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Beauty And Corruption In The Victorian Era

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Morality, Image of Beauty and Corruption in the Victorian Era

Society in the Victorian Era was known for the good etiquette. Both men and women had rules to follow and were expected to follow them. Women had rules for the makeup, jewelry and the way they dressed, while men, had rules for drinking, smoking and who they can sit next to. The image of beauty is greatly perceived in society especially in the Victorian Era. Morality, the image of beauty and corruption revolves around Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. When one values youth and beauty over age and wisdom, it shows how admiration of one’s self leads to corruption.
The image of beauty is greatly perceived in society especially in the Victorian Era. Many people would do anything …show more content…

Dorian does not take responsibilities for his own actions which then ultimately lead him to his death. Not only is corruption present in the novel, but it is also part of the society in the Victorian era. Although prostitution was a sinful act, it was acceptable behavior in the nineteenth century. Men were known as decision makers while women were their property. Since the day Lord Henry laid eyes on Dorian, Henry was determined to change Dorians life, and change his values immoral. Dorian does not take responsibilities for any of his actions; he eventually dies because of the guilt and the secret that has overcome him. Lord Henry introduces a book to Gray; this book was one of the causes for the loss of his innocence:
There was a horrible fascination in them all. He saw them at night, and they troubled his imagination in the day. The Renaissance knew of strange manners of poisoning -- poisoning by a helmet and a lighted torch, by an embroidered glove and a jewelled fan, by a gilded pomander and by an amber chain. Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book. There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful. (Wilde,

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Throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde illustrates the dichotomy of Dorian Gray revealing the corruption of his soul and the reflection of that corruption in the appearance of his portrait. At the beginning of the novel, Dorian is the epitome of youth and beauty: his appearance and innocence enable him to be well-liked among everyone. However, Dorian begins his descent into evil and sin when he pledges his soul to remain youthful while his portrait ages. To illustrate, Wilde repeatedly draws a parallel between Dorian’s corruption and the physical appearance of the portrait. Furthermore, Dorian’s murder of Basil reveals the extent of the irreversible corruption of his soul.

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Dorian Gray had a portrait of himself made and, accidently, infused it with a special power. This power caused the painting to take all the damage of age and sin for Dorian Gray, leaving him looking exactly the same as he did when the painting was made. Dorian abused this power and performed and crimes and sins with none of the repercussions falling on him. At one point he was about to be killed in an alley by James Vane, the brother of Sibyl Vane who was lead to suicide by Dorian, but James stopped after seeing Dorian’s face and thinking that he looked too young and to innocent to be the one who “killed” his sister. (Wilde

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