Dorian Gray Controversy

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a classic late-Victorian gothic novel by Oscar Wilde about the corruption and downfall of the titular character, Dorian Gray. Dorian begins the novel as a completely innocent soul. Basil Hallward, an artist, is enraptured by Dorian’s purity and sets about painting a portrait of him that captures the young man’s perfection. That is until Dorian meets Hallward’s friend Lord Henry Wotton during a painting session. Wotton is also taken by Dorian’s beauty and espouses his hedonistic life motto, “Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing” (Wilde 36). Wotton explains to Dorian that his good looks make it nearly impossible to

Many of his critics accused him of breaking public morality laws and called for his arrest. The Picture of Dorian Gray was an incredibly controversial book and when Wilde was eventually put on trial in 1895 for committing homosexual acts, many passages of the book were entered as evidence for the prosecution. Wilde put much of himself into the novel, even saying in an 1894 letter, “[The Picture of Dorian Gray] contains much of me in it — Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry, what the world thinks me; Dorian is what I would like to be — in other ages, perhaps” (Wilde). The book was not only a reflection on the moral conundrum occurring in London society, but also the one happening inside Wilde himself. Not many cities have the same long-standing religious roots that London does and, despite the rise of the Decadents movement, London was still very much a predominantly Christian city. There is no doubt that Wilde carried some religious trauma from going against the widely held beliefs of the time. This doesn’t make the story completely unique to London, the themes of youth, morality, and beauty are still incredibly relevant in our society everywhere, especially in the age of social media. However, there is no doubt that living in London, a city of buttoned-up, religious snobs, during a time where a small sect of people were beginning to challenge that had a deep effect on Wilde and therefore the characters and narrative of The Picture of Dorian