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Vanity And Obsession In The Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

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Recommended: Critical study of the picture of dorian gray

In a world that often places great emphasis on external appearance and societal expectations, the dangers of vanity and obsession with beauty are ever-present. When one's true self is sacrificed in the name of physical perfection, it can result in a severe loss of identity and descent into moral decay. These themes were explored in The Picture of Dorian Gray, a book by Oscar Wilde, through the tragic journey of its main character. As Dorian becomes increasingly captivated by his physical appearance, he loses touch with his identity, succumbing to a profound loss of self. The once-charming and innocent young man develops into a morally questionable person as his obsession with beauty increases. His moral compass slowly began to deteriorate as a result of this obsession, which made him put his own physical attractiveness before his beliefs and values. Additionally, Dorian becomes isolated and lacks genuine connections because of his hedonistic lifestyle and disregard for social conventions. The failure of these relationships serves as a stark reminder of the harm done to those unfortunate enough to be associated with him as well as a demonstration of the destructive power of vanity. Through the portrayal of these interconnected aspects, Wilde serves as a cautionary …show more content…

However, Dorian's vanity and his inability to love beyond appearances ultimately lead to the demise of their relationship. When Sybil's acting fails to meet his expectations, Dorian heartlessly rejects her, proclaiming, "You have killed my love" (Wilde, Chapter 7). The consequences of his callous actions unfold tragically, as Sybil, devastated by Dorian's rejection, takes her own life. Through this heartbreaking loss, Wilde highlights how vanity and obsession with surface beauty destroy the potential for genuine emotional

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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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Another theme illustrated through Wilde’s use of motifs and symbols is the theme of superficiality. The theme of superficiality can be understood as a sense of the superficial view of outer beauty that is shown in the work. It relates to the concept of remaining young, which is an important factor of what is shown in the novel. This is an important part of the novel because outer beauty plays a bigger role for Dorian, than inner beauty does. In the beginning of the novel, Lord Henry and Dorian have a conversation that focuses on the topic of youth and Dorian 's outer beauty – Lord Henry mentions the fact that Dorian has a beautiful face, and later during this conversation, Lord Henry states that: “youth is the only thing worth having…”

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As a writer one is greatly influenced by their personal experiences with social, historical, and cultural context within their specific time period. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was shaped by the aspects of the world around him. The themes of the text are are influenced by morality in the Victorian Era. Throughout the Victorian Era a deeper movement was also prominent in London called Aestheticism. Aestheticism is the worship of beauty and self-fulfillment.

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153). Dorian often stared at his portrait in disgust of how it displayed his sins and scarred soul. Just the same, he would stand in front of his portrait with a mirror, happy and full of pride. He even “smil[ed] with secret pleasure at the misshapen shadow that had to bear the burden that should have been his own” (p. 153). However, the more he viewed the portrait, the more crimes he seemed to commit.

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Once he realized it was only a reflection he became depressed and committed suicide. Both Dorian Gray and Narcissus destroy themselves with narcissistic tendencies through both novels. They destroy not only who they were before, but they destroy sibyl vane and echo also. Once Dorian basically makes sibyl kill herself, he sees himself as a monster which only makes the plot of the novel go farther, this is what makes him obsessed with the portrait. Narcissus with rejecting echo gets what he deserves as he falls madly in love with himself and slowly realizes he could not actually have himself as a partner which destroy him mentally and

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Relatively all authors are very fond of creating an underlying message to criticize society. Authors do this through social commentary. The book “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is no exception. The author, Oscar Wilde, criticizes the upper class through the consistent underlying idea that people are often deceived by one's beauty and are unable to understand the poison that fills the world is corrupting it. From the beginning of this book, the social commentary towards the upper class begins with the structure of the novel.

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Basil has come to ask Dorian about all the horrible rumors surrounding him, and hopes they turn out false. Basil also asks about the portrait and why Dorian hides it, so Dorian decides to show him his “to see your soul. But only God can do that—you shall see it yourself to-night!”. Dorian then takes Basil to see his picture, which at first cannot be recognized by Basil, but soon he realizes the true horror of the situation, “an exclamation of horror broke out from the painter’s lips as he saw in the dim light the hideous face on the canvas grinning at him” (Wilde 113). Dorians soul has become rotten to the core with selfishness and pleasure, mainly because of Lord Henry’s poisonous words.

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As the portrait significantly becomes more hideous, Dorian gradually loses his mind. The reader understands that what eventually leads Dorian to kill Basil Hallward, the only true friend he has, is the constant reminder of the evil found at the heart of Dorian’s nature, as represented by the portrait. In Dorian doing so, the reader realises that not only does Dorian kill Basil, he also kills his only chance of redemption of his soul. The reader realises that the statement that Dorian had expressed earlier in the story was the truth: “Yes, Basil could have saved him. But it was too late now.”

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