essay topics for the picture of dorian gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

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Chapters 4-9

Chapters 10-16

Chapters 17-20

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Perform a detailed character analysis of Dorian Gray . What thematic message does Wilde develop through both Dorian’s traits and his character arc?

Perform a detailed analysis of Dorian Gray’s portrait. What message does Wilde assert through the visual and thematic presence of the painting?

Use outside sources that give historical context for the homosexual male experience during the time period in which The Picture of Dorian Gray takes place. Then, situate Basil Hallward within this context. Through Basil, what is Wilde communicating about the homosexual male experience of the era?

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22 thought-provoking essay topics on dorian gray.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a popular option for teachers in literature classes. After reading this classic piece by Oscar Wilde, the next step is to write a thought-provoking paper. Since Oscar Wilde continues to be an oft-quoted inspiration for many, it is only fitting the essay topic be just as inspirational. Here are 22 topic ideas:

• How does Lord Henry influence Dorian?
• Describe the relationship between Lord Henry and Dorian.
• Discuss whether or not the novel is artistic.
• Evaluate the relationship between Dorian and Basil.
• Is it a gothic novel? Explain.
• What is Sibyl Vane’s role.
• Is it a Faustian story? Explain.
• What is the purpose of Dorian destroying the painting?
• Show the similarities and differences between Lord Henry and Basil.
• How do the different male characters define masculinity?
• Share your thoughts on the idea of beauty in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.
• Discuss the significance of the title.
• Offer a psychoanalysis of Dorian Gray or another character from The Picture of Dorian Gray.
• Does Dorian Gray have a mental illness?
• How do the names fit the characters?
• Choose a quote from the book and share the significance of it in the story.
• Select a theme of The Picture of Dorian Gray and show the aspects of the novel that led you to that conclusion.
• Discuss the changes that Dorian Gray experiences and how they affect the outcome of the novel.
• What elements from mythology are present in the book?
• Select a review of the novel and discuss whether you agree or disagree with it. Explain your thoughts.
• The Picture of Dorian Gray has been labeled as a cautionary tale. What does it warn the reader about?
• Watch a film version. Then discuss the quality of the adaptation.

Essay ideas can also involve comparing and contrasting the novel with another of Oscar Wilde’s works. Since Wilde was more of an essayist and short story writer, there are many small pieces that would appropriate to discuss in a literature paper. Many students also enjoy looking at Wilde’s personal life and lifestyle to compare it to that of Dorian Gray.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray

By oscar wilde, the picture of dorian gray study guide.

The Picture of Dorian Gray , Oscar Wilde 's first and only novel, is a faustian story of a man who trades the purity of his soul for undying youth. It was written in 1889 and first published in the literary magazine Lippincott's Monthly in July, 1890 (Drew ix). This was a shorter version, without the preface or chapters 3, 5, or 15-18, which were added for later publication in 1891. These additional chapters, which are now indespensible aspects of the work, introduce the character of James Vane , the vengeful brother of one of the victims of Dorian's many careless affairs. At the time it was published, the novel elicited a sensational amount of negative criticism, with detractors condemning its homosexual undertones and seeming embrace of hedonistic values. The preface was written as a response to the unkind critics of the first edition, blaming them for failing to grasp Wilde's belief that art should be appreciated on purely aesthetic terms, without consideration of morality.

The central idea behind Wilde's reinterpretation of the Faust myth appeared several years before he began writing the novel, in the form of a spoken tale that the author would tell to friends, especially young admirers. Wilde was well aware of the story's debt to older tales of selling one's soul, youth, beauty, and power, freely admitting that it was a notion "that is old in the history of literature, but to which I have given a new form" (Drew xiv). This "new form" brings the idea of duplicity, of leading a double life, to the forefront of the tale, a theme that is much more dominant in Dorian Gray than it is in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus or Goethe's Faust , which is a typical characteristic of Wilde's work. This theme is explicitly explored, for instance, in the author's most celebrated play, The Importance of Being Earnest .

As Wilde's notoriety grew, mainly as a result of this novel's infamy, his enemies continued to use the homosexual undertones and seemingly immoral hedonistic values of Dorian Gray as an argument against his character. Such criticisms continued throughout his ruinous court appearances in 1895. At the time, any sort of homosexual act was a serious criminal offense in England. The first published version of the book from Lippincott's Monthly contained much more obvious allusions to physical love between Dorian and Lord Henry, and Dorian and Basil. Wilde had made a point of reducing these references in the revision, but the original version of the novel provided much fuel for his opponents' arguments.

After the trials, Wilde was briefly imprisoned, and his literary career never recovered. He moved to the European mainland and lived under an assumed name until his death, in a Paris hotel, in 1900. Wilde cited this novel as being primarily responsible for his ruin, speaking of "the note of Doom that like a purple thread runs through the cold cloth of Dorian Gray " (Drew xxvii). Only decades after Wilde's death would the work truly become respected as a literary masterpiece.

Despite the critical preoccupation with the book's seeming approval of alternative lifestyles, Dorian Gray is a novel that offers much more to both intellectual and artistically sensitive readers. It is primarily concerned with examining the complex relationships between life, art, beauty, and sin, while presenting a compellingly cynical portriat of high society life in Victorian-era London. It examines the role of art in social and personal life while warning against - despite Wilde's claims of artistic amorality - the dangers of unchecked vanity and superficiality.

The Picture of Dorian Gray Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Picture of Dorian Gray is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Why is James worried about his sister's suitor?

James is very jealous, protective of his sister, and suspicious of the situation, since Sibyl doesn't even seem to know her suitor's name.

picture of dorian gray

I think that Basil knows what Henry is capable. He doesn't want Henry's influence to turn Dorian from good to evil.

List all the sensory experiences mentioned in the first two paragraphs.

From the text:

The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses , and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac , or the more delicate perfume of the...

Study Guide for The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray study guide contains a biography of Oscar Wilde, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Picture of Dorian Gray
• The Picture of Dorian Gray Summary
• The Picture of Dorian Gray Video
• Character List

Essays for The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

• Morality and Immorality (The Picture of Dorian Gray and A Streetcar Named Desire)
• The Life of Secrecy
• Break On Through To the Other Side
• The Art of Immorality: Character Fate and Morality in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray
• The Unconscious Image of the Conscious Mind

Lesson Plan for The Picture of Dorian Gray

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Picture of Dorian Gray Bibliography

E-Text of The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray e-text contains the full text of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

• Chapters 1-4
• Chapters 5-8
• Chapters 9-12
• Chapters 13-16

Wikipedia Entries for The Picture of Dorian Gray

• Introduction

A Summary and Analysis of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde’s one novel, published originally in 1890 (as a serial) and then in book form the following year. The novel is at once an example of late Victorian Gothic horror and , in some ways, the greatest English-language novel about decadence and aestheticism, or ‘art for art’s sake’.

To show how these themes and movements find their way into the novel, it’s necessary to offer some words of analysis. But before we analyse The Picture of Dorian Gray , it might be worth summarising the plot of the novel.

The Picture of Dorian Gray : summary

The three main characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray are the title character (a beautiful young man), Basil Hallward (a painter), and Lord Henry Wotton (Basil Hallward’s friend).

The novel opens with Basil painting Dorian Gray’s portrait. Lord Henry Wotton takes a shine to the young man, and advises him to be constantly in search of new ‘sensations’ in life. He encourages Dorian to drink deep of life’s pleasures.

When the picture of Dorian is finished, Dorian marvels at how young and beautiful he looks, before wishing that he could always remain as young and attractive while his portrait is the one that ages and decays, rather than the other way around. When he proclaims that he would give his soul to have such a wish granted, it’s as if he has made a pact with the devil.

Basil’s finished portrait is sent to Dorian’s house, while Dorian himself goes out and follows Lord Henry’s advice. He falls head over heels in love with an actress, Sibyl Vane, but when she loses her ability to act well – because, she claims, now she has fallen in love for real she cannot imitate it on the stage – Dorian cruelly discards her. He had fallen in love with her art as an actress, and now she has lost that, she is meaningless to him.

Sibyl takes her own life before Dorian – who has observed a change in his portrait, which looks to have a slightly meaner expression than before – can apologise to her and beg her forgiveness. But Lord Henry consoles Dorian, arguing that Sibyl, in dying young, has given her last beautiful performance.

Dorian, shocked by the change in the portrait, locks it away at the top of his house, in his old schoolroom. Inspired by an immoral ‘yellow book’ which Lord Henry gives to him, Dorian continues to experience all manner of ‘sensations’, no matter how immoral they are. When he next takes a look at the portrait in his attic, he finds an old and evil face, disfigured by sin, staring out at him.

The novel moves forward some thirteen years. Dorian, of course, is still young and fresh-faced, but his portrait looks meaner and older than ever. When Dorian shows the portrait to Basil, who painted it, the artist – who had worshipped Dorian’s beauty when he painted the picture – is shocked and appalled. Dorian stabs Basil to death, before enlisting the help of someone to dispose of the body (this man, horrified by what he has done, will later take his own life).

Dorian slides further into sin and evil, until one day, the brother of the dead actress, Sibyl Vane, bumps into Dorian Gray and intends to exact revenge for his sister’s mistreatment at the hands of Dorian. But when he follows Dorian to the latter’s country estate, he is accidentally shot by one of Dorian’s shooting party.

Dorian becomes intent on reforming his character, hoping that the portrait will start to improve if he behaves better. But when he goes up to look at the painting, he finds that it shows the face of a hypocrite, because even his abstinence from vice was, in its own way, a quest for a new sensation to experience.

Horrified and angered, Dorian plunges a knife into the canvas, but when the servants walk in on him, they find the portrait as it was originally painted, showing Dorian Gray as a youthful man. Meanwhile, on the floor, there is the body of a wrinkled old man with a ‘loathsome’ face.

The Picture of Dorian Gray : analysis

The Picture of Dorian Gray has been analysed as an example of the Gothic horror novel, as a variation on the theme of the ‘double’, and as a narrative embodying some of the key aspects of late nineteenth-century aestheticism and decadence.

Wilde’s skill lies in how he manages to weave these various elements together, creating a modern take on the old Faust story (the German figure Faust sold his soul to the devil, via Mephistopheles) which also, in its depictions of late Victorian sin and vice, may remind readers of another work of fiction published just four years earlier: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (which we’ve analysed here ).

Indeed, the discovery of the body of Dorian Gray as a wrinkled and horrifically ugly corpse at the end of the novel recalls the discovery of Jekyll/Hyde in Stevenson’s novella.

To find the novel’s value as a book of the aesthetic movement, we need look no further than Wilde’s preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray , in which he states, for instance, that ‘there is no such thing as a moral or immoral book’ (what matters is whether the book is written well or not) and ‘all art is quite useless’ (art shouldn’t change the world: art exists as, and for, itself, and no more).

Lord Henry Wotton is very much the voice of the aesthetic movement in the novel, and many of his pronouncements echo those made by the prominent art critic (under whom Wilde had studied at Oxford), Walter Pater. But whereas Pater talked of ‘new impressions’, Lord Henry (or Wilde, in his novel) took this up a notch, calling for new ‘sensations’.

We tend to speak conveniently of ‘periods’ or ‘movements’ or ‘eras’ in literary history, but these labels aren’t always useful. Both Oscar Wilde and Elizabeth Gaskell, the author of Mary Barton and North and South , were ‘Victorian’ in that they were both writing and publishing their work in Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).

But whereas Gaskell, writing in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s, wrote ‘realist’ novels about the plight of factory workers in northern England, Wilde wrote a fantastical horror story about upper-class men who are able to stay forever young and spotless while their portraits decay in their attic. They’re a world away from each other.

Wilde’s novel is a good example of how later Victorian fiction often turned against the values and approaches favourited by earlier Victorian writers. It was Wilde who, famously, said of the sad ending of Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop , which Dickens’s original readers in the 1840s wept buckets over, ‘one must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without’ – what, crying?

No. Wilde’s word was ‘laughing’. The overly sentimental style favoured by mid-century novelists like Dickens had given way to a more casual, poised, nonchalant, and detached mode of storytelling.

At the same time, we can overstate the extent to which Wilde’s novel turns its back on earlier Victorian attitudes and values. Despite his statement that there is no such thing as a moral or immoral book, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a highly moral work, as the tale of Faust was. Dorian’s life is destroyed by his commitment to a life of pleasure, even though it entails the destruction of other lives – most notably, Sibyl Vane’s.

Far from being a book that would be denounced from the pulpits by Anglican clergymen for being ‘immoral’, The Picture of Dorian Gray could make for a pretty good moral sermon in itself, albeit one that’s more witty and entertaining than most Christian sermons.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is, at bottom, a novel of surfaces and appearance. We say ‘at bottom’, but that is precisely the point: the novel is, as many critics have commented, all surface. Lord Henry is so taken by the beauty of Dorian Gray that he sets about being a bad influence on him.

Dorian is so taken by the painting of him – a two-dimensional representation of his outward appearance – that he makes his deal with the devil, trading his soul, that thing which represents inner meaning and inner depth, in exchange for remaining youthful on the outside.

Then, when Dorian falls in love, it’s with an actress, not because he loves her but because he loves her performance. When she loses her ability to act, he abandons her. Her name, Sibyl Vane, points up the vanity of acting and the pursuit of skin-deep appearance at the cost if something more substantial, but her first name also acts as a warning: in Greek mythology, the Sibyls made cryptic statements about future events.

But there’s probably a particular Sibyl that Wilde had in mind: the Sibyl at Cumae, who, in Petronius’ scurrilous Roman novel Satyricon (which Wilde would surely have known) and in other stories, was destined to live forever but to age and wither away. She had eternal life, but not eternal youth. Dorian’s own eternal youth comes at a horrible cost: without a soul, all he can do is go in pursuit of new sensations, forever chasing desire yet never attaining true fulfilment.

It will, in the end, destroy him: in lashing out and trying to destroy the truth that stares back at him from his portrait, much as he had destroyed the artist who held up a mirror to his corrupt self, Dorian Gray destroys himself. In the last analysis, as he and his portrait do not exist separately from each other, he must live with himself – and with his conscience – or must die in his vain attempt to close his eyes to who he has really become.

About Oscar Wilde

The life of the Irish novelist, poet, essayist, and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) is as famous as – perhaps even more famous than – his work. But in a career spanning some twenty years, Wilde created a body of work which continues to be read an enjoyed by people around the world: a novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray ; short stories and fairy tales such as ‘ The Happy Prince ’ and ‘ The Selfish Giant ’; poems including The Ballad of Reading Gaol ; and essay-dialogues which were witty revivals of the Platonic philosophical dialogue.

But above all, it is Wilde’s plays that he continues to be known for, and these include witty drawing-room comedies such as Lady Windermere’s Fan , A Woman of No Importance , and The Importance of Being Earnest , as well as a Biblical drama, Salome (which was banned from performance in the UK and had to be staged abroad). Wilde is also often remembered for his witty quips and paradoxes and his conversational one-liners, which are legion.

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5 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray”

‘Genius lasts longer than beauty’ – a very appropriate quote from Chapter 1

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The “yellow book”, referred to is probably Huysmans’s A Rebours, which was sold in a yellow jacket. It is not the Yellow Book quarterly (a publication featuring poetry, prose and illustrations from followers of the Aesthetic movement), which came later, and which probably took its title from the reference in Wilde’s novel.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray - Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

An essay on Oscar Wilde’s novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” can provide a literary analysis of the book’s themes, characters, and social commentary. It can explore topics such as aestheticism, moral corruption, and the consequences of a hedonistic lifestyle, shedding light on Wilde’s wit and critique of Victorian society. We’ve gathered an extensive assortment of free essay samples on the topic of The Picture of Dorian Gray you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Novel Analysis: the Picture of Dorian Gray

The main idea of “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” is to show us the superiority of the inner self of us over the outer one. It is dangerous to judge people only by their face, without consideration of inner world. Whatever amazing beauty of the face is, it can never replace the beauty of the soul. It warns that the ugliness of thought and heart kills the flesh, makes the charm of forms lifeless. Even eternal youth will not bring […]

The Picture of Dorian Gray: the Seven Deadly Sins, and Exploring the Duplicity

In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, there is a tension between the internal lives of the characters and the facades they project to the outer world. “The idea of a double life – of outwardly playing a respectable role while inwardly pursuing an existence that crossed the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.” (The Picture of Dorian Gray: art, ethics and the artist: Greg Buzwell) This is a Victorian novel and therefore the Christian motifs of sin […]

Dorian Gray and his Inner Narcissism

In Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture Of Dorian Grey”, Oscar Wilde conveys and analyzes the effects of selfishness and deception among Victorian society in Great Britain. The Picture of Dorian Grey carefully examines the mentality of an inner narcissist and those around him. Dorian Grey can be compared to the fictional mythological character Narcissus and his narcissism within the book grows mostly due to the influence of Lord Henry. Within chapter 1, Henry’s narcissism can begin to be seen developing and […]

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Hedonism and Moral in the Picture of Dorian Gray

A thought-provoking tale of hedonism and morals sums up A Picture of Dorian Gray, it’s a production so engrossing that time flies quicker than usual. Director Michael Michetti brought Oscar Wilde’s famous novel to life in a fresh and daring way. Set during the late 19th century, the play tells the story of a young man whose portrait decays while he stays young and beautiful. The painter named Basil Hallward is a virtuous man who always sees the good in […]

Victorian Gender Roles in the Picture of Dorian Gray

Introduction Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, tells the story of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray, who is unmarked by age and excess. Meanwhile, his portrait, which Dorian hides from view, registers every detail of his debauched life.  In 1890, Wilde had already shocked his readers when The Picture of Dorian Gray was published as a short story due to the hedonistic lifestyle of Dorian Gray and the homosexual undertone of the text (Mason 75-7). In […]

Dorian Gray’s True Picture of Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is a widely known author, playwright, and poet infamous for his imprisonment for homosexuality that he portrayed in his only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. This novel takes place during the late 19th century situated in London, England during the Decadent artistic movement, which was a time homoeroticism was practically demonized. The three main characters, Basil, Dorian, and Lord Henry, experience an enthralling wave of emotions as Dorian Gray’s overriding wish of youthfulness eventually overrides his life. […]

The Picture of Dorian Gray Conflict

The Picture of Dorian Gray, the lone novel composed by Oscar Wilde, is viewed as quite possibly the most notable books in world writing. From the earliest starting point, Wild's work has produced numerous squabbles and conversations concerning the shamelessness and offensiveness of the occasions and characters which happen in the novel. Be that as it may, numerous scholastics think about this novel as a magnum opus because of the featured ideas and issues. Oscar Wilde is known as a […]

The Meaning of Oscar Wilde’s the Picture of Dorian Gray

Introduction The Irish writer, Oscar Wilde opens The Picture of Dorian Gray with a statement in the preface that art is free of moral responsibilities. Immediately, this statement and the sexuality in the story sparked controversy among the Victorian readers that were known for their strict moral codes. Enhanced by Oscar Wilde’s personal scandal after being convicted of the same gender “gross indecency” and sentenced to two years of hard labor both the story and the writer received international fame. […]

Echoes of Beauty: the Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

In the vast tapestry of literary wonders, there exists a singular masterpiece that continues to captivate and intrigue readers with its timeless themes and haunting narrative - Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray." Within the pages of this enigmatic tale lies a labyrinth of moral quandaries, a mirror reflecting the depths of human nature, and a cautionary tale that reverberates through the corridors of time. Set against the backdrop of late 19th-century London, Wilde weaves a tapestry of intrigue […]

Mirrors of the Soul: Art and Aesthetics in “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" offers a captivating expedition into the realms of art, aesthetics, and their profound implications on the human psyche. Through the narrative lens of Dorian Gray's existence and the eerie portrayal mirroring his ethical degradation, Wilde delves into the transformative influence of the pursuit of beauty, youth, and hedonistic gratification on one's conduct and interpersonal connections. This narrative intricately intertwines the tapestry of artistry and aesthetics with the labyrinthine corridors of moral and ethical […]

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Picture of Dorian Gray — A Theme Of Beauty And Appearance In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

A Theme of Beauty and Appearance in The Picture of Dorian Gray

• Categories: Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray

About this sample

Words: 1031 |

Published: Dec 16, 2021

Words: 1031 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Works Cited

• Bristow, J. (2016). Oscar Wilde and the art of dying. In S. Nash (Ed.), Palgrave Studies in Nineteenth-Century Writing and Culture (pp. 161-182). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Ellmann, R. (1988). Oscar Wilde. Vintage.
• Freeman, N. (2009). Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In B. K. Reynolds (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde (pp. 45-59). Cambridge University Press.
• Gillespie, M. (2011). Oscar Wilde and the creation of beauty. In M. T. Alkana & J. Bryant (Eds.), Oscar Wilde as a Character in Victorian Fiction (pp. 11-24). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Helford, E. R. (2016). Oscar Wilde: The importance of being Irish. Routledge.
• Lahr, J. (2018). The Picture of Dorian Gray: An annotated, uncensored edition. Harvard University Press.
• Lysaght, C. (2018). ‘The portrait and the artist’: Self-fashioning in The Picture of Dorian Gray. In M. K. Cornish, J. P. McCormack, & C. O'Sullivan (Eds.), Irish Literatures in Transition: A Companion (pp. 140-156). Cambridge University Press.
• Raby, P. (2012). The Cambridge companion to Oscar Wilde. Cambridge University Press.
• Raby, P. (2016). Wilde's "black novel": The picture of Dorian Gray. The Wildean, 48, 4-28.
• Wilde, O. (1890). The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ward, Lock, and Co.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray

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The Mortality of Beauty and Youth

The trouble starts when Henry warns Dorian that his extraordinary beauty and youth will fade, and tells him to make the most of it. Dorian’s beauty is such that people are astonished by it and all of his advantages seem to come from it, even if he has got an interesting personality and wealth. With Henry’s words ringing in his ears, Dorian immediately views Basil ’s portrait of him in a new light. Rather than…

Surfaces, Objects and Appearances

Beauty is skin-deep in Dorian ’s circle of friends. He is welcomed and adored because of his beautiful appearance and even when his sins ruin lives, he always has a certain power because of his attractiveness. Dorian is at his peak when he is unaware of his own beauty, but when conscious of it, his life becomes about surface and appearance. His taste for fashion grows; he loves tapestries and jewels, very flat, decorative objects.

Art and the Imitation of Life

The novel opens with a theory of the purpose of art, which Wilde reasons out until he reaches that “all art is quite useless”. Whether or not this is some kind of warning from the narrator, we as readers don’t know, but what follows certainly seems to illustrate his point. It presents art in many forms and the danger of it when it is taken too literally or believed too deeply. It starts with a…

The power of one to affect another is a theme that pervades the novel. At first, Basil is influenced by his model Dorian . On a personal level, he is confused and changed by his romantic feelings, but Dorian’s influence is also more far-reaching, actually seeming to change Basil's ability for painting, and to change the painting itself in an almost supernatural way. Influence here describes an almost chemical change that one can assign to…

Women and Men

Lord Henry ’s philosophies frequently criticize women and marriage, and the era of Dorian Gray ’s London society, and indeed Oscar Wilde’s, becomes vivid to us in his dialogue. He says that women are a “decorative sex”, and that there are always only a few worth talking to. We see his marriage with Lady Victoria Wotton as a very separate affair, both parties leading distinct lives and meeting the other occasionally. When Victoria leaves him…

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Youth and Beauty in Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay

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Beauty is accepting and embracing someone unique interior and exterior characteristics. For some people, beauty makes them feel special among their peers. In this case, it is an excellent surprise that Dorian looks are more than he could ever imagine or wish for, and they make him look somehow unique. This feeling brings forth self-selection, which is part of human nature, the same as the feeling of wanting to belong, of being all-knowing about everything, and being willing to fit in amongst friends (Cenk 169). Evident by the people with unique looks, they find it challenging to engage freely in ordinary human life. This feeling leads to exclusion from all forms of socialization and social ethics, for they are led by an aspect of doing either good or immorality in most cases.

In the novel, the theme of salad days is the epicenter of all scenes as witnessed, cutting through all characters, main and minor. Through the beauty of Dorian, the character of Henry is displayed as a give and take or leave it type. He gives out a self-destruction statement to Dorian Gray without offering much guidance and letting him choose his path despite being aware of the route he might take. This statement is evident when he says that he just briefed Dorian about his beauty, and it is upon him to decide what to do with it. Peer pressure takes a path leading him to self-destruction without much ado. However, feeling unique and rare, he would walk head high, seeking a way to fulfill his desire. It is in the bounds of the story where the great saying, “the most beautiful flower is the rarest,” is witnessed. And in this case, the rarest thing takes the wrong turn, for nobody expects it to run off its kindness.

In the novel, the looks of the young Dorian Gray seem to be both strengths and weaknesses of his mentor in art, Basil Hallward. Basil likes the beauty of Dorian’s face, even painting it in a portrait. (Bowser 70) He admires Dorian to the extent of confessing that he cannot work or let a day pass without seeing the beautiful face, or the day will not be a day anymore. It is here when Lord Henry notices Basil’s idol in Dorian’s outstanding beauty and wishes for more of it even if he did it as a secret admirer by not having to play all his cards at a look. Every man has a weak point in his most robust joint, and this is Basil’s weakness. His acceptance is met when he seems to be derailing Lord Henry from getting to close terms with the beautiful prince. But finally, there they are, and Henry tells the young man how handsome he is to pull strings, unleashing the subject of aesthetic beauty and self-destruction. Being moved by his words, Dorian looks at the imposter picture of his looks on Basil’s art, and his face is so pleased to see the most attractive person in his life.

Suddenly, the face of Dorian becomes grey, and his heart is filled with the aggression of regrets that make him feel inadequate to the point of even crying. Despite being happy with his beauty, he was gloomy, for it was just but a passing cloud. Thus, youth and beauty are just like beauty and the beast. They are nothing much but illusion clout clinging to a passing cloud. Lord Henry, therefore slowly tosses his poison into the mind of Dorian, making him hardly find peace and be ruled by youths indulging in sinful thoughts. He has to enjoy his moment before torments commence at an old age, when his face’s slackening, bony jaws, and growing ugly will be the theme in those days (Fry 180). Led by Lord Henry’s advice, the young man lets go of his conscience, and beauty becomes his walking stick.

Over a series of scenarios, youth, beauty, and death are intertwined throughout the novel when the young vulnerable Dorian falls deep in love with one beautiful Sybil on sight (Leonard 123). Sybil is an actress at one of the shows when Dorian sets eyes on her and falls in love with her. After witnessing her martyrdom death while performing her art, and later she miraculously resurrects backstage, Dorian sees her as an immortal. Living forever young and maintaining his cute face has always been his wish. Nevertheless, the worst and most tragic thing was when Sybil took her life days after staging the presentation. Most people think differently about it, but Dorian, obsessed with beauty, thinks that it is the best thing that has ever happened to Sybil. He thinks it is absurd that she is dead, but also, it is one of the best things to ever happen to her. Sybil will forever maintain her beauty in this life and the next.

Sooner after the Sybil incident, Dorian escapes the verge of aging up through the supernatural transformation of the beautiful portrait by Basil. The portrait seems to take his wish that it ages up and he is younger daily. This time his appearance is beyond mortality and filled with happiness without measure. The new hobby of the boy destroyed friendships and got in between lovers (Fry196). After a long time of guilty doings, he starts admiring being ugly and preserving his innocence, something he lost long ago when he took his beauty for a walking stick.

Youth is just but a rose flower in its blossom stage of age. Similar incidences in the modern world are seen when the hottest chicks around make sure that people notice their presence the same as the cute men in the beauty rhyme mix. They all seem to know everything when they jiggle around like walking trophies. Creating a room of temptation for their peers is what they all do as they pile up in a mad competition of who will get the desire they acquire. Nevertheless, the questions of who will be the queen of the famous game of body counts and breaking up love birds’ hearts without mercy start to flow. Killing ever-existing friendships is their drill as they walk themselves down the aisle of Dorian Gray while living a lie, a life Alice in Wonderland, and the tales of Monalisa while painting the picture in tint. They all get wasted with words of regret guiding them down the mysterious hall of fame—the eternal tame of tortured souls with no one to blame.

Most people view beauty as the appealing part of an individual face or even body shape. One can be ugly in the looks of men, yet so beautiful. The beauty that comes from the inside guides us to the light and gives us what we desire. Henry says that the very phrase is meant to build or destroy Dorian Gray in the novel. The expression is clear, so is his path bare to give him less danger to face, for he will always be aware and wear his protective gear. The saying overrules him that he will never get another chance in his life to enjoy his youth and so are the most beautiful people.

Bowser, Rachel A. “Suggesting a Surface: The Picture of Dorian Gray and Suspicious Reading.” Studies in the Novel , vol. 54, no. 1, 2022, pp. 65–79, 10.1353/sdn.2022.0003.

Fry, Katie. “Extrahuman Transcendence in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Fictional Worlds and Philosophical Reflection . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2022. 175-197.

Cenk, T. A. N. “A Hegelian Dialectic Reading of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Trakya Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 12.23: 169-187.

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IvyPanda. (2023, April 5). Youth and Beauty in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. https://ivypanda.com/essays/youth-and-beauty-in-wildes-the-picture-of-dorian-gray/

"Youth and Beauty in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray." IvyPanda , 5 Apr. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/youth-and-beauty-in-wildes-the-picture-of-dorian-gray/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Youth and Beauty in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray'. 5 April.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Youth and Beauty in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray." April 5, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/youth-and-beauty-in-wildes-the-picture-of-dorian-gray/.

1. IvyPanda . "Youth and Beauty in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray." April 5, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/youth-and-beauty-in-wildes-the-picture-of-dorian-gray/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Youth and Beauty in Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray." April 5, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/youth-and-beauty-in-wildes-the-picture-of-dorian-gray/.

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Mind the GAP Study Guide: English HL Literature - The Picture of Dorian Gray

This Mind the Gap study guide helps gr 12 learners to prepare for the end-of-year Grade 12 English Home Language (EHL) Literature exam.

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