell each other the most absurd stories with the most serious faces. My wife is very good at it-much better, in fact, than I am. She never get confused over the dates, and I always do. But when she does find me out, she makes no row at all. I sometimes wish she would; but she merely laughs at me.”…

We can see from these lines that marriage is just a matter of convenience, it is a social contract. It is not a matter of love. Deep feelings are not required to establish a formal relation ship. Despite the fact that marriage brings deceptions it is necessary for both, man and woman.

Analia Romero-

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It is well know that women never had an important role in those times, they were underestimated, and they never were part of the important issues of Society. Powerless in comparison with men, subordinated to his orders and commands. With no rights at all. 	The only way to obtain status for a woman, in the Victorian Era, was with the good fortune of marriage, then her entire live was dedicated to the domestic sphere. 		In The Picture of Dorian Grey the role of woman is not different from that, as my partner Daniela Badolato said, the role of woman in the story is represented in contrasting ways. To add a quote on the matter: In Chapter I: …”Poor Lady Baron! You are hard on her, Harry!” said Hallward listlessly.“My dear Fellow, she tried to found a Salon, and only succeeded in opening a Restaurant. How could I admired her?[…]. Once again woman as capable of doing anything good would never be a sign of admiration. They only see her as a thing, as the mean to be introduced they each other.             Analia Romero

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It is well know that women never had an important role in those times, they were underestimated, and they never were part of the important issues of Society. Powerless in comparison with men, subordinated to his orders and commands. With no rights at all. 	The only way to obtain status for a woman, in the Victorian Era, was with the good fortune of marriage, then her entire live was dedicated to the domestic sphere. 		In The Picture of Dorian Grey the role of woman is not different from that, as my partner Daniela Badolato said, the role of woman in the story is represented in contrasting ways. To add a quote on the matter: In Chapter I: …”Poor Lady Baron! You are hard on her, Harry!” said Hallward listlessly.“My dear Fellow, she tried to found a Salon, and only succeeded in opening a Restaurant. How could I admired her?[…]. Once again woman as capable of doing anything good would never be a sign of admiration. They only see her as a thing, as the mean to be introduced they each other.             Analia Romero

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Can we associate Dorian Gray to the mythological character of Narcissus, always longing to possess the person he sees reflected in the water? How? Provide examples from the text.

There is an obvious parallelism between Dorian´s character and the iconic Narcissus. They both forgot about danger and real life when they were enamoured contemplating their faces in both: the reflection of the water and the picture. As for example, when Dorian avoided the monstrous reality of his soul when he watched the picture and compared his external beauty with his internal ugliness: “ (…) open the door with the key that never left

him, and stand, with a mirror, in front of the portrait that Basil Hallward had painted of him, looking now at the evil and aging face on the canvas, and now at the fair young face that laughed back at him from the polished glass. The very sharpness of the contrast used to quicken his sense of pleasure. He grew more and more enamoured of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul.” (Wilde, 1891: 160)

Wilde, O (1891) The Picture of Dorian Gray, Ireland: Planet Pdf

María Belén Farías

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Do women play a significant role in the novel? What is Lord Henry’s view on women? Provide quotes

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Do women play a significant role in the novel? What is Lord Henry’s view on women? Provide quotes

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The ‘Angel of the house’ was the Victorian ideal of the perfect women and wife and created an expectation to further maintain their ‘maternal’ and caring nature. Lord Henry states that he doesn’t suppose that Dorian will ‘want [his] wife to act’, once they are married and this reinforces the dominant ideologies of the role of women in the 19th century. Ironically it is Sibyl’s passivity and inability to act or perform, which may be considered a male role (working and earning an income), that ‘kills’ Dorian’s love and therefore it may be argued that Wilde is making a social comment on gender and society.Sibyl is described by Dorian as a ‘caged bird’ and this possibly represents the idea that, as an actress, Sibyl is trapped by the standards of society.
Women are not given much of a voice in the novel and this is emphasised when Lord Henry tells Gladys that ‘Women are not always allowed a choice’ and before she has time to reply, the guests are distracted by Dorian fainting.
On the other hand,the novel presents some strong women characters in the novel such as Lady Narborough and the Duchess, who are often competing with Dorian and Lord Henry in a battle of the proverbs.
During this novel we can see different point of view about women, the first one is henry who says : "Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed." (ch 4). he thinks about marriage the is unhappy. Another quotation is:  "My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals." (ch4) he refers woman as things.
In conclusion, henry is against women, and that society helps to  support this idea about them.
Daniela Badolato.

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Are there any homoerotic bonds between men in the novel? Which one(s)?

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Are there any homoerotic bonds between men in the novel? Which one(s)?

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Throughout the story, we can observe that most of the gentlemen has homoerotic bounds among Dorian Grey. First of all, Basil is one of the most prominent characters that shows his feelings for Dorian and how worry and passionate he feels about him. Even Though, Dorian doesn’t pay attention to him:

‘I see you did. Dorian, from the moment I met you, your personality has the most extraordinary influence over me. I worshipped you. I was jealous of everyone you spoke to. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I was with you. When you were away from me you were still there in my art’ (Wilde, 1994: Page: 37)

Basil is worry and try to warn Dorian about people’s gossips: ‘Every gentleman is interested in his good name, Dorian. You don’t want people to talk of you as something terrible and corrupt. But I don’t believe these rumours at all. At least I can’t believe them when I see you. Corruption is a thing that writes itself across a man’s face. It cannot be hidden’ (Wilde, 1994: Page 45)
Wilde. O (1994), The picture of Dorian Grey. China: Pearson English Readers
By Micaela Barrios

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Can we associate Dorian Gray to the mythological character of Narcissus, always longing to possess the person he sees reflected in the water? How? Provide examples from the text.                                              

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Can we associate Dorian Gray to the mythological character of Narcissus, always longing to possess the person he sees reflected in the water? How? Provide examples from the text.                                              

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The myth of Narcissus And Dorian Grey

According to Conon, Aminias, a young man fell in love with Narcissus, who had already spurned his male suitors. Aminias was also spurned by Narcissus who gave the unfortunate young man a sword. Aminias killed himself at Narcissus’ doorstep praying to the Gods to give Narcissus a lesson for all the pain he had provoked.
Narcissus was once walking by a lake or river and decided to drink some water; he saw his reflection in the water and was surprised by the beauty he saw; he became entranced by the reflection of himself. He could not obtain the object of his desire though, and he died at the banks of the river or lake from his sorrow.
According to the myth Narcissus is still admiring himself in the Underworld, looking at the waters of the Styx.

As Narcissus, Dorian Grey learned to hide his feelings and worries about the world. As a result, he was only worry about his beauty and how to conserve it. What Lord Henry thought him about stay beauty and passionate about life, leaded Dorian into a life of selfishness and arrogance. He never paid attention to his friends or even to his old friends, for example Basile. And in order to continue hiding his secret and living, he decided to kill Basil:
‘Holding a mirror in his hand, he would stand in front of the picture Basil Hallward had painted. He would look first at the horrible, old face in the picture, and then at the handsome young face that laughed back at him from the mirror. He fell more and more in love with his own beauty. And more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul’ (Wilde, 1994: Page 42)
Every time he saw his own reflection and the portrait, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Because he never saw what he wanted, but only what he really needed to see (Reality). As a result, he wanted to destroy it and stop suffering, but the portrait finally killed him.

‘The face in the portrait could grow old and ugly. What did it matter? No one could see it. He himself would not see it. He did not have to watch the terrible corruption of his soul. He would stay young - that was enough’(...) ‘He felt safe now. No one would ever look at that horrible thing. Only he would ever see his shame’’ (Wilde, 1994: Page 40)
‘He took the lamp from the table and went upstairs. As he opened the door, a smile of happiness passed across his young face. Yes, he would be good, and the ugly thing he had locked away would not frighten him any more. He felt happier already’ (Wilde, 1994: Page 62)
By Micaela Barrios

References:
Wilde. O (1994), The picture of Dorian Grey. China: Pearson English Readers

Webpage (https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/narcissus-myth-echo/)

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Let us examine the manner in which gender and sexuality are represented in The Picture of Dorian Gray:

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Let us examine the manner in which gender and sexuality are represented in The Picture of Dorian Gray:

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a)      How is the institution of marriage portrayed in The Picture of Dorian Gray? Provide quotes.

b)      Do women play a significant role in the novel? What is Lord Henry’s view on women? Provide quotes.

c)       Are there any homoerotic bonds between men in the novel? Which one(s)?

d)      Does Dorian Gray have a happy sexual life all along the novel? Provide quotes to justify your answer.

e)      Can we associate Dorian Gray to the mythological character of Narcissus, always longing to possess the person he sees reflected in the water? How? Provide examples from the text.

f)       In chapter two, pages 25,26 (Chapter 11, Penguin Popular Classics) Lord Henry claims:

"I believe that if one man were to live out his life fully and completely, were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream -- I believe that the world would gain such a fresh impulse of joy that we would forget all the maladies of medievalism, and return to the Hellenic ideal -- to something finer, richer than the Hellenic ideal, it may be. But the bravest man amongst us is afraid of himself. The mutilation of the savage has its tragic survival in the self-denial that mars our lives. We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. Nothing remains then but the recollection of a pleasure, or the luxury of a regret. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to 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."
Explain this quote considering Oscar Wilde’s aesthetic values, his own sexual preferences and the context of Victorian England.