The Picture Of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray has many classic gothic themes; murder, suicide, supernatural powers, and dark places that hold even darker secrets. It is within this structure that Wilde intersects the theories of degeneration with the novels characteristic Gothicism. In 19th century England, around the time Wilde wrote his novel, the theory of degeneration was a prominent theory that was thought to explain crime and general disorder in society, it focused on physical and mental deterioration from a higher to a lower form. That is, degeneration is based on time, the movement from one form to another, and a transformation. It was also thought that degeneration was irreversible, specifically the physical characteristics, regardless of how one would try to change mentally. This is a reality that Dorian himself will ultimately face, “XXXXXXXXXX”. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a story about the death of youth. A handsome young man, who had, “…all youth 's passionate purity” (pg), is seduced by a philosophy of hedonistic behavior and a desire to stay young forever. The gothic is the backdrop, and often times, the direct result of Dorian’s profound degeneration.
The youthful and innocent, Dorian Gray, captures the attention of Basil

It is here where he meets a young actress, Sibyl Vane. Dorian return’s several times, and falls in love with Sibyl. Dorian’s love for the actress makes him question Lord Henry’s philosophy, even though he realizes it was Lord Henry’s philosophy that has motivated him to go into the theater for adventure in the first place. A later performance, in which he convinced Basil and Lord Henry to attend, is dreadful, and terribly embarrasses Dorian. Dorian’s rebuke of Sibyl is swift and brutal, a fact that he finds gratifying. It is after this incident that the Basil’s portrait of Dorian starts to disfigure with each of his decent into