Oscar wilde as a prolific writer

Conclusion
Oscar Wilde repeatedly acknowledges the fact that the central characters in The picture of Dorian Gray represent him :’’ Basil Hallward reflects what he thinks he is, Lord Henry epitomizes what the world thinks of him and Dorian foreshadows what he be like in the future’’(17). The foregoing analyses of the novel illustrates that, in actuality, it is the portrait alone which primarily highlights the readers perception of the work. Wilde has intended for portrait of his hero to take the leading role in the narrative discourse . It is depicted both as an extended allegorical medium and an alive figure, epitomizing the author’s and the characters’ scales of thinking, in addition to its being the core of the unity and alternating shifts in the narrative . This is implicit in the title itself, The Portrait of Dorian Gray ; its main focus is the portrait of Dorian rather than the protagonist himself . The study shows that it is through the portrait that the chain of events and relationships are unfolded. The portrait is the central part of the ongoing arguments between the painter Basil Hallward and his hedonistic counterpart Lord Henry Wotton about art, life and beauty in the studio. It endorses our understanding of the true nature of their contrasting opinions on the marvel painted by Hallward .
As the novel proceeds, the portrait enact as an embodiment of Dorian’s fear of aging and, hence, losing his exceptional gift of beauty by time, which in retrospect prompts his gothic aspiration to sell his soul for pertaining immortal youth and beauty. In the following scenes the portrait becomes an emblem of the hero‘s chaotic self–destruction in seeking an alternative supernatural or unrealistic existence. Yet, he has to be punished for transgressing the laws of nature .The disfigured portrait metamorphoses into an alive person, endowed with a high conscience. It judges every single move in the hero‘s life with utter contempt, reminding him of his unredeemable corruption in pursuing a life of sheer sensual fulfilment. Allegorically speaking, the portrait symbolizes Dorian’s conscious struggle with his own vanity, guilt and moral- deterioration . The vengeance scene is the climax which restores both the hero and his painted image from their predicaments of nihilism and role-playing . The scene could be an illusion for Wilde’s personal wish of revenging himself from all those who misunderstood the true value of his art. However, to free himself from the magic spell,Dorian has to accept the reality of growing old and losing his youth and beauty by time .To be emancipated from its disfigurement, the portrait has to regain its former status as an immortal piece of artefact . Thus, Dorian enters the room where the portrait is kept with the intention of destroying it and break his contract with the devil . The result is devastating. His ultimate termination at the hand of his portrait, through stabbing him with the very knife he brought with him into the room shrouds the novel with the cyclic dimension of the medieval drama : The novel end where it begins ; namely the discussion of the ambiguity related to Dorian’s painting. Significantly, the final scene highlights Wilde’s personal belief in the role of art in the discerning truth about life and in teaching man about himself. Wild’s portrait of himself, which is undoubtedly that of Dorian’s, has precipitated in providing a deep understanding of his personality and his artistic vision in his experimental masterpiece The portrait of Dorian Gray. As Hallward’ declares in the opening scene,’’ there is nothing that Art cannot express” (p.17 ) . It is through Dorian’s image and not Dorian character that the author resolves his conflicts with his prejudiced and sceptic readers.


The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of

moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel, the

well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian

Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical

Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully affects his

life forever. "If it were I who was to be always young, and the

picture that was to grow old! For that I would give everything!

Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would

give my soul for that" (Wilde 109). As it turns out, the devil

that Dorian sells his soul to is Lord Henry Wotton, who exists not

only as something external to Dorian, but also as a voice within

him (Bloom 107). Dorian continues to lead a life of sensuality

which he learns about in a book given to him by Lord Henry.

Dorian's unethical devotion to pleasure becomes his way of life.

The novel underscores its disapproval of aestheticism which

negatively impacts the main characters. Each of the three primary

characters is an aesthete and meets some form of terrible personal

doom. Basil Hallward's aestheticism is manifested in his

dedication to his artistic creations. He searches in the outside

world for the perfect manifestation of his own soul, when he finds

this object, he can create masterpieces by painting it (Bloom 109).

He refuses to display the portrait of Dorian Gray with the

explanation that, "I have put too much of myself into it" (Wilde

106). He further demonstrates the extent to which he holds this

philosophy by later stating that, "only the artist is truly

reveled" (109).

Lord Henry Wotton criticizes Basil Hallward that, "An artist

should create beautiful things but should put nothing of his own

life into them" (Wilde 25). Ironically, the purpose of Basil

Hallward's existence is that he is an aesthete striving to become

one with his art (Eriksen 105). It is this very work of art which

Basil refuses to display that provides Dorian Gray with the idea

that there are no consequences to his actions. Dorian has this

belief in mind when he murders Basil. Here we see that the artist

is killed for his excessive love of physical beauty; the same art

that he wished to merge with is the cause of his mortal downfall

(Juan 64).

Lord Henry Wotton, the most influential man in Dorian's life,

is an aesthete of the mind. Basil is an artist who uses a brush

while Wotton is an artist who uses words:

There is no good, no evil, no morality and immorality;there

are modes of being. To live is to experiment aesthetically in

living to experiment all sensations, to know all emotions, and

to think all thoughts, in order that the self's every capacity

may be imaginatively realized (West 5811).

Lord Henry believes that, "it is better to be beautiful than

to be good" (Wilde 215). Although he attests that aestheticism is

a mode of thought, he does not act on his beliefs. Basil Hallward

accuses him saying, "You never say a moral thing and you never do

a wrong

thing" (5). However, Lord Henry does take the immoral action of

influencing Dorian.

Although Lord Henry states that, "all influence is immoral"

(Wilde 18), he nonetheless drastically changes Dorian Gray. As

Dorian acts on the beliefs of Lord Henry, the portrait's beauty

becomes corrupted. "Lord Henry presents Dorian with the tenants of

his New Hedonism, whose basis is self-development leading to the

perfect realization of one's nature" (Eriksen 97). If Lord Henry's

aesthetic ideas have validity ,Dorian Gray's portrait should not

become ugly, but rather more beautiful. Since the picture becomes

loathsome, it is evident that Lord Henry's beliefs are untrue (West

5811). Dorian becomes so disgusted with the horrible portrait that

he slashes the canvas, and the knife pierces his own heart.

Because Lord Henry is responsible for influencing Dorian Gray, he

is partly the cause of the death of Dorian (5810).

While Lord Henry is indirectly the cause of Dorian's death, he

too causes his own downfall. Lord Henry changes Dorian with the

belief that morals have no legitimate place in life. He gives

Dorian a book about a man who seeks beauty in evil sensations.

Both Lord Henry's actions and thoughts prove ruinous, as his wife

leaves him and the remaining focus of his life, youthful Dorian

Gray, kills himself in an attempt to further the lifestyle

suggested to him by Lord Henry. Eventually, he is left destitute,

without Dorian, the art he so cherishes, because he tried to mold

it, as dictated by aestheticism.

Of all the protagonists, Dorian's downfall is the most clearly

recognized.

A young man who was pure at the beginning of the novel becomes

depraved by the influence of Lord Henry. "He grew more and more

enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in the

corruption of his own soul" (Bloom 121). He begins to lead a life

of immorality, including the murder of his dear friend Basil

Hallward. "There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a

mode through which he could realize his conception of beautiful"

(Wilde 196). However, there is still a spark of good left in

Dorian. He lashes out at his twisted mentor, Lord Henry,

declaring, "I can't bear this Henry! You mock at everything, and

then suggest the most serious tragedies" (173). This trace of

goodness is not enough to save Dorian, for he has crossed too far

towards the perverted side of aestheticism and cannot escape it.

"Dorian experiments with himself and with men and women, and

watches the experiment recorded year by year in the fouling and

aging corruption of his portrait's beauty" (West 5811).

Dorian becomes so disgusted with this portrait of his soul and

his conscience, that he slashes the canvas, killing himself. For

Dorian, this is the ultimate evil act, the desire to rid himself of

all moral sense. Having failed the attempt to escape through good

actions, he decides to escape by committing the most terrible of

crimes. Aestheticism has claimed its final victim.

"Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the

world thinks of me: Dorian Gray what I would like to be - in

other ages, perhaps" (Hart-Davis 352). Because of the endings he

creates for these characters, Oscar Wilde proves that he does not

envisions

himself in the immoral characters of this story nor is he

attempting to promote their lifestyles. Of all the characters whom

he creates, he sees himself as Basil, the good artist who

sacrifices himself to fight immorality.

"It was his beauty that had ruined him, his beauty and the

youth that he had prayed for" (Wilde 242). Contrary to Wilde's

claim in the preface that, "there is no such thing as a moral or

immoral book" (vii), this novel has a deep and meaningful purpose.

"The moral is that an absence of spirituality, of faith, of regard

for human life, separates individuals like Wilde's Dorian Gray from

humanity and makes monsters of them" (West 5831).

W.H. Auden feels that the story is specifically structured to

provide a moral. He compares the story to that of a fairy tale,

complete with a princess, a wicked witch, and a fairy godmother.

This leaves "room for a moral with which good every fairy tale

ends." Not only is the novel seen as existing on the pure level of

fairy tales, but it is claimed to contain "ethical beauty" (Auden

146).

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel including a moral

dialogue between conscience and temptation that is powerfully

conveyed. Though it is made to seem an advocate for aestheticism

on the surface, the story ultimately undermines that entire

philosophy. Wilde brings the question of "to what extent are we

shaped by our actions" (26). He also demonstrates that "art

cannot be a substitute for life" (Eriksen 104). It is a fantastic

tale of hedonism with a moral to be learned and remembered.