Moral Ambiguity In Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Dorian is seen as this perfect specimen for Basil, the painter of Dorian’s portrait, whose work becomes obsessed with Dorian. He becomes everything for Basil. It gets to a point in Basil’s work where he begins to hype Dorian’s vanity even more to his subject and in his work Later on in the novel, Basil loses his touch after Dorian refuses to sit with him because of the portrait. However, it doesn’t end there as everyone Dorian comes in contact with falls madly in love with him. It doesn’t matter if he isn’t smart as long as he remains young and beautiful forever, which ultimately happens.

Each person has a tendency to act a certain way around specific groups of people, however, the core of one’s personality can never truly change. By having created a perfect, yet, fictitious character, Dorian Gray deceives “high society… [with his] wealth and outer surface, [while] his victims and past accomplices in sin, know better,” than to believe that he is the youthful and innocent man he claims to be (Fritz 1). Lost in the greed of wanting to remain eternally handsome, Dorian continues to lead a dishonest life in which he loses the morals he had during

As a whole, this opening confrontation between Lord Henry and Dorian’s initial character proves several points: one, Dorian does have his own passions and soul before meeting Lord Henry, and two, Lord Henry’s teachings initially echo Dorian’s own feelings, which are what draw him to Lord Henry over the two-dimensional Basil Hallward. Later, ironically, it is Lord Henry’s own teachings which leads to Dorian’s struggle to repress his "true self" and ultimately bring about his downfall.

Most people would consider Dorian’s personality to be swaying towards the evil side based on his vanity and extreme concern with himself until Sibyl Vane becomes the most prominent part of his life. Dorian meets Sibyl and instantly loves her. His instant love and compassion, though shallow, could mean that he does care about others on a deeper level. Dorian cares so much as to ask his good friend Lord Henry to “tell [him] how to charm Sibyl Vane to [loving him]. [He] wants[s] to make Romeo jealous” (ch 4). His desire to challenge the charm of one of the most infamous romantics shows that he is deeply devoted to, and seriously concerned with winning the affection of Sibyl Vane. Dorian makes his admiration for Sibyl apparent when he openly proclaims, “I love Sibyl Vane. I want to place her on a pedestal of gold, and to see the world worship the woman who is mine” (ch 6). Dorian wins over the audience a bit with his avid display of love. Readers sympathize with his ability to love, care and even worship a woman he has barley met. His evil and vain words pale in comparison to his light-hearted compassionate ones, making the readers feel bad for the shame they condemned him

He is even told by Lord Henry he is far too charming to go into philantropy. This remark may be the beginning of the flattery that opened Dorian's mind up to his corruption. Dorian is being moved by Harry's speech about cherishing youth and enjoying it. His mind was being challenged by the thought of his own passions until the point when he proclaimed "stop! You bewilder me. I do not know what to say. There is some answer to you, but I cannot find it. Do not speak. Let me think. Or rather let me try not to think". Dorian allows himself to be corrupted. He begins to fear aging and begins to think that everything will be loss with the loss of his youth and beauty. Dorian goes from no worries to this thought as Harry speaks. He was convinced that this "new Hedonism" was the way. This shows the weakness of his mind in his youth it is also the begginning of his fate. With this flaw of character, Dorian seemed to write his fate unknowingly. When Basil Hallward, the painter, rewarded Dorian with the portrait he replied "If I were to be the one always young, and the picture grow old! For that-for that-Iwould give everything!…Iwould give my soul for that!". This was just a plea at the depth of his sorrow, a remark made totally through whim.

He admits to Lord Henry that he goes nightly to her plays but does not truly love Sibyl, he loves the feeling of pleasure he gets from his obsession. He idolized her and calls her sacred but does not value her as a person. When asked by Harry, “When is she Sibyl Vane?” Dorian replies, “Never” (Wilde,54). This is the beginnings of Dorian’s ability to place his own pleasure above others and Dorian has immediately lost himself in this pleasure. “What there was in it of purely sensuous instinct of boyhood had been transformed by the workings of the imagination, changed into something that seemed to the lad himself dangerous. It was the passions about whose origin we deceived ourselves that tyrannized most strongly over us” (Wilde,58). The danger of Dorian’s blind obsession is shown with Sibyl’s suicide. His obsession led to the death of one person as well as the first signs of his own worsening soul. After this experience pleasure is no longer a form of love for Dorian, but rather a detachment from reality. While talking with Basil over breakfast Dorian shows he does not place the same value in emotions as he had done before. “A man who is the master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them” (Wilde,105). In contrast to the emotional obsession with Sibyl, Dorian next becomes obsessed with his portrait and a book. Both are means to

And both of them handle it in a similar way. Dorian feels bad about what he has done, only realizing that this after looking at his portrait and how it has grown to be a “foul parody” (Wilde 203) of what Basil originally painted. Instead of facing his problems, rationalizes his actions, all the while he feels “keenly the terrible pleasure of a double life.” This quote shows us that he is not the least bit ashamed about his actions, he is very well aware of the wicked rumours that surround him, but also aware that people do not really believe them because his face continues to look youthful and innocent. All the while the portrait of him is truly changing to reflect Dorian’s inner sins. Dorian seems ever interested in the bad behaviors that Lord Henry introduced to him, Lord Henry said this to Dorian, “You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit.” This quote shows us how little Lord Henry cares about how much he has negatively influenced Dorian, and probably finds it as amusing as a game to see how far he can go before Dorian snaps. It is also a true statement to an extent. Throughout the book Dorian keeps in contact with Lord Henry. Dorian is fascinated by the lifestyle that he lives, asking him on advice on what to do and how to act. Every time he receives a piece of advice from Lord Henry it is another piece of Dorian that is

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, is a novel about greed and ruin. Dorian Gray, received infinite youth from a portrait of him, which portrays all his sins and wrongdoings on itself, rather than his body. This freedom from morality leads Dorian Gray down a road of destruction until his sins are returned to him and he meets his end. Through a psychoanalytic Freudian lens, it is clear that Dorian Gray exhibits many of Sigmund Freud’s theories, including his theory of personality, the Oedipus complex, and the defense mechanisms.

After receiving this advice Dorian soon becomes distraught over the fact that he will get older. He sees the portrait Basil Hallward has painted of him and prophetically wishes, “How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrid, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young…If only it was the other way! If it was I who were to be always young, and the picture that were to grow old! For this—for this—I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give!” (205). When Dorian realizes the transient nature of life he decides to embrace new hedonism to the fullest, giving in to every impulse.

Living in a world to full of the appearance and stereotype of being beautiful can completely destroy one’s self-esteem, and even their own life. In Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, he uncovers how curiosity, hypocrisy, and vanity lead someone into their own demise. By looking at Dorian Gray’s actions that revolve around beauty, it is evident that vanity is the largest contributing factor in Dorian’s corruption and subsequent downfall, thus demonstrating how focusing on only one aspect of life can lead to immorality and decay of character.

In analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, concepts such as influence and the origin of evil in Dorian Gray play an exceptionally valuable role in understanding the motives of the characters. Although some critics argue characters such as Lord Kelso significantly influence Dorian’s corruption, Lord Henry Wotton’s toxic personality undeniably impacts Dorian the most. Throughout the course of the novel, Lord Henry remains the ultimate source of evil and uses deception and persuasion to poison Dorian from a naïve boy to a destructive monster.

In the preface of the novel, Wilde reminds the readers that, “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all” (The Picture of Dorian Gray 3). In starting with a group of aphorisms concerning his beliefs, Wilde sets the tone for the rest of the criticism in the novel. He states that the novel should be analyzed based on style and not on the ideas implied, whether they be good or evil.

Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, chronicles the transformation of Dorian Gray from an naive youth to a corrupted monster. The simplicity of the storyline contrasts the complexity of Dorian Gray; specifically, the cause of his corruption. The cursed portrait, and characters such as Lord Henry and Basil, play a significant role in the Dorian’s journey to pernicity, but neither of three can be held entirely responsible. Dorian Gray’s initial innocence conceals an inner evil within him; the amalgamation of the three outside influences in Dorian’s life reveals his inner monstrosity.

In chapter 20 of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, Dorian reflects on his past crimes and wonders whether he will ever change and retrieve his innocence again. Throughout the final chapter of the novel, the elements of Gothic novel that Wilde explores conveys the idea of the pursuit of individualism. Dorian’s wild, racing emotions clearly show how much he is driven by his readiness to fulfill his desires under any circumstance. Through this, the use of specific words and punctuation markings highlight Dorian’s personal yearning of removing himself from his past.

While it is true that Dorian was never a truly virtuous person we can see glimpses of his regret. Dorian’s eyes are “tear-dimmed” meaning that he must hold regret over of his choices while accepting that it is too late for him to repent like Basil desires. Dorian’s internal struggle illuminates most clearly in this conversation when it is too late and evil won. His defeated and