Introduction: Post the Lippincott version - Wilde tried to defend novel with preface of English version. Supports the comment made as in the preface, Wilde directly states that "Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming" Victorian society is very hypocritical and felt that Dorian was a presentation of Wilde; they thought he was corrupt and he was facing trials. Paragraph - Dorian: Sells soul metaphorically upon seeing painting, realising his own beauty and Lord Henry's influence - "I would give my soul for that" Shows that Lord Henry's influence has made Dorian worship aesthetic items. "Then had come Lord Henry Wotton with his strange panegyric on youth, his terrible warning of its brevity". Dorian is no longer attracted by inner beauty but instead is excited and intrigued by exterior forms.
Expanding upon this, one can be easily swayed in the wrong direction if his or her beliefs and morals aren’t firmly grounded. In the novel, an artist named Basil Hallward paints a portrait of the striking Dorian Gray. As soon as the masterpiece is completed, Lord Henry Wotton makes an impression on Dorian that detrimentally changes the young man’s life. Wotton makes a comment addressing the fact that the portrait will forever be young and beautiful, while Dorian’s face will be marred and altered by his own sins. Furthermore, Lord Henry influenced Mr. Gray’s love life by belittling women and saying “But adoring someone is certainly better than being adored.
When Rochester’s tells his tale (pg429-437), Jane’s narration portrays him as beastly, blaming his situation, on the unfortunate, lunatic Bertha, when the union was concocted by Rochester’s father. Religious sincerity is a constant presence within Jane Eyre, Brontë examines corruption, authenticity and the threat of religious beliefs. “My Uncle Reed is in heaven, and can see all you and think; …” (pg31, Jane Eyre) this comment by Jane is a threat to Mrs. Reed that on the monumental Day of Judgement, she will be condemned for her harsh treatment of Jane. The character Mr
Dorian and Henry first meet in Basil's study, and from then on, Dorian is never the same innocent child he previously was. Lord Henry Wotton creates a conflict with the naïve and innocent Dorian Gray by influencing and mentally corrupting him. Under this influence, *Dorian becomes a hedonist, constantly pursuing pleasure and everlasting beauty. This one-way conflict, where Lord Henry almost completely controls Dorian's emotions, is the cause for Dorian's downfall and death. *Lord Henry, who enjoys manipulating people to calm his hedonist feelings, imposing him by his radical, yet catchy theories of life.
Oscar Wilde wrote a body of work that is relevant today for many reasons. He struggled with the relationship of style to substance, wanting both to enjoy art for the sake of enjoying beautiful things, but also worrying about the effects living such a lifestyle would have on society. This theme runs through all his major works in some way... The individuals preferring to do something they find interesting, fun, or beautiful, but having to balance that with their duties to society. One of the strongest examples of this is in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” where the main character and his foil, Lord Henry Wotton, struggle with their different approaches to this question.
By virtue of his narcissism ,hedonism, and disregard for others, his portrait grown uglier and uglier. There are allusions in the text that indicate the portrait as a representation of his soul. There are various themes which Oscar Wilde wanted to present to the readers. The value of beauty and youth, the influence and corruption and appearance vs reality. Lord Henry claims to value beauty and youth above all else.
Lord Henry’s obsession with Dorian leads Dorian to a life full of immoral activities such as drugs, meaningless sex, and the murder of famed artist and friend, Basil Hallward. Dorian explores these sensations as he looks to feel something real, but his entire life now revolves around his appearance and his state of self-denial. “Lord Henry Wotton is perfectly right. Youth is the only thing worth having. When I find that I am growing old, I shall kill myself,” (Wilde Chapter II) throughout the novel, Lord Henry influences Dorian’s decisions to be a pleasure seeker, to date only the elite, and to act in an high class manner.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, the character of Roger Chillingworth was transformed from a well educated scholar into a fallen, unrighteous man. Roger Chillingworth was once kind, then becomes the symbol of vengeance, and finally becomes the personification of vengeance to the extent of losing his humanity. Roger Chillingworth (Prynne), a “kind, but never warm hearted man,” was not always a vengeful and diabolical creature, but once he lusted after the idea of love and kindness. During “The Interview” with Hester, he admits his fault of trying for love: “It was my folly! I have said it.
Basil stands for artist, while the picture stands for art and ideal. The change of the picture means the shattered of the painter’s ideal. Lord Henry represents reality which is oppsite to art. Many readers hate Lord Henry very much because he misled Dorian and push Dorian into a bottomless abyss. However, I like Lord Henry.
The portrait, however, absorbs all the signs of aging, vices and misdeeds of which stain overnight. The portrait symbolizes immortality, while the beauty of Dorian and his apparent innocence are symbol of bourgeois hypocrisy who tended to hide all the facets of being. At the end of the novel Dorian stabs the portrait with a knife, killing himself, because he couldn't stand more of what had become, and the picture magically returns to its original purity and beauty. Four years later Oscar Wilde would explore the same theme in “The Picture of Dorian Gray”: Like Stevenson, Wilde suffers from his time’s conditions. In his novel, we can find the expression of extreme Decadentism, centred on the theme of the double, typical of the psychological horror stories.