Beauty And Corruption In The Victorian Era

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

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,