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The Picture of Dorian Gray Study Guide | Literature Guide | LitCharts

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The best study guide to The Picture of Dorian Gray on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes. Get the summaries, analysis, and quotes you need.

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever.

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An introduction to the Aesthetic Movement · V&A

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The Aesthetic Movement in Britain (1860 – 1900) aimed to produce art that was beautiful rather than having a deeper meaning — ‘Art for Art’s sake’.

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Aestheticism and Decadence in The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement , 1860-1900

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Patrick Duggan Download this article
Oscar Wilde prefaces his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with a reflection on art, the artist, and the utility of both. After careful scrutiny, he concludes: "All art is quite useless" (Wilde 4). In this one sentence, Wilde encapsulates the complete principles of the Aesthetic Movement popular in Victorian England. That is to say, real art takes no part in molding the social or moral identities of society, nor should it. Art should be beautiful and pleasure its observer, but to imply further-reaching influence would be a mistake. The explosion of aesthetic philosophy in fin-de-siècle English society, as exemplified by Oscar Wilde, was not confined to merely art, however. Rather, the proponents of this philosophy extended it to life itself. Here, aestheticism advocated whatever behavior was likely to maximize the beauty and happiness in one's life, in the tradition of hedonism. To the aesthete, the ideal life mimics art; it is beautiful, but quite useless beyond its beauty, concerned only with the individual living it. Influences on others, if existent, are trivial at best. Many have read The Picture of Dorian Gray as a novelized sponsor for just this sort of aesthetic lifestyle. However, this story of the rise and fall of Dorian Gray might instead represent an allegory about morality meant to critique, rather than endorse, the obeying of one's impulses as thoughtlessly and dutifully as aestheticism dictates.

In the novel, Lord Henry Wotton trumpets the aesthetic philosophy with an elegance and bravado that persuade Dorian to trust in the principles he espouses; the reader is often similarly captivated. It would be a mistake, however, to interpret the novel as a patent recommendation of aestheticism. To the aesthete, there is no distinction between moral and immoral acts, only between those that increase or decrease one's happiness; yet, Dorian Gray refutes this idea, presenting a strong case for the inherent immorality of purely aesthetic lives. Dorian Gray personifies the aesthetic lifestyle in action, pursuing personal gratification with abandon. Yet, while he enjoys these indulgences, his behavior ultimately kills him and others, and he dies unhappier than ever. Rather than an advocate for pure aestheticism, then, Dorian Gray is a cautionary tale in which Wilde illustrates the dangers of the aesthetic philosophy when not practiced with prudence. Aestheticism, argues Wilde, too often aligns itself with immorality, resulting in a precarious philosophy that must be practiced deliberately.

Dorian Gray is often read as an explicit proclamation of the worthiness of living life in accordance with aesthetic values. This is due in part to the flourishing Aesthetic Movement of Victorian England at the time of the novel's publication, as well as Oscar Wilde's association with the movement itself (Becker 660). The Aesthetic Movement, which coincided with the Industrial Revolution at the end of the nineteenth century, emphasized the artistic aspect of a man's work in producing a variety of goods, from furniture to machines to literature (Becker 660). Oscar Wilde, however, proposed that the principles of the Aesthetic Movement extend beyond the production of mere commodities. In Joseph Pearce's biography, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, Pearce recalls Wilde's own perspective on the popular movement. Speaking of aestheticism, Wilde is quoted:

It is indeed to become a part of the people's life . . . I mean a man who works with his hands; and not with his hands merely, but with his head and his heart. The evil that machinery is doing is not merely in the consequence of its work but in the fact that it makes men themselves machines also. Whereas, we wish them to be artists, that is to say men. (qtd. in Pearce 144)

In his exposition of aestheticism, Wilde applies the philosophy in a more universal sense, stressing the positive influences of aestheticism in one's life beyond mere craftsmanship. Just as the machines that mass-produce materials with the intervention of human thought are labeled "evil," Wilde similarly condemns men who act as metaphorical machines, programmed to behave in accordance with society's ideas of propriety rather than allowing themselves to act freely and achieve the greatest amount of happiness. Wilde's eloquent advocacy of an aesthetic lifestyle is paralleled in his depiction of Lord Henry in Dorian Gray. Lord Henry lectured to the impressionable Dorian, "We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. . . . Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden itself" (Wilde 9). Wilde, through Lord Henry, laments the stifling nature of his contemporary Victorian society and how the supposed morality it boasts necessitates self-denial and rejection of life's most beautiful aspects. Lord Henry warns that without an enthusiastic embrace of aestheticism, one will perpetually anguish with the desire of precisely what he must deny himself, all for the sake of propriety. This philosophy espoused by Wilde and Lord Henry often leads, not surprisingly, to the conclusion that Dorian Gray is a declaration of Wilde's, promoting the adoption of purely aesthetic lives without qualification. This, however, is too shallow of an interpretation.

Opponents of a purely aesthetic lifestyle will certainly cite what they consider an inevitability: one's desires and impulses, though when acted upon result in a more pleasurable life, will at times be undeniably immoral. It is at these times that the virtues of the wholly aesthetic life become questionable. The ruination of Dorian Gray, the embodiment of unbridled aestheticism, illustrates the immorality of such a lifestyle and gravely demonstrates its consequences. Wilde uses Dorian Gray not as an advertisement for aestheticism, but rather, he uses Dorian's life to warn against aestheticism's hostility toward morality when uncontrolled. Wilde himself admits, in a letter to the St. James's Gazette, that Dorian Gray "is a story with a moral. And the moral is this: All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment" (Wilde 248). Aestheticism does well to condemn the renunciation of desires, but it is an excessive obedience to these desires that is subversively dangerous. Therefore, in the practice of Wilde's aestheticism, forethought and constraint are necessities, yet too often lacking, and without them, one is doomed to suffer the same fate as Dorian Gray.

The character of Dorian Gray and the story of his profound degeneration provide a case study examining the viability of purely aesthetic lives. Dorian lives according to what Lord Henry professes without hesitation, and what Lord Henry inspires Dorian, through persuasive rhetoric, is an attitude indifferent to consequence and altogether amoral. As Wilde writes, Dorian's newfound position is "never to accept any theory or system that would involve the sacrifice of any mode of passionate experience. Its aim, indeed was to be experience itself, and not the fruits of experience, sweet or bitter as they may be" (Wilde 125). Under Lord Henry's mentorship, Dorian, once the epitome of wide-eyed youth, behaves with no regard for the ramifications of his actions, diligently pursuing instant gratification without thought of its implications, whether they be "sweet or bitter."

Dorian's relationship with the actress Sibyl Vane plainly illustrates this marked change in personality. Dorian pursues Sibyl from first sights, intent on acquiring her before he ever attempts to truly know her. Indeed, Dorian's love for Sibyl is overtly superficial, as evidenced by Dorian's own description of his infatuation with Sibyl: "I loved you because you were marvelous, because you had genius and intellect, because you realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art" (Wilde 101). Dorian is not attracted to Sibyl's character of personality, but rather her acting talent and enthralling performances; this is what enchants the aesthetically inclined Dorian. When Sibyl leaves the stage, then, she no longer serves a purpose in Dorian's aesthetic life, and thus, Dorian abandons her unceremoniously. Dorian does not regret informing Sybil that, "Without your art, you are nothing" (Wilde 101). The tragedy of Sybil's later suicide, brought about by utter despair at her desertion, is lost on Dorian, who instead enjoys the dramatic intrigue of the occasion. For Dorian, whose uncontrolled aestheticism rejects the concept of morality, the immorality of his actions goes unrecognized. In fact, Dorian declares excitedly, "It seems to me to be simply like a wonderful ending to a wonderful play. It has all the terrible beauty of a Greek tragedy, a tragedy in which I took a great part, but by which I have not been wounded" (Wilde 114). Here, the adverse consequences of aestheticism surface in Dorian's life. In his pursuit of his own pleasures, a distinctly narcissistic attitude emerges, and the incompatibility of morality and unconditional aestheticism becomes all the more apparent.

The emergence of narcissism in Dorian and its correlation with his newly adopted aesthetic philosophy is integral to Wilde's novel as it emphasizes the frequent hostility between aestheticism and morality that Wilde cautions against. Dorian Gray exposes the immorality of self-absorption, as Dorian's portrait becomes more disfigured with each one of Dorian's selfish acts. This self-absorption, then, appears to be an inevitable consequence of aestheticism. Only a more deliberate practice of aestheticism may harness this egotism and avoid the immorality Dorian embodies. Interestingly, in his essay "Come See About Me: Enchantment of the Double in The Picture of Dorian Gray," Christopher Craft recognizes a mirroring of the Greek myth of Narcissus in the life of Dorian Gray. According to mythology, Narcissus, upon catching a glimpse of his reflection in a pool, becomes so enraptured by it that he stood and admired it endlessly, unmoving for the rest of his life. As Craft notes, this self-absorption "is a commitment that, like Dorian's, graduates fully until death" (Craft 113). Narcissus becomes so infatuated with himself that the rest of world effectively ceases to exist or affect him and, as Craft argues, "it is into precisely this silent delirium that Dorian unwittingly steps" when he allows Lord Henry's aesthetic philosophy to so dominate him (Craft 113). Dorian enjoys a life of eternal youth, with only his portrait aging in parallel with Dorian's immorality; so, as Dorian sinks into the depths of narcissism, he maintains his external beauty, and his portrait degenerates instead. Eventually, as in the myth of Narcissus, such egotism has its consequences. When Dorian, disgusted with the decrepit picture of the supposedly "real" him, destroys it in a fit of anger, Dorian too is destroyed. Wilde writes that after Dorian's death, "it was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was" (Wilde 220). In the end, as a testament to the purely aesthetic life, the only legacy Dorian leaves behind-everything that identifies him as who he was-is his superficial jewelry.

There is an argument, then, made by Wilde for a new aestheticism, approached with more constraint than Dorian employs. This argument is based not only in the moral obligation of the individual, but with the betterment of all of society in mind. Matthew Arnold, in his essay "Culture and Anarchy," provides reasoning against the ethos of Lord Henry's aestheticism and an unconditional application of it. Arnold focuses on its detrimental effects on society and the possibility for societal improvement when aesthetic tendencies are properly controlled. There appears to be agreement, then, between Wilde and Arnold; Wilde' novel provides a failed example of the purely aesthetic life, and when scaled to a larger society, a similar result is understandably expected. As Arnold views his contemporary society, it is arranged hierarchically, dividing the aristocrats, the middle-class, and the working-class, all of which, Arnold laments, are inclined to live hedonistically, pursuing pleasure and only what is comfortable and easy. Dorian Gray embodies just his defect in Arnold's society. Arnold argues, however, that "there are born a certain number of natures with a curiosity about their best self with a bend for seeing things as they are . . . for simply concerning themselves with reason and the will of God, and doing their best to make these prevail;-for the pursuit, in a word, of perfection" (Arnold 277). Arnold is optimistic that some may pursue beyond the immediately pleasurable and act to perfect themselves both morally and intellectually. This pursuit of perfection, however, is likely an arduous and uncomfortable task, and is therefore incompatible with pure aestheticism. Some concessions must be made for the absolute aesthete, then, for such transcendence occur.

Dorian Gray, for much of Wilde's novel, fails to embody Arnold's ideal, as in his hedonistic life he is seen "creeping at dawn out of dreadful houses and slinking in disguise in the foulest dens in London," despite being once too honorable for such debauchery (Wilde 118). Dorian exemplifies a regression in social intellect from his beginnings rather than the kind of transcendence hoped for by Arnold. Dorian displays no such pursuit of intellectual perfection as he is slowly corrupted and in turn corrupts others, luring them with him into the slums and opium dens of London. Arnold refers to those able to transcend social classes in society as "aliens," hinting at their rarity to the point of foreignness and to their almost mythical quality (277). The mere existence of these aliens, however, provides hope that the utter hedonists of society may learn to harness their damaging tendencies, and in doing so, better the intellectual and moral state of humankind.

Wilde, too, recognizes this ability to control the hedonistic temptations associated with aestheticism, as demonstrated by the last stages of Dorian's life. Mitsuharu Matsuoka, in his essay "Aestheticism and Social Anxiety in The Picture of Dorian Gray," notes that, as Dorian's death approaches, "Dorian ultimately reacts against his lifestyle, choking on his New Hedonism," at which point "a great sense of doom hangs over Dorian" (Matsuoka 78). Indeed, Dorian appears to realize the consequences of his unbridled aestheticism; however, he is much too far gone to salvage. Dorian reveals his epiphany to Lord Henry: "The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us. I know it" (Wilde 211). Unfortunately for Dorian, this realization comes too late to save his soul from its degradation, long-nurtured by a purely aesthetic life, and he is destroyed. The realization itself, however, is indicative of Wilde's argument woven throughout Dorian Gray. Despite Wilde's publicly advocating the principles of aestheticism, Dorian's demise illustrates Wilde's recognition that aestheticism needs to be properly controlled. While the pursuit of beauty and happiness in life is always Wilde's ideal, he also implies that the consequences of one's actions must be thought out and the impact of one's decisions, beyond oneself, must also be carefully considered before acting on any impulse.

The Aesthetic Movement in fin-de-siècle England, as interpreted by Oscar Wilde, revolved around the ideal that the utility of one's actions should be to create the maximal amount of beauty and pleasure in one's life, and nothing more. Wilde's Dorian Gray appears, at first glance, to promote this philosophy unequivocally. Indeed, a lifestyle based on this aestheticism is espoused in Wilde's opening preface as well as throughout Lord Henry's professorial lectures. Upon closer inspection, however, Wilde's novel is not as wholly embracing of aestheticism as this implies. Wilde realized and depicted in the life of Dorian Gray, a need for a more controlled and deliberate approach to aestheticism, without which morality will inevitably be elusive. The adoption of unrestrained aestheticism, as exhibited by Dorian, results in a lack of remorse, self-absorption, and intellectual regression. For the sake of preserving morality, a concept proven incompatible with pure aestheticism, more deliberation is necessary from the aesthete in deciding upon action. If, in the pursuit of one's desires and of the beautiful aspects of life, the condition of others' or of one's own intellect is jeopardized, the enjoyment garnered must sometimes be sacrificed for the greater good. As Wilde makes clear, it is only through a more restrained philosophy that aestheticism and morality may eventually align.

Works Cited

Arnold, Matthew. "Culture and Anarchy." The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Andrew Elfenbein. NY: Pearson Longman, 2007. 276-279.

Becker-Leckrone, Megan. "Oscar Wilde (1854-1900): Aesthetic and Criticism." The Continuum Encyclopedia of Modern Criticism and Theory 20 (2002): 658-665.

Craft, Christopher. "Come See About Me: Enchantment of the Double in The Picture of Dorian Gray." Representations 91 (2005): 109-136.

Matsuoka, Mitsuharu. "Aestheticism and Social Anxiety in The Picture of Dorian Gray." Journal of Aesthetic Education 29 (2003): 77-100.

Pearce, Joseph. The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde. NY: Ignatius Press, 2004.

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Andrew Elfenbein. NY: Pearson Longman, 2007.

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The Conflict Between Aestheticism and Morality in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Patrick Duggan Download this article Oscar Wilde prefaces his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, with a reflection on art, the artist, and the utility of both. After careful scrutiny, he concludes: "All art is quite useless" (Wilde 4). In this one sentence, Wilde encapsulates the complete principles of the Aesthetic Movement popular in Victorian England.

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The Dandy in the Picture of Dorian Gray: Towards an Archetypal Theory of Wit

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Gothic Tropes: The Faustian Bargain - The Gothic Library

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We all know never to make a deal with the devil right? The concept of engaging in trades or bargains with demonic figures has been a common motif in folklore around the world for centuries, but this particular iteration—the Faustian bargain—derives its name from the Germanic folk legend of Doctor Faust. These legends spring from … Continue reading Gothic Tropes: The Faustian Bargain

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Characteristics and conventions of the Gothic novel | English Novels Class Notes | Fiveable

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Review 2.1 Characteristics and conventions of the Gothic novel for your test on Unit 2 – Gothic Pioneers: Walpole and Radcliffe. For students taking English Novels

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Here’s an overview of Gothic literature with an explanation of the stylistic elements and some examples of different works.

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The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The Faust legend has been the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works that have reinterpreted it through the ages.

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Gothic Horror: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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A review of Oscar Wilde’s gothic horror classic The Picture of Dorian Gray

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The Picture of Dorian Gray full audiobook

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The Picture of Dorian Gray full audiobook

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wild | Full audiobook

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Perhaps Freud's single most enduring and important idea was the human psyche ( personality).

Freud's personality theory (1923) saw the psyche structured into three parts (i.e., tripartite), the id, ego, and superego, all developing at different stages in our lives.

These are systems, not parts of the brain, or in any way physical, but rather hypothetical conceptualizations of important mental functions.

According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego.

Although each part of the personality comprises unique features, they interact to form a whole, and each part makes a relative contribution to an individual's behavior.

What is the Id?

The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality.

The id is a part of the unconscious that contains all the urges and impulses, including what is called the libido, a kind of generalized sexual energy that is used for everything from survival instincts to appreciation of art.

The id is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche that responds directly and immediately to basic urges, needs, and desires. The personality of the newborn child is all id, and only later does it develop an ego and super-ego.

The id engages in primary process thinking, which is primitive, illogical, irrational, and fantasy-oriented. This form of process thinking has no comprehension of objective reality, and is selfish and wishful in nature.

The id operates on the pleasure principle (Freud, 1920), that every unconscious wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless of the consequences.

When the id achieves its demands, we experience pleasure, and when it is denied, we experience 'unpleasure' or tension.

The id comprises two kinds of biological instincts (or drives), including the sex (life) instinct called Eros (which contains the libido) and the aggressive (death) instinct called Thanatos.

Eros, or life instinct, helps the individual to survive; it directs life-sustaining activities such as respiration, eating, and sex (Freud, 1925). The energy created by the life instinct is known as libido.

In contrast, Thanatos, or death instinct, is viewed as a set of destructive forces in all human beings (Freud, 1920).

When this energy is directed outward onto others, it is expressed as aggression and violence. Freud believed that Eros was stronger than Thanatos, thus enabling people to survive rather than self-destruct.

The id remains infantile in its function throughout a person's life and does not change with time or experience, as it is not in touch with the external world.

The id is not affected by reality, logic, or the everyday world, as it operates within the unconscious part of the mind.

What is the Ego?

Freud's ego is the rational part of the psyche that mediates between the instinctual desires of the id and the moral constraints of the superego, operating primarily at the conscious level.

The ego is "that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world."
(Freud, 1923, p. 25)

The ego is the only part of the conscious personality. It's what the person is aware of when they think about themselves and what they usually try to project toward others.

The ego develops to mediate between the unrealistic id and the real external world. It is the decision-making component of personality. Ideally, the ego works by reason, whereas the id is chaotic and unreasonable.

The ego develops from the id during infancy. The ego's goal is to satisfy the id's demands in a safe and socially acceptable way. In contrast to the id, the ego follows the reality principle as it operates in both the conscious and unconscious mind.

The ego operates according to the reality principle, working out realistic ways of satisfying the id's demands, often compromising or postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of society.

The ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette, and rules in deciding how to behave.

Like the id, the ego seeks pleasure (i.e., tension reduction) and avoids pain, but unlike the id, the ego is concerned with devising a realistic strategy to obtain pleasure.

The ego has no concept of right or wrong; something is good simply if it achieves its end of satisfying without causing harm to itself or the id.

Often the ego is weak relative to the headstrong id, and the best the ego can do is stay on, pointing the id in the right direction and claiming some credit at the end as if the action were its own.

Freud made the analogy of the id being a horse while the ego is the rider. The ego is "like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superiour strength of the horse."
(Freud, 1923, p. 15)

If the ego fails to use the reality principle and anxiety is experienced, unconscious defense mechanisms are employed to help ward off unpleasant feelings (i.e., anxiety) or make good things feel better for the individual.

The ego engages in secondary process thinking, which is rational, realistic, and orientated toward problem-solving. If a plan of action does not work, then it is thought through again until a solution is found.

This is known as reality testing and enables the person to control their impulses and demonstrate self-control, via mastery of the ego.

An important feature of clinical and social work is to enhance ego functioning and help the client test reality through assisting the client to think through their options.

According to Freudians, some abnormal upbringing (particularly if there is a cold, rejecting 'schizogenic' mother) can result in a weak and fragile ego, whose ability to contain the id's desires is limited.

This can lead to the ego being 'broken apart' by its attempt to contain the id, leaving the id in overall control of the psyche.

What is the Superego?

Freud's superego is the moral component of the psyche, representing internalized societal values and standards. It contrasts with the id's desires, guiding behavior towards moral righteousness and inducing guilt when standards aren't met.

The superego incorporates the values and morals of society, which are learned from one's parents and others. It develops around 3 - 5 years during the phallic stage of psychosexual development.

The superego develops during early childhood (when the child identifies with the same-sex parent) and is responsible for ensuring moral standards are followed.

The superego operates on the morality principle and motivates us to behave in a socially responsible and acceptable manner.

The superego is seen as the purveyor of rewards (feelings of pride and satisfaction) and punishments (feelings of shame and guilt), depending on which part (the ego-deal or conscious) is activated.

The superego is a part of the unconscious that is the voice of conscience (doing what is right) and the source of self-criticism.

It reflects society's moral values to some degree, and a person is sometimes aware of their own morality and ethics, but the superego contains many codes, or prohibitions, that are issued mostly unconsciously in the form of commands or "don't" statements.

The superego's function is to control the id's impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression.

It also persuades the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones and strive for perfection.

The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self.

The conscience is our "inner voice" that tells us when we have done something wrong.

The conscience can punish the ego by causing feelings of guilt. For example, if the ego gives in to the id's demands, the superego may make the person feel bad through guilt.

The superego is also somewhat tricky, in that it will try to portray what it wants the person to do in grandiose, glowing terms, what Freud called the ego-ideal, which arises out of the person's first great love attachment (usually a parent).

The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how you ought to be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and how to behave as a member of society.

The assumption is that children raised by parents experience love conditionally (when they do something right), and the child internalizes these experiences as a series of real or imagined judgmental statements.

Behavior which falls short of the ideal self may be punished by the superego through guilt. The super-ego can also reward us through the ideal self when we behave 'properly' by making us feel proud.

Guilt is a common problem because of all the urges and drives from the id and all the prohibitions and codes in the superego. There are various ways an individual handles guilt, which are called defense mechanisms.

If a person's ideal self is too high a standard, then whatever the person does will represent failure. The ideal self and conscience are largely determined in childhood by parental values and how you were brought up.

Examples of the Id, Ego, and Superego

The id: I want to skip my workout because I feel lazy and just want to relax.

The superego: I shouldn't skip the workout because it's essential for my health and discipline.

The ego: I can do a shorter workout today and make up for it with a longer session tomorrow.

Buying an expensive item:

The id: I want this luxury bag now because it's stylish and will make me feel good.

The superego: I shouldn't spend so much on a bag when I could save or use that money for more essential things.

The ego: I'll save a portion of my salary for a few months, and if I still want it, I'll buy the bag as a reward.

The id: I'm upset and want to snap back immediately because they hurt my feelings.

The superego: I should remain calm and composed, taking criticism professionally and not personally.

The ego: I'll consider the feedback, see if there's any truth to it, and respond diplomatically, asking for clarification if needed.

Therapeutic Implications

Freud believed that mental illness is caused by conflicts in the unconscious between the id, ego, and superego.

Neuroses, according to Freud, are caused by an overdominant superego, the resultant defense mechanisms implemented by the ego in an attempt to regain control.

Because the defense mechanisms are being over-used, too much psychic energy is used and allows the maladaptive behavior to emerge. Psychoses, in contrast, are caused by an overdominant id.

According to the psychodynamic approach, the therapist would resolve the problem by assisting the client in delving back into their childhood and identifying when the problem arose.

Identifying the problem can bring this into the conscious, where the imbalance can be resolved, returning equanimity between the id, ego, and superego.

Consequently, the defense mechanisms will only operate at the maintenance level, and the mental illness will be cured.

However, psychoanalysis, the method used to produce this new balance, is time-consuming and costly. Furthermore, no objective measurement can be taken to demonstrate that a cure has been effected; it is reliant on the client's subjective report of their improvement.

There is concern that clients may claim they are better, not because they are, but because of the time and expense involved.

References

Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. SE, 18: 1-64.

Freud, S. (1923). The ego and the id. SE, 19: 1-66.

FAQs

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According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory, the id is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the super-ego.

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Psychoanalytic Theory - What Freud thought of Personality

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The Picture of Dorian Gray : Freudian (Psychological)

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HOW DOES THE WORK REFLECT THE AUTHOR'S PERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY? The Yellow Book The yellow book represents the poisonous influence of Lord Henry. The books character, Des Esseintes, reflects Dorian's life and secret wants and needs. Des Essiente spent his life "trying to realize . .

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A Theory of Personality: Analyzing the Characters of Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray using Freud's Perspective

Oscar Wilde's literary masterpiece the Picture of Dorian Gray is not only a good read but holds many different interpretations which allow you to learn from it. Once given the chance to study the theories of Sigmund Freud, I had come to realize a connection between his personality theory and the three main characters of the novel: Basil, Henry, and Dorian. Looking at the characters through this perspective has helped me understand their motives in the story and it makes it easier to understand how and why their characters developed as they did.

In order to understand this theory, it is first important to know the three characters analyzed. Dorian Gray is a young handsome man who seems in the beginning of the book to be pleasant, beautiful, and follows Henry's aunt's lead on taking part in her charitable endeavors. It is clear when Dorian is so upset by Henry Wotton's remark of how he will have nothing once his beauty has been taken by age shows that Dorian knows nothing about his own self. Living under the rules and moralities of his aristocratic society has not allowed him to find or express who he wants to be in life, which has diminished the opportunity for him to create his own moral code to live from. Dorian in a sense is a blank canvas, waiting to be molded into anything desired. Just as his portrait first appears, Dorian seems innocent and pure. Looking at Dorian's childhood history proves that he has lived through strife and has experienced the darker sides of life. It's impossible to believe that none of his past experiences put any psychological damage on him. Dorian keeps all of his terrors inside, not confiding in anyone. On the outside he seems to be a pure and beautiful being, which could be nothing but perfect. On the inside he fights to find an identity for himself while needing to cope with everything he has been through, this takes a toll on his mind, making him even more vulnerable to be manipulated by others.

In Freud's theory of personality, Dorian's character identifies deeply with the ID. The ID is a component of personality that is completely unconscious. It is driven by pleasure, and wishes to satisfy any need that we want. This could range from basic needs like eating, sleeping, and drinking. The range also goes as far as unrealistic pleasures, or pleasures that are defined as immoral by society. The ID has no mortality, if every person was controlled merely by the ID; we'd all live lives like Dorian. The ID has no personal identity just like Dorian. It is manipulated by the pleasures that we desire, not caring weather these pleasures are good or bad for us. Dorian's character is the ID of the three main characters; he lives a life of pleasure and becomes obsessed with living his life without moralities or worries.

Henry Wotton a witty intellect that preaches unconventional theories and the right ways of living, in which he doesn't necessarily follow himself. Henry believes everyone should live a life of pleasure, as well as be themselves. We should not be ruled by what other people think is right. Eventually Henry's words sink into Dorian and change him completely. Henry is the influence of change in Dorian. In a sense Henry becomes Dorian's Superego. Although the superego is usually defined as a good thing, in this story, it is not so good. The superego deals with our own moral codes and what we believe is right and wrong. It allows is to make judgments based on what we feel is right in connection with our conscious and what he know is right by society. In Henry's case, he doesn't believe what society preaches is right, and a life of pleasure is the only real way to live. As the ID Dorian originally has no morals so Henry's theories of living life by being yourself and indulging in your own pleasures becomes his moral. What Henry did not know is that he gave Dorian free reign to live by his ID. With no help to define what is right or wrong by his superego, Dorian felt he could do anything, including murder.

Basil Hallward is the talented painter who fell in love with Dorian's beauty. Throughout the book, he attempts to keep Dorian as pure as he is in his painting. Basil urges Dorian to not believe anything Henry says, hoping to protect his soul from being tainted. Although Basil's attempts are futile, his character resembles the ego. The ego's job is to mediate the superego and ID to shape the pleasure or idea met into a realistic manner. The ego shapes our actions so that they are appropriate in means of societal rules. On countless occasions Basil tries to keep Dorian in check and to diminish Henry's theories as something Dorian shouldn't take wholeheartedly. Even when Basil realizes that their friendship has completely dissolved he still tries to save him.

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A Theory of Personality: Analyzing the Characters of Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray using Freud's Perspective

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A Theory of Personality: Analyzing the Characters of Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray using Freud's Perspective Oscar Wilde's...

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Throughout his lifetime Oscar Wilde was known by the public for his wit and vibrant character. A self-proclaimed Aesthete, Wilde integrated his love of beauty and the arts into every aspect of his life, most notably in his writing. However, despite his generally aloof attitude, Wilde struggled with conflicting realities which, when they eventually merged, resulted in disaster. The Picture of Dorian Gray reflects the inner battle of Wilde's multifaceted self; the man as viewed by the public, as known to himself, and as he wished to be. While many consider the character of Dorian Gray to be the sole and direct interpretation of his creator, Wilde himself once stated that:
[Dorian Gray] contains much of me in it. Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry, what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be - in other ages perhaps.
With this in mind I will be analyzing each of the three main characters as relevant components of Wilde's overall image and, by extension, the sum total of his persona. Furthermore, I pose that, along with this symbolism of the self, The Picture of Dorian Gray alludes to Wilde's personal struggles as a closeted gay man through Basil Hallward's painted portrait of his unrequited love, Dorian Gray.

The first facet of Wilde, Lord Henry Wotton is the most extroverted and vibrant character, and is, as Wilde stated, a reflection of his public image. Lord Wotton is a Wildean dandy, an archetype present in many of Wilde's works that often expressed an air of indifference and confidence through wit and humor as a method of evading analysis or outside demands. Much like Wilde himself the character of Lord Henry Wotton uses his wit to divert unpleasant subject matter from his seemingly perfect life. In other words, wit and humor are used as defense mechanisms - a technique that Wilde often employed in his public life, notably during his trials. One prominent example of this practice of self-preservation can be found within the transcripts of Wilde's 1895 defense testimony. In one particular instance during questioning, the following repartee took place:
Mr. C. F. Gill: During 1893 and 1894 You were a good deal in the company of Lord Alfred Douglas?

Wilde: Oh, yes.

G: Did he read that poem to you?

W: Yes.

G: You can, perhaps, understand that such verses as these would not be acceptable to the reader with an ordinarily balanced mind?

W: I am not prepared to say. It appears to me to be a question of taste, temperament and individuality. I should say that one man's poetry is another man's poison! (Laughter.)
By noting the setting in which these quips take place - both within Wilde's fiction and his reality - it becomes clear that the flamboyant personality employed by Wilde and Wotton is merely a mask used to evade any outside analysis. Potentially stemming from Wilde's fear of his own unaddressed desires and lack of place, Lord Henry Wotton is immediately utilized to draw attention from the homoerotic confessions of Basil Hallward within the first chapter of Dorian Gray:
'I [Basil] turned half-way round and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself...Neither of us could help laughing, and we became friends at once." "Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one," said the young lord [Wotton], plucking another daisy.
Wotton's humor serves as the perfect foil against the depressed single artist. With Wotton in the spotlight, following the conversational guidelines often employed by Wilde among the public, general audiences would find it difficult to make comparisons between Wilde and anyone else. Due to the humorous repartee that Wotton provides, the reader's attention is drawn towards his wit rather than towards Hallward's melancholy and suggestive confessions. In this sense, the back-and-forth of Wotton and Hallward symbolizes something greater: Wilde's use of his public persona to distract from his reality and the first facet of Wilde's self.

Wilde once stated that "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."In the context of Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward is Wilde's truth masked behind the guise of fiction. Further comparison between Wilde and Hallward illuminates Wilde's struggles as a closeted gay man; in other words, the man as known to himself. The first chapter of The Picture of Dorian Gray opens with a romantic description of a flower-filled summer afternoon, but the mood quickly changes as Hallward confesses to Wotton the secret behind the subject of his portrait: the young and beautiful Dorian Gray. "I have put too much of myself into it," he explains, sparking incredulity from Lord Wotton. This innocuous phrase is the key to understanding the truth behind the symbolism of the novel. As the story progresses we learn that the portrait, now in the possession of Dorian Gray himself, begins to change in appearance and seems to act as a reflection of Gray's soul. Eventually, Gray's actions and lack of compassion towards others causes the portrait to take on a grotesque image, ultimately causing the death of its real-life counterpart. While on first impression it seems that the portrait is a reflection of Gray's soul, there is evidence that the portrait is rather a reflection of Hallward's soul, and used as a symbol for the danger of repressed sexuality and the struggle of self-loathing.

Throughout the novel there are several events caused by Gray that bring about his eventual downfall including the suicide of Sybil Vane, the murder of Basil Hallward, the suicide of Alan Campbell, and the death of James Vane. The novel ends with a description of the titular character who, having attempted to destroy the portrait with the same knife used to kill Hallward, lays dead on the floor, aged as he should be. Gray, who had spent the past eighteen years of his life actively seeking to commit every sin possible, was aesthetically preserved only by the portrait who had sacrificed itself in his stead; there is no doubt that this is Wilde's intended implication. However, several details lend to the theory that the soul inhabiting the portrait is Basil Hallward's rather than Dorian Gray's. First, there is the key statement made by Hallward within the first few pages of the novel, "I have put too much of myself in it" implying a connection between Hallward and his work. Initially it seems that Hallward is describing the aesthetic features of the painting, but as he continues it becomes clear that there is a deeper connection at play:
...every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. The sitter is merely an accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself. 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.
Due to the then-deviant status of his affections towards Gray, it would have been almost impossible for Hallward to have expressed his true emotions without risk of life-threatening consequences. By using the portrait as a vessel, Hallward places his frustrations and desires within his art, which he then gifts to Gray. In this sense, the portrait is a proxy - a way for Hallward to excuse his obsession with Gray as merely an artistic connection, as Wilde himself often did. Had the story ended here, Hallward may have been able to maintain a secret obsession through the guise of artistic symbiosis. However, after Gray's friendship and attention are stolen by Lord Wotton, Hallward begins a subtle journey of resentment that tarnishes his soul, which is then reflected in his work even after his death.

Basil Hallward's final argument with Dorian Gray is significant as a representation of both Hallward's suppressed sexuality and Gray's disgust towards Hallward's feelings for him. Using the portrait as an example of how Hallward has affected him, Gray blames Hallward for the dark path that he has gone down. However, despite taking Hallward's life, he is still haunted by the ever-changing portrait - the remaining fragment of Hallward's tortured soul. Assuming that his eventual promise of reformation is enough to revert the portrait's appearance, Gray is horrified to find that it has increased in ugliness and is determined to destroy it. However, he is somehow killed by the portrait with the same knife used to murder Basil Hallward. Here it could be interpreted that Hallward's soul haunted Gray in his last days, growing more powerful as Gray's lifestyle grew more and more contrasting to Hallward's ideals. Analysis of Wilde's other works, such as The Nightingale and the Rose, reveal expressions of the artist's unrequited love, implying previous infatuations that Wilde may have had in his younger days. Keeping this in mind, the character of Basil Hallward may well continue this expression as a representation of a darker aspect of unrequited love: self-loathing and bitterness. A symbol of repressed sexuality, the soul within the painting caused the downfall of the novel's most socially deviant characters, leaving only Lord Wotton unscathed. By killing off all characters that showed any hint of immorality - and saving the very character that the public associated with himself -Wilde succeeded in distancing himself even further from any initial suspicion of being gay.

While Wilde's public and inner selves are expressed through Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward respectively, Dorian Gray serves as a representation of both the man Wilde wished himself to be and the type of man Wilde often found himself infatuated with. While Wilde's most well-known romance involved Lord Alfred Douglas, his first documented relationship with another man took place in 1886 with a then seventeen-year-old Robert Ross who "so young and yet so knowing, was determined to seduce Wilde." Now uncertain about his identity, Wilde was unable to fully reciprocate a physical relationship with his wife, Constance Lloyd, causing the gradual unravelling of their marriage. However, despite Wilde's relationship with Ross being an admitted personal first, he had frequently alluded to the concept of "Greek love" both in his works and conversations of the past. In 1890, Wilde was introduced to the young aesthetic poet John Gray, who many believe to be the inspiration behind Wilde's Dorian Gray character. While John Gray distanced himself from this theory, he did, in fact, have a two-year-long relationship with Wilde after the story's publication. Though it is uncertain whether or not the character of Dorian Gray was directly inspired by any one individual in particular, many elements of the character- especially physical - parallel those of Wilde's lovers. For example, Dorian Gray is described as having "...finely curved scarlet lips, frank blue eyes, [and] crisp gold hair." as well as being a "young Adonis, who looks as if he was made out of ivory and rose leaves." Just a year later, Wilde sent the following letter to Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, with whom he was having an infamous affair:
My Own Boy,

Your sonnet is quite lovely, and it is a marvel that those red rose-leaf lips of yours should have been made no less for music and song than for madness of kissing. Your slim gilt soul walks between passion and poetry. I know Hyacinthus, whom Apollo loved so madly, was you in Greek days.
Wilde's previous lovers, Robert Ross and John Gray, both possessed similar physical features as well as personalities. Though they may not have been the direct inspiration for Wilde's descriptive choices, it seems that he at least had an individual in mind when choosing words, and perhaps even partners. The character of Dorian Gray represents the very nature and idea of desire itself - beautiful, yet elusive and dangerous all at once. Sadly, these traits, mirrored in Lord Alfred Douglas, caused Wilde to suffer the same emotional and reputational downfall that he portrayed in his novel.

Human nature is complex and often divided against itself. Conscious of this, Wilde split himself into the characters of Dorian Gray, expressing his inescapable contradictory nature and internal struggle. Wilde made conscious decisions in expressing and concealing his background and specific elements of his life and, in doing so, created a secondary persona - that of a sociable and wealthy married man. While Wilde lived for pleasure and brushed off the unpleasant with his wit and wisdom, it is worth questioning whether or not he ever exposed his true self to anyone. Though many of his letters have been saved, it seems that through self-invention Wilde created a persona so complex that he hardly revealed the truth of his own soul in private - or perhaps even to himself. Through works such as The Picture of Dorian Gray, this repressed self and the implied self-loathing that accompanies it are expressed through the faceted nature of the story. Basil Hallward, Lord Wotton, and Dorian Gray himself may have been admittedly elements of Wilde's own persona, but it still begs the question: who really was the man behind the portrait?

Terri Pinyerd

Terri is co-founder, creator, and editor of The Hyacinth Review. Currently based in Paris, she works as a writer, photographer, and freelance web designer. Her work has been published in a variety of publications including NME Magazine, Kanilehua Art & Literary Magazine, Hohonu Academic Journal, and The Euhemerist. Terri holds a B.A in English from the University of Hawai'i at Hilo, and spends her time exploring the arts & humanities.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray and the Symbolism of the Self - The Hyacinth Review

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Throughout his lifetime Oscar Wilde was known by the public for his wit and vibrant character. A self-proclaimed Aesthete, Wilde integrated his love of beauty and the arts into every aspect of his life, most notably in his writing. However, despite his generally aloof attitude, Wilde struggled with conflicting realities which, when they eventually merged,...

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The novel can thus be defined as a symbolic representation of a dialectic between two aspects of Wilde's personality. Dorian is an archetypal image by which both aspects are fascinated. This suggests that his behaviour symbolizes Wilde's unconscious (i.e. unacknowledged) attitudes. Dorian is characterized by his evasiveness and his obsession with objets d'art. For example, when Basil comes to console him about Sibyl's death, he is unwilling to discuss the matter. He does not want to admit the possibility that his behaviour was reprehensible. He tells his friend: "If one doesn't talk about a thing, it has never happened. It is simply expression, as Harry says, that gives reality to things" (107). Later, after murdering Basil, he again seeks to avoid acknowledging what he has done: "He felt that the secret of the whole thing was not to realize the situation" (159).

Dorian escapes from every unpleasant realization by turning his attention to other things. Unwilling to admit that his actions have moral implications, he seeks refuge in art. On hearing of Sibyl's death, he accepts an invitaton, for that very evening, to go to the opera. He learns to see life only from an aesthetic perspective. He reflects:

Form is absolutely essential to it. It should have the dignity of a ceremony, as well as its unreality, and should combine the insincere character of a romantic play with the wit and beauty that makes such plays delightful to us. [142]

The consequence of this attitude is that he finds himself increasingly "stepping outside" his experiences in order to observe them from a distance. Instead of living his experiences more intensely, he finds himself observing them, as in a theatre. He confesses to Lord Henry, with reference to Sibyl's suicide:

"I must admit that this thing that has happened does not affect me as it should. It seems to me simply like a wonderful ending to a wonderful play. It has all the terrible beauty of a Greek tragedy, a tragedy in which I took a great part, but by which I have not been wounded." [100]

He tells Basil: "To become the spectator of one's own life, as Harry says, is to escape the suffering of life" (110). Some eighteen years later, Dorian no longer even feels part of his own drama. He has become only a spectator, and what he sees is a projection of the grotesque shape that his own personality has assumed. He coldly watches Basil as the latter reacts to his now hideously deformed painting:

The young man was leaning against the mantelshelf, watching him with that strange expression that one sees on the faces of those who are absorbed in a play when some great artist is acting. There was neither real sorrow in it nor real joy. There was simply the passion of the spectator, with perhaps a flicker of triumph in his eyes. [156]

He is no longer watching himself only. He is watching another person's reaction to the callousness and cruelty which he does not want to recognize in himself.

Throughout the novel, the mechanism whereby involvement is translated into aesthetic perspective is associated with fear. For example, when Dorian first meets Lord Henry, to distract him from the latter's words, he turns to observe a bee:

He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things that we try to develop when things of high import make us afraid, or when we are stirred by some new emotion for which we cannot find expression, or when some thought that terrifies us lays sudden siege to the brain and calls on us to yield. [23]

He has been granted the means to enjoy life to the full, but - paradoxically - he is afraid of life. Consequently, he seeks refuge in a pseudo-aestheticism. For example, when he shows Alan Campbell into the room where Basil's murdered body lies, he is suddenly afraid that he will have to see the consequence of what he has done: "There he stopped, feeling afraid to turn round, and his eyes fixed themselves on the intricacies of the pattern before him" (174). His subsequent passion for objets d'art, so lengthily described in chapter XI, is simply a way "by which he could escape, for a season, from the fear that seemed to him at times to be almost too great to be borne" (140). He is afraid of that side of his own personality for which he is not prepared to accept responsiblity.

Dorian is the Wildean dandy par excellence. He is what both Basil and Lord Henry would like to be. It is worth noting that Wilde wrote of the characters in his only novel: "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be - in other ages, perhaps" (Letters, 352). Dorian personifies a conflict between Dionysian and Apollonian elements particularly fascinating to his creator. He has a passion for "the colour, the beauty, the joy of life" (40), but avoids becoming involved with any experience for fear of it causing him possible pain. Basil's and Lord Henry's fascination with him represents Wilde's obsession with a young dandy whose evasiveness and pseudo-aestheticism symbolize his own unconscious fears.

References

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Isobel Murray. London: Oxford University Press, 1974.

Wilde, Oscar. The Letters of Oscar Wilde. Ed. R. Hart-Davis. London: Hart-Davis, 1962.

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Dorian Gray as Symbolic Representation of Wilde’s Personality

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The novel can thus be defined as a symbolic representation of a dialectic between two aspects of Wilde’s personality. Dorian is an archetypal image by which both aspects are fascinated. This suggests that his behaviour symbolizes Wilde’s unconscious (i.e. unacknowledged) attitudes. Dorian is characterized by his evasiveness and his obsession with objets d’art. For example, when Basil comes to console him about Sibyl’s death, he is unwilling to discuss the matter. He does not want to admit the possibility that his behaviour was reprehensible. He tells his friend: “If one doesn’t talk about a thing, it has never happened. It is simply expression, as Harry says, that gives reality to things” (107). Later, after murdering Basil, he again seeks to avoid acknowledging what he has done: “He felt that the secret of the whole thing was not to realize the situation” (159).

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Editorial

The concept "Dorian Gray syndrome" (DGS) was first used in the year 2000. In popular usage, the term is used metaphorically to refer to individuals who strive to maintain an outward appearance of youth and beauty at all costs. However, it is essential to note that this term is not recognized within the medical or psychiatric community as a formal diagnosis or condition.

A 2001 article outlines the defining characteristics of the Dorian Gray syndrome: A) Excessive preoccupation with one's outward appearance. B) Imaginary or minimal defects in external morphology responded to in the form of embarrassment and social reclusiveness. C) A strong desire to preserve one's youthfulness in order not to grow older [ 1].

Dorian Gray syndrome may be considered a variant of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) due to the similarity in characteristics between the two conditions. Individuals with both conditions exhibit excessive concern and preoccupation with their physical appearance, often focusing on perceived flaws or imperfections. They may engage in repetitive and compulsive behaviors to alleviate their distress such as seeking cosmetic interventions or constantly checking their appearance. The underlying psychological factors, including low self-esteem and distorted self-image, are also shared between Dorian Gray syndrome and BDD [ 2].

Currently, there are no available data on the prevalence of DGS. However, the estimated prevalence of BDD in the general population is about 2%. The prevalence significantly increases in dermatological settings to up to 11% [ 3].

The eponymous lead character of Oscar Wilde's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray," keeps his youthful appearance while his portrait ages. Dorian Gray, an exceptionally beautiful man, makes a wish that his newly painted portrait takes the brunt of time while his real self remains unmarred by the ravages of age and circumstance. This wish comes true. He goes to great lengths to hide the painting, which not only shows him advancing in age but also reflects any selfish or immoral act with a dramatically accelerated deterioration ("The quivering ardent sunlight showed him the lines of cruelty round the mouth as clearly as if he had been looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful thing"). The novel was written at a time when views of hedonism, art, and aesthetics were undergoing a sea change. The victory of self-indulgence and personal pleasure over morality would be frowned upon even now, but the idea of wanting to preserve one's beauty has surely been delinked with ethicality.

A 45-year-old wife of a businessman visited the dermatology clinic for her routine neurotoxin shots. In her designer outfit, sipping on infused water, she asked about any new aesthetic procedures that may have been introduced in the clinic. She had recently attended a gathering of older adults and was always afraid of turning 'fat and wrinkly' like them. Her expectation was that since she was making a lot of efforts like eating gluten-free food, drinking green tea, taking whey protein, working out, and using the most expensive skin care products, she would always look young. A quick probing into her lifestyle revealed an irregular way of life, erratic binging on desserts, frequent partying involving alcohol and hookah (water pipe), and complete sedentariness apart from occasional workouts. A lecture on the importance of a healthy lifestyle was met with an incredulous stare. "Why do you think I visit you, doctor? You must fix me and keep me looking young. I am afraid if I don't keep up with my high society lifestyle, my husband will leave me."

We would like to propose a term, 'Dorian Gray trait,' for such cases. The proposed Dorian Gray trait is an obsession with a youthful appearance and compulsive use of aesthetic and lifestyle trends to mute or mask signs of aging while circumventing a rational healthy way of life. There is a fear of 'looking' old, rather than growing old. A typical patient is likely to be middle-aged, educated, of a middle or higher socioeconomic class, heavily using social media, and having subconscious insecurities about his or her appearance or relationships. There is an attraction for a quick fix (read 'lunchtime'), instant gratification aesthetic treatments. Exercise is only done for weight loss, not for fitness. A victim of diet fads, this patient spends a lot of money following whatever lifestyle trend is in vogue on social media. Our patient associates all self-worth with her youthful appearance. Although mentioned as an afterthought, the apprehension of her husband, who supported her lavish lifestyle and aesthetic treatments, leaving her due to her aging appearance, appeared quite genuine.

The quest for eternal youth is not a twenty-first-century phenomenon. It is probably as old as civilization. Stories of beautiful women using all kinds of materials, ranging from bizarre to outright toxic, to enhance their beauty are found in cultures around the world. The Fountain of Youth and the Philosophers' Stone, both purported as means of eternal youth and immortality, have inspired art and literature over centuries. It seems that the fountain of youth today is aesthetic medicine and surgery. Most traditional cultures embrace age, older adults are respected for their experience and wisdom. However, some modern cultures associate age with illness, even considering it a disease that needs 'treatment.' Modern cosmetic industry and media glamorize youth and reinforce this belief, hence the focus on 'anti-aging' as opposed to 'healthy aging.'

In the age of social media and selfies, our exposure to our own image is very frequent. The urge to show the best possible appearance of one's self is natural. But software-modified and beauty-filtered images can show us how we might look with a few alterations like higher cheekbones, fuller lips, or trimmer jawlines, and patients are known to demand aesthetic procedures based on this 'selfie dysmorphia.' The rapid progress and widened reach of aesthetic treatments have made it possible for even fantastical expectations regarding appearance to be fulfilled. Baldness is abated, waistlines are slimmed, and wrinkles are erased. Treatments have moved from the realm of need to want. Many middle-aged celebrities flaunt their real, treatment-altered, or morphed youthful looks, which generate demand among the general population, much like the trickledown effect seen in fashion. Earlier considered the bastion of actors and models, aesthetic medicine has been rendered accessible to the wider population at an economical rate.

The Internet is heavily influencing patients' attitudes towards aesthetic treatments [ 4]. Patients as young as 16 or 17 are asking for anti-aging treatments [ 5]. Although our patient is a female, with the rising focus on cosmetics and treatments for males, there will surely be a blurring of this gender typecasting. Statistics from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS) indicated a notable surge of around 55% in plastic surgery procedures among men from 1997 to 2018 [ 6]. In fact, the primary case described in the flagship paper on the 'Dorian Gray syndrome' is a male, as is the hero of the novel.

Dorian Gray pursues personal gratification and indulgences that ultimately lead to great suffering, unhappiness, and death. Today's indulgences may be fast food, sedentariness, substance abuse, and overuse of social media. Maintaining healthy behaviors throughout life is a slow and tedious mode of slowing down the aging process but is not alluring enough for a patient having the Dorian Gray trait.

Wilde professes "who, that knew anything about life, would surrender the chance of remaining always young?" at the same time confessing that "To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise or get up early."

If this remarkable fantasy were to become a reality, there would be no dearth of takers for it.

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Exploring the Dorian Gray Trait: Unveiling the Complexities of Perceived Aging and Self-Image

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The concept of the "Dorian Gray Trait," inspired by Oscar Wilde's renowned literary work, delves into the intricate interplay between self-perception, the fear of aging, and the pursuit of eternal youth. This article explores the psychological ...

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Dorian Gray main themes--Victorian morality...

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Dorian Gray main themes--Victorian morality...

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Introduction

The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde's only novel, and one of his major - and most controversial - works. The Irishman, born into a privileged Dublin family and educated at Oxford, was at the time known in London for giving public lectures on aesthetics. He had written some poems and short stories, but The Picture of Dorian Gray marked the beginning of his great successes, with later plays like The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), essays such as The Critic as Artist (1891) or The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891), and the poem The Ballad of Reading Goal (1898), which he wrote following his incarceration for homosexual conduct in 1895-97.

The novel tells the story of Dorian Gray, an exceptionally handsome young man who has his portrait painted by his friend Basil Hallward. When Dorian contemplates the picture for the first time, he is struck by the sight of his own beauty and wishes that the painting would grow old in his place. His desire comes true: Dorian realises that the portrait progressively deteriorates as he falls deeper and deeper into sin under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton's hedonistic world views and the assurance of keeping forever "the unstained purity of youth" (189).

[A picture of the cover of the July, 1890 edition of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, where "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was first published. Source: Wikipedia, Public Domain.]

When The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in July 1890, it was decried as profoundly immoral even though some passages had already been censored by the publisher. One critic wrote for instance in the Daily Chronicle that it was "a tale spawned from the leprous literature of the French Décadents - a poisonous book", and denounced "its effeminate frivolity" and "its theatrical cynicism" . Such attacks led to the publication of a revised edition in 1891, with six additional chapters and a preface in which Wilde rejected the attribution of moral values to works of art and literature, famously asserting that "There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written - that is all". In a playfully provocative tone, The Picture of Dorian Gray explores the depths of human conscience and problematises literature's influence upon the reader within a highly moralistic society.

1. A Gothic narrative of duplicity and transgression

Although not always categorised as such, The Picture of Dorian Gray is distinctively set in the tradition of the Gothic novel. Wilde's Faustian tale of a man who sacrifices his soul for eternal youth and a life of pleasures features one of the genre's essential themes: the violation of natural and moral laws, through which society's deepest anxieties are represented. The "magical" painting in particular introduces a supernatural dimension which typically challenges the intelligibility of the world depicted and unsettles defined boundaries. As the portrait acquires "a life of its own" (113), the dichotomy between art and life is blurred, as well as the one between appearances and reality; the picture acts as a reversed mirror, reflecting Dorian's true inner self (or soul) whereas he, "the original" Dorian (28), only shows the deceitful mask of youth and purity. This duplicity is revelatory of a chiaroscuro aesthetic which is reminiscent of Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) and creates a dark atmosphere. The personality split is however deeply aestheticised here, and partially transferred to a material object, the painting.

If, as Kelly Hurley declared, "Gothic provided a space to explore phenomena at the borders of human identity and culture-insanity, criminality, barbarity, sexual perversion" , Wilde's novel is exemplary of the fin-de-siècle modern treatment of such themes. By the end of the nineteenth century, new scientific progresses and the emergence of concepts such as degeneration , challenged the Victorian faith in rationality, and greatly encouraged writers to create characters who stretched the limits of science and humanity. Thus, the original sublime landscapes and fearful bandits of Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto (1764) or Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) gave way to the mad scientists and monstrous creations of Stevenson's novel or Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), another major Gothic reference which comes to mind when reading Wilde's novel. As in Shelley's narrative, Dorian Gray is in a sense the object of Lord Henry Wollon's experiment. The latter takes a perverse pleasure in observing the effects of his influence upon the young man, seeing in him "an interesting study" and the product of "his own creation" (55). As the narrator outlines: "he had begun by vivisecting himself, as he had ended vivisecting others" (55). Henry is thus described as Victor Frankenstein's alter ego, the creator of a destructive avatar who will eventually escape his control.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, the transgression of ethical and natural laws serves to demonstrate the limits of bourgeois values of respectability and integrity, in accordance with Wilde's anti-authoritarian ideas. For in the novel, what is terrifying is not the behaviour of a Caliban-like foreigner (the mention of Shakespeare's character in the Preface is in that sense significant), but the sinful attitude of an Englishman, Dorian. In other words, the monstrous comes from within British society itself and from within culture (Basil's art). In this modern tale of moral degradation taking place in "the native land of the hypocrites" (147), the Irish writer seems to point out the potential drifts of the ennui and indolence pervading the advanced civilisation that British aristocracy embodies.

2. A novel of self-development breaking up with Victorian traditions

Traditional Victorian society believed in the ethical role of literature, which was supposed to provide models of behaviour for the readers through the depiction of a character's itinerary towards virtuous self-accomplishment. In this respect, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a dark rewriting of the traditional Bildungsroman, as it narrates the psychological and moral growth of the main character. "You have not realised how I have developed. I was a schoolboy when you knew me. I am a man now" (107), Dorian states to Basil, highlighting his own maturation. The beginning of the novel stages Dorian's realisation of his own seductive potential and his progressive transformation into an image (quite literally), or rather, as it is repeatedly mentioned later on, an artistic ideal of beauty and purity.

The awakening of the innocent Dorian to life and its pleasures (and to homosexuality as some critics have suggested in comparison with Wilde's personal life) is framed by the twin influences of Basil and Henry. These two characters act as embodiments of opposite pressures forging Dorian's personality: Basil on the one hand is the optimistic, emotional and religious artist who trusts that the universe is guided by a moral code, whereas Henry more cynically advocates individualism and hedonism, and believes that morality is only arbitrary and relative. Torn between these two antithetical perspectives on human experience, Dorian Gray stands for humanity and embodies the moral issues faced by the nineteenth century as the rise of paganism and hedonism challenged Victorian values of puritanism and stoicism. The same conflict is dramatised in the novels of Henry James, Thomas Hardy, Emily Brontë, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Thackeray, Herman Melville or George Eliot, in which the protagonist's purpose is to reconcile such antagonisms, and to find a stable middle-ground harmoniously reuniting heart and mind, desire and duty.

But unlike such novels where moral order is ultimately restored once the villains are punished and virtue triumphs, The Picture of Dorian Gray does not allow for such resolution and Dorian's preference for Henry's system of beliefs culminates in the murder of Basil. Furthermore, the novel ends on Dorian's self-destruction, far from the traditional marriage epitomising personal fulfilment in nineteenth-century narratives. Basil's unsuccessful attempts to redeem Dorian signal the failure of Victorian morality itself and of its attempts to instrumentalise literature and art for educational purposes. The novel turns into an illustration of the consequences of its downfall, and as such foreshadows pre-WWI novels like Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure (1895) or Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome (1911) which depict a world where cosmic moral justice no longer rules and characters are left to fend for themselves, struggling with their excesses and obsessions.

3. A manifesto of Wilde's Aestheticism and its limits

More than a dark tale of supernatural immortality, The Picture of Dorian Gray is an illustration of Wilde's aesthetic philosophy, known as Aestheticism. This intellectual and artistic movement became popular in Victorian England under the influence of the writer Walter Pater, in reaction against the new models brought by the industrial revolution which valued performativity and utility over aesthetic pleasure. Close to Theophile Gautier's Art for Art's sake credo, Aestheticism asserts the necessity for Art to emancipate itself from educational purposes and moral significance: "the sphere of Art and the sphere of Ethics are absolutely distinct and separate", Wilde declares in The Critic as Artist . Similar statements are made in the Preface of the novel ("The Artist is the creator of beautiful things", "No artist desires to prove anything"), and within the narrative by Lord Henry: "Beauty is a form of Genius - is higher indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation", as he reveals to Dorian in their decisive first encounter (20).

Such beliefs, provokingly uttered by Lord Henry and put into practice by Dorian, led many critics to see in the novel a profoundly immoral narrative, whereas others have argued that it could be read on the contrary as a cautionary tale warning against the dangers of excess and vice, given that the protagonist eventually dies . The Preface would tend to suggest however that the novel's ambition is beyond this controversy, and that t he book has no moral aim since it does not offer any clear conclusion, but rather provides philosophical observations on the human condition. Wilde proposes a profound meditation on the role of the artist, through the character of Basil whose depth has been reassessed in recent studies and in whomWilde recognised himself: "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be-in other ages, perhaps", the author famously wrote in a letter of 12 February 1894 .In that perspective, The Picture of Dorian Gray could be read as the tragic downfall of an artist who corrupted his artistic ideal (Dorian) by mistaking his art for idolatry: "I worshipped you", Basil confesses to the young man (2). Indeed, the role played by the painter in Dorian's descent into moral degradation is not to be belittled: it is his picture which revealed to Dorian that he was worthy ofbeing admired and glorified. The novel thus ends on the destruction of the perverted artistic ideal embodied by the painting, the only way for art to return to its pure state. Wilde does not promote hedonistic instinct (embodied by Lord Henry) over conscience (represented by Basil) - nor the contrary, but rather suggests the necessity for both to unite. Indeed, Dorian's confession to Basil ("Of course, I am very fond of Harry. But I know that you are better than he is. You are not stronger-you are too much afraid of life-but you are better", 107) suggests that if Basil had possessed Henry's strength and individualism, he might not have invested so much in the portrait and his encounter with Dorian might not have turned so tragically. Thus, according to Richard Ellmann, the novel represents "the tragedy of aestheticism" and "the aesthetic novel par excellence, not in espousing the doctrine, but in exhibiting its dangers" .

Commented excerpt: Narcissus's tragedy

In this passage, Dorian has just broken up with the actress Sybil Vane whom he had courted and intended to marry. Coming back home, he realises for the first time that the portrait has altered and rapidly links it to the cruel and selfish way in which he treated her:

As he was turning the handle of the door, his eye fell upon the portrait Basil Hallward had painted of him. He started back as if in surprise [...] In the dim arrested light that struggled through the cream-coloured silk blinds, the face appeared to him to be a little changed. The expression looked different. One would have said that there was a touch of cruelty in the mouth. It was certainly strange.

He turned round and, walking to the window, drew up the blind. The bright dawn flooded the room and swept the fantastic shadows into dusky corners, where they lay shuddering. But the strange expression that he had noticed in the face of the portrait seemed to linger there, to be more intensified even. The quivering ardent sunlight showed him the lines of cruelty round the mouth as clearly as if he had been looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful thing.

He winced and, taking up from the table an oval glass framed in ivory Cupids, one of Lord Henry's many presents to him, glanced hurriedly into its polished depths. No line like that warped his red lips. What did it mean? (87)

Dorian is here confronted with the direct and visible consequences of his behaviour as the portrait begins to bear the marks of corruption. The impossibility to identify himself completely with the painting, because of the expression of the mouth, inevitably reminds us of the myth of Narcissus who also failed to recognise his own image in the water. The same dissociation is at work, further highlighted by the presence of the mirror (significantly Lord Henry's gift) which creates yet another double. This complex dynamic of duplication, or rather duplicity (in the moral sense) which led to Narcissus's disappointment, announces more tragically Dorian's downfall.

Wilde's talent for combining elements of both fantastic and realistic narratives produces a "strange" text, where the personification of the painting (which comes to life) seems to contaminate the description: the shadows "shudder", and the sunlight is "quivering" while the cruel expression "lingers". His evocative and rich, ornate style builds up a chiaroscuro aesthetic which pervades the description through the contrast of lights and shadows, as if to better underline Dorian's own psychological duality. The same precise and symbolic use of vocabulary which characterises Wilde's writing can be seen in the expression "fantastic shadows", which is also mentioned at the very beginning of the novel in the metaphorical description of flowers whose beauty is a "burden" (1), and later on again right before Dorian murders Basil (151). The scenes thus echo one another, ominous signs structuring the novel to highlight Dorian's progression from innocence to monstrous self-destruction.

Bibliography

CLAUSSON, Nils. "'Culture and Corruption': Paterian Self-Development versus Gothic Degeneration in Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray"." Papers on Language and Literature 39, no. 4 (2016): 339-64. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283516983_'Culture_and_Corruption'_Paterian_Self-Development_versus_Gothic_Degeneration_in_Oscar_Wilde's_'The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray'.

LORANG, Elizabeth. " The Picture of Dorian Gray in Context: Intertextuality and 'Lippincott's Monthly Magazine.'" Victorian Periodicals Review 43, no. 1 (2010): 19-41. www.jstor.org/stable/25732085.

WILDE, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. London: Harper Collins, 2010 [based on the 1891 book edition].

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Aestheticism and Morality in Oscar Wilde's " The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890)

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Known for his witty aphorisms, fanciful style and extravagant way of life, Oscar Wilde was not only a dandy ((par excellence)) but also a major figure of nineteenth-century literature. In ((The Picture of Dorian Gray)), he expresses his belief that art should be dissociated from moral considerations and creates an anti-hero at odds with traditional protagonists whose virtuous behaviours were meant to be exemplary models.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray Character Analysis: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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If you love the classics as much as Herald staffer Gabrielle, delve into the world of Dorian Gray and the thorough analysis of those around him.

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Dorian Gray: A Man of Two Faces – Late 19th Century British Literature & Culture

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Dorian Gray is presented in the beginning of the novel as “a young man of extraordinary personal beauty” (Wilde 5) with a “charming personality” (Wilde 11) to match. Wilde even goes so far as to compare his figure to the “Greek Gods”. Basil Hallward, the artist who painted the portrait of this majestic figure, captured the pure physical and emotional beauty of Dorian Gray.