Contextualizing Homosexuality In The Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

Contextualizing Dorian Gray
The social climate and criminalization of homosexuality in 19th century England give insight on the intent of Oscar Wilde, a gay man himself, to aestheticize intimate relationships between men in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The laws which made sodomy illegal in England primarily “sought to preserve the face of British youth”, and the idea of the “gross indecency” which they condemned was an elaboration on a 1857 act that condemned “obscenity… [and its] ‘filthy’ and ‘corrupt’ nature” (Bristow). The idea of corruption and saving face is pervasive in Dorian Gray, displayed when Dorian himself claims that “Youth is the only thing worth having” and wishes for his portrait to bear his own aging and corruption (Wilde 29). The fixation on reputation present in both the novel and in legislation that predated its publication by only a few decades indicates a strong correlation between the two, further highlighting

After writing his only novel, whose editors’ views aligned with the homophobic social conventions of the time, Wilde claimed that each of the main characters contained a bit of himself in them, and that “Basil Hallward is what I think I am” (Carroll). Within the novel, Basil is depicted as a character who is consumed by his naive love for Dorian, so much so that he claims that Dorian’s “personality… would absorb [Basil’s] whole nature, [his] whole soul, [his] very art itself,” foreshadowing the fact that his affection for Dorian will bring about his own death (Wilde 21). While Basil’s murder may indicate that his attraction to Dorian is a characteristic flaw, Wilde utilizes it to create a tragic romance comparable to that of Romeo and Juliet; taking into consideration Wilde’s identification with this character, it is clear that Basil’s portrayal in the story is one of an impassioned gay artist, like Wilde, serving as an example of his message that homosexuality does not compromise a work’s potential for