03.11.2019

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O. Wilde "The Picture of Dorian Gray" - Full analysis of the work

wilde portrait gray

Now it's time for the Dorian Grays, everybody leads double life- from top politicians to schoolteachers, double standards are back. And in this sense, Dorian Gray is the hero of our time.

It is interesting for us to analyze O. Wilde's novel from a modern point of view. Compositionally embrace those contradictions that are characteristic of our time and the time of Dorian Gray. Dostoevsky also wrote about man that "God and the devil are fighting in him, and the battlefield is the soul." This is something to keep in mind when thinking about Wilde's novel. First of all, we will be interested in the secret parallel life of a person, and this is the core of his life, a true existence, often vicious, not always decent and moral.

For Wilde, humanity is behavior in an extreme situation, although his entire novel is an extreme situation. He has a human soul - something material, something that can be sold, mortgaged, poisoned, saved, exchanged. Nevertheless, the author does not hide the fact that the whole story with Dorian Gray is fictitious - “the transmission of beautiful fables is the true goal of art”, the more valuable for us the meaning inherent in the fable, the more carefully we are looking for morality in this fable with a portrait.

Reading the novel, we very often see the opposition of Wilde's morality to Dostoevsky's morality, which we quoted earlier. It seems to us that Dorian Gray is the hero of Dostoevsky, however, he is the complete opposite of all human types portrayed by the Russian writer.

It is no coincidence that Dorian Gray is in love not so much with actress Sybil Vane, but with the roles she plays - Juliet, Rosalind, Imogen. He himself is a musician and passionately loves everything beautiful. Collects objects of ancient art. This is a decadent version of Dostoevsky's mythology that beauty will save the world. Beauty destroys the personality, because it is not real beauty, but diabolical, which shows the portrait that Dorian Gray keeps. A deal with the devil must be paid. The whole story that happened to Dorian Gray is a diabolical obsession: killed, Gray becomes as ugly as it should be, and the portrait again turns into something material - balance is restored.

In general, from the point of view of the plot, Wilde's novel uses several myths (or mythical plots). This is, firstly, the myth of Narcissus, who died when he saw his reflection in the water. This is also Goethe's Faust, who sold his soul for eternal youth. Wilde's Devil is played by Lord Henry, a cynic and immoralist who sings of the "new hedonism", a man who "always says immoral things, but never does them." It is in a conversation with him that Dorian says the sacramental phrase: "How sad! murmured Dorian Gray suddenly, still staring at his portrait. -- How sad! I will grow old, become a nasty freak, and my portrait will be forever young. He will never get older than on this June day... Oh, if only it could be the other way around! If this portrait grew old, and I remained forever young! For this... for this I would give anything in the world. Yes, no regrets! I would give my soul for that!"

And so it turns out: Dorian becomes forever young "the offspring of the Devil," as the prostitute in the port calls him, and the portrait grows old vilely.

Dorian Gray is in love with his "second self" portrait, looks at him for a long time and even kisses him. At the end of the novel, when the portrait replaces him, Gray falls more and more in love with his beauty and, unable to bear the beauty of his body and, in contrast, the disgust of his soul, which the portrait shows him, in fact commits suicide, dies, like Narcissus, from self love. Thus, the beauty that Dostoevsky thought about when describing to us the “murderer and the harlot” could not save Dorian Gray. On the contrary, she ruined him.

The plot line of the novel is tortuous and reminds us of Balzac's Shagreen Skin, both works are philosophical and symbolic, it is difficult to imagine the action itself described by the authors. However, in addition to similarities, there are significant differences. Wilde did not create a realistic novel, although some scenes are quite plausible. “This is purely a decorative novel! "The Picture of Dorian Gray" - golden brocade! the author argued. Wilde does not aim to describe the character of his hero in a multifaceted way, in his dialectics, which we meet so often, for example, in Tolstoy, on the contrary, each of his heroes is the embodiment of one idea: Dorian is the desire for eternal youth, Lord Henry is a cult philosophy of pleasure, an apologist for hedonism, Basil is a sacrificial devotion to art. The main attention in the novel is paid not to action, not to characteristics, but to the subtle play of the mind, which is played by Lord Henry, in whose bold paradoxes the cherished thoughts of the author are embodied. In my intellectual game Prince Paradox engages Dorian, striking his imagination with unusual and daring speeches. And words for Wilde are much more important than facts, he, and with him his heroes, completely surrender to verbal fights.

But that notorious hedonism of Lord Henry is not so vicious. It has something in common with the ideas of Nietzsche. The path of the hedonist is illuminated by the dream of the beautiful, of that beauty of Dostoevsky, which was supposed to save the world, but, as if inopportunely, ruined it. “The purpose of life is self-expression. To manifest our essence in all its fullness - that's what we live for ... If every person could live full life giving free rein to every feeling and every thought, realizing every dream, the world would again feel such a powerful impulse to joy that all the diseases of the Middle Ages would be forgotten, and we would return to the ideals of Hellenism, and perhaps to something or even more valuable and beautiful,” Lord Henry preaches to us, and it is simply impossible not to agree with him. And after all, no one in the novel, except Basil, tries to contradict him! “You are lovely, but a real demon tempter. Be sure to come and dine with us,” exclaims the venerable duchess. The likes of Lord Henry were held in high esteem in the society of that time.

Oscar Wilde often refused to call a spade a spade. Literature, in his opinion, is not an inventory list. He had little sympathy for the sufferers. He believed that those who care for the suffering, flaunt only ulcers and wounds, refusing to perceive a person's life as a whole, with his defeats and victories. In this "suffering" approach, he saw a certain asymmetry, inferiority, lack of aesthetics (that is, harmony). He instinctively believed that everything living, no matter how ugly and immoral it may seem to the layman, has the right to exist when it is embodied, takes shape, that is, its own aesthetics. A new ethics arises when the viewer, thanks to the artist-creator, perceives as beautiful something that previously seemed immoral, that is, ugly.

This, in fact, is the essence of the philosophy of Sir Henry, the spiritual provocateur and seducer of Dorian Gray from the novel. Life is just a material, clay is in our hands, the hands of artists-experimenters of life. Everything in life has to be tried. And fascinated by this idea, Dorian boldly tries. He experiments with his own life. But not only with your own. And this, apparently, is the difference between the position of Sir Henry and Dorian. "Every crime is vulgar," says Sir Henry, "and every vulgarity is criminal." According to Sir Henry, for vulgar, unimaginative people, crime is what art is for a sophisticated mind, that is, a source of unusual sensations. According to Wilde himself, crime as an act of individualism can sometimes resemble a work of art in its impeccable execution (Thomas De Quincey spoke about this in his essay "Murder as a Form of Art"); however, the criminal's individualism and freedom are apparent: the criminal, and the murderer in particular, always deals with other people, with society, while, as a true artist, he does not depend on anyone in his creation and is therefore absolutely free. From this it follows that the criminal and murderer Dorian did not pass the test: he is still a vulgar mind, devoid of imagination, imprisoned in his sensual instincts.

The portrait of Dorian Gray is a portrait of his soul, an inventory of this sinner's crimes. Wilde believed that there is Someone in the world who watches over us and writes everything down (or sketches, as in a certain portrait in heaven). However, this method of reforming Dorian Gray is highly questionable, because it raises even more questions for us about the ways in which repentance for the crimes committed is possible. At the first stage, Dorian Gray is not particularly tormented by pangs of conscience. He is, however, still preoccupied with his reputation (his portrait) in the eyes of others. But gradually he does not give a damn about this either - just to remain uncaught. The main spiritual flaw (sin) of Dorian as a person is that he, devoid of imagination, needed actions, deeds (good or evil) in order to experience the excitement of contact with life. But actions, in contrast to the game of the mind, with a certain moment begin to repeat themselves, that is, to cause boredom and irritation in the first place in the one who performs these actions.

Actually, Dorian Gray is suppressed by the very fact that his inner content (which is the portrait) is embodied in the face of the old man. Thought (as well as meaningful feeling) ages, that's for sure. Adam was expelled from Paradise (that is, he became mortal, that is, he began to grow old) when he ate the fruit from the tree of Good and Evil, that is, he began to think. Idiots are known to have the face of a child. Dorian Gray does not age because he does not think about his actions, about his portrait. He did not think about his own crimes, because he never truly loved his victims (no matter how much he swore this to himself).

Thus, we see that everything in O. Wilde's novel is built on contradictions. On the one hand, this is the permissibility of crimes (Dostoevsky comes to mind again), on the other, a ban on them, their rejection. This, in our opinion, is the essence of the creative concept of the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

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Analysis of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray

Individual-author's use of syntactic stylistic means

The author put Dorian Gray in a fantastic situation: he is given eternal youth and beauty, and his image in the portrait grows old and becomes ugly, terrible. A rich, handsome young man plunged into the world of pleasures after his teacher, Lord Henry Watt, suggested the idea eternal youth admiring the portrait of Dorian in the studio of the artist Basil Hallward. The artist, struck by the purity of young Gray, put his dreams, feelings, his vision of the beauty of "himself" into the portrait. A beautiful work of art received a part of the creator's soul, capable of influencing others and conquering them. But Dorian Gray was attracted not by Basil's feelings, but by Lord Henry's idea, according to which a person should not trust art, not learn beauty from him, but independently seek it in life.

Consider the use of syntactic stylistic means in the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray using the following examples:

Those who find beautiful words in beautiful things are the cultivated.

Those who are able to see in the beautiful its high meaning are cultured people (22, 28).

"It is your best work, Basil, the best thing you have ever done," said Lord Henry, languidly. "You must certainly send it next year to the Grosvenor.

It is one of your finest works, Basil, the best of all that you have written," said Lord Henry lazily. We must certainly send it to an exhibition at Grosvenor next year (22, 65).

But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins. But beauty, true beauty, disappears where spirituality appears (22, 72).

Not at all," answered Lord Henry, "not at all, my dear Basil. “Not at all,” retorted Lord Henry, “not at all, dear Basil!” (22, 54).

There is too much of myself in the thing, Harry--too much of myself!" Do you understand now, Harry? I put too much soul into this canvas, too much of myself (22, 89).

What you have told me is quite a romance, a romance of art one might call it, and the worst of having a romance of any kind is that it leaves one so unromantic." it can be said that a novel is based on art, but having survived the novel of his former life, a person - alas! - becomes so prosaic (22, 102).

"I don"t think I shall send it anywhere," he answered, tossing his head back in that odd way that used to make his friends laugh at him at Oxford. "No: I won"t send it anywhere." (22, 142).

And I’m not going to exhibit this portrait at all,” the artist replied, throwing back his head, according to his characteristic habit, which his comrades used to mock at Oxford University. “No, I won’t send him anywhere (22, 93).

It is silly of you, for there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. How strange! If it’s unpleasant when people talk about you a lot, then it’s even worse when they don’t talk about you at all (22, 90).

A portrait like this would set you far above all the young men in England, and make the old men quite jealous, if old men are ever capable of any emotion." and would inspire strong envy in the old, if old people are still capable of experiencing any feelings at all (22, 121).

I never know where my wife is, and my wife never knows what I am doing. I never know where my wife is and my wife doesn't know what I'm doing (22, 65).

"Being natural is simply a pose, and the most irritating pose I know," cried Lord Henry, laughing; and the two young men went out into the garden together, and ensconced themselves on a long bamboo seat that stood in the shade of a tall laurel bush. I know that being natural is a pose, and the most hated pose for people! exclaimed Lord Henry with a laugh. The young people went out into the garden and sat on a bamboo bench in the shade of a tall laurel bush.

Dorian, in response to the question of the Duchess of Monmouth, did Lord Henry's philosophy help him find happiness, says: “I have never searched for happiness .... I have searched for pleasure.” (22, 72).

“And found it, Mr. Grey?”

“often. Too often.” - the use of repetition in this case gives the phrase a certain tragedy, and the monosyllabic expression creates the impression of understatement (22, 58).

Perhaps he suffered, perhaps he hated, perhaps he loved by cruelty alone.

Perhaps he suffered, perhaps he hated, perhaps he loved out of cruelty alone (22, 95).

He shook his curls; he smiled and went easily through the seven motions for acquiring grace in your own room before an open window ten minutes each day. He danced like a fauna; he introduced manner and style and atmosphere.

He tossed his curls, gave smiles and lightly did all those seven body movements that you spend ten minutes daily in your room in front of an open window to gain flexibility and grace. He danced like a faun. He created around him an atmosphere of courtesy and subtle treatment (22.105).

"Mother, mother, I am so happy!" whispered the girl, burying her face in the lap of the faded, tired-looking woman who, with back turned to the shrill intrusive light, was sitting in the one arm-chair that their dingy sitting-room contained. "I'm so happy!" she repeated, "and you must be happy too!"

Mom, mom, I'm so happy! whispered the girl, pressing her cheek against the knees of a woman with a weary, faded face, who sat with her back to the light in the only armchair in a squalid and dirty drawing-room. “I am so happy,” repeated Sybil. (22, 168).

“May I take so bald”, he said with a smile that was like a frown, and with a frown that was like a smile. Can I say it directly, - he said with a smile that looked like a grimace, and with a grimace that looked like a smile (22, 91).

“Little by little, bit by bit, and day by day, and year by year the baron got the worst of some disputed guestion” (22, 165).

“I"m not lame, I"m not loathsome, I"m not a boor, I"m not a fool. What is it? What's the mystery about me? Her answer was a long sigh” (22, 75).

Inversion

Lord Henry charmed Dorian with his elegant but cynical aphorisms. “A new Hedonism - that is what our century want (using inversion, the author focuses on the subject of conversation)... I thought how tragic it would be if you were wasted. For there is such a little time that your youth will last - such a little time (In this sentence, inversion gives expressiveness to speech, and emphatic repetition enhances impression),” says Lord Henry to Dorian in the second chapter. In the sixth chapter he states: “And unselfish people are colourless. They lack individuality.” - the author's use of a metaphor built on a series of associations. Objects of bright colors attract attention, interest, while colorless or transparent ones go unnoticed. This association is transferred to people. By "colorless" people are meant not people without color, but people who do not attract attention to themselves with their uninterestingness.

Having undergone many more changes in himself, having committed many crimes, Dorian dies in the last chapter. Within the given limits, he goes through the entire test cycle, and one can try to answer the question of whether the life of Dorian Gray proved the validity of Lord Henry's ideology or not.

“The aim of life is self-development. To realize one`s nature perfectly - that is what each of us is here for (the author again resorts to inversion to make the words of Lord Henry meaningful and colorful) ”- Lord Henry inspires his young friend. However, Dorian's later life is not at all a revelation of the essence of the person whose portrait was painted by the artist Basil Hallward, but a reshaping of his soul, which was ultimately reflected on the canvas. This reshaping leads to that loss of integrity, indirect signs of which even Lord Henry himself notices, finding that Dorian at certain moments becomes "quite out of sorts" (22,147).

In the last sentences of the novel, the author uses the inversion “When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait... Lying on the floor was a dead man....” in order to make the narrative more emotional and expressive (22, 224).

Crudely as it had been told to him, it had yet stirred him by his suggestion of a strange, almost modern romance. Even told in in general terms, this story excited him with its unusualness, its almost modern romanticism (22, 79).

Parallelism

From one she would copy and practice a gesture, from another an eloquent lifting of an eyebrow, from others, a manner of walking, of carrying a purse, of smiling, of greeting a friend, of addressing "inferiors in station." From one she copied the gesture, from the other - the eloquent movement of the eyebrows, from the third - the gait, the manner of holding the purse, smiling, greeting friends, treating the "lower" (22, 165).

Sweet is the scent of the hawthorn and sweet are the bluebells that hide in the valley.

Sweet is the fragrance of hawthorn and sweet bluebells that hide in the valley (22.178).

polysyndeton

And I want to eat at a table with my own silver and I want candles, and I want my own tea, and I want it to be strong and I want to brush my hair out in front a mirror and I want a kitty and I want some new clothes new clothes (22,187).

“A tall woman, with a beautiful figure, which some members of the family had once compared to a heathen goddess, stood looking at these two with a shadowy smile” (22, 150).

Antithesis:

O. Wilde's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" - a prime example antitheses.

At the center of Oscar Wilde's work is the theme of beauty and pleasure. The writer describes a real tragedy in the disagreement between a person's desire for pleasure and the impossibility of bliss. It was this disagreement that became the center of the novel "Dorian Gray". The problem is revealed through two main images. One of them is the artist Hallward, who devotes himself to art, giving his life to serve the ideal of art. The second is Dorian Gray, who destroys his soul, striving for pleasure. The themes of art and the fall become elements of antithesis in the novel.

"...he...stand,with a mirror, in front of the portrait that Basil Hallward had painted of him,looking now at the evil and the aging face on the canvas, and now at the fairyoung face that laughted back at him from the polished glass." The author does not say: he looked at the portrait, then at himself in the mirror. He specifically uses the expressions “face on the canvas” and “face...from the polished glass” to show that none of these faces can truly be called the face of Dorian, just as it cannot be said that they were not his face. The author uses the technique of antithesis, contrasting “evil and aging face” and “fair young face”.

"On his returnhe would sit in front of the picture, sometimes loathing it and himself, butfilled, at other times, with that pride of individualism that is half thefascination of sin, and smiling, with secret pleasure, at the misshapen shadowthat had to bear the burden that should have been his own.” -- the author uses the metaphorical expression "bear the burden" in the sense that the portrait bears the burden of old age, the author also uses the oxymoron "fascination of sin".

The portrait went from “the finest piece of work” to “the misshapen shadow”. antithesis.

The life that was to make his soul would mar his body. Life, forming his soul, will destroy his body (22, 174).

I get hungry for her presence; and when I think of the wonderful soul that is hidden away in that little ivory body, I am filled with awe."

I can't live without her anymore. And when I think about the wonderful soul enclosed in this fragile body, as if carved from ivory, I am seized with awe (22, 71).

A beautiful woman risking everything for a mad passion. A beautiful girl who sacrificed everything for passionate love (22, 57).

A few wild weeks of happiness cut short by a hideous, treacherous crime. Several weeks of immeasurable happiness, broken by a heinous crime (22, 98).

Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic. Some tragedy is always hidden behind the beautiful (22, 74)

Ellipsis:

“Her name is Sibyl Vane” - “Never heard of her”. “No one has. People will someday, however;

"Her name is Sybil Wayne" - "Never heard of her." "No one has. People will someday, however; (22, 98).

You may lose more than your fees! Can't!

“You will lose more than you feel” (22, 152).

June had answered in her imperious brisk way, like the little embodiment of will she was. (22, 250)

The entire list of data, using the method of continuous sampling, can be found in the appendix to this course work.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only work that Oscar Wilde managed to publish. This novel was originally published in Lippincotts Mansley Magazine (July 1890). And only in 1891 was it published as a book. The novel, which was published, was somewhat changed: an addition was the preface, written as a manifesto, and a few more additional chapters. Individual chapters have been radically changed. This is how the world saw the novel by Oscar Wilde, which later entered the treasury of world literature.

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" caused an extraordinary upheaval in society. Around this work there were many discussions and scandals. And indeed, because against the background of ordinary and “worn” literature, it stood out in a special contrast. Critics condemned The Picture of Dorian Gray for its depiction of highly immoral behavior at the time. The novel not only did not correspond to the English moral values of that era, but, on the contrary, condemned them. One gets the impression that the author himself stood up to fight against the numerous stereotypes of a stiff society. English criticism was entirely against this novel and its author. In their opinion, the work should have been withdrawn from the circles of society as soon as possible, putting a big cross on its publication. The author should have been condemned and punished for the caustic abuse of public morality.

But readers did not support the English critics in any way in their desire to isolate society from reality as soon as possible. Firstly, people did not find anything excessively immoral in the novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray". It was a reality that there was no point in hiding. Secondly, the author approached the idea of his work in a very original way. Each line felt a deep philosophical thought, to dispute the existence of which would be simply stupid. In addition, The Picture of Dorian Gray is endowed with numerous elements of symbolism (symbolism). Very often there is an identification of a person with a portrait. Thirdly, until the very end, the writer managed to keep interest and intrigue, which not everyone can achieve. Oscar Wilde managed to reach out to his readers, and this is probably the greatest happiness that the author of his creation can only feel. The novel was dominated by a decadent style.

The author was a very well-read person. This can be traced by comparing his creations with other, earlier ones. For example, Dorian Gray to some extent resembles Faust, already well known to us, who made a deal with the devil himself. However, instead of Mephistopheles, who denigrated the consciousness of Faust, another character appears before us. This is Lord Henry, because throughout the whole novel he tries to impose his vicious ideas about the essence of being on the innocent Dorian. His teachings do not instruct the young man on the path of truth, but rather the opposite. Without knowing it, Dorian turns into a vicious and insensitive monster. As for the idea of a portrait, Maturin's novel Melmoth the Wanderer played an important role here. You can find in the "Portrait of Dorian Gray" shades and such works as the novels "On the contrary" (Huysmans) and "Shagreen leather" (Balzac).

Together with such an influence on the author of the world classic, The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the most unique literary creations of all time, and remains recognized as such today.

The main idea of Oscar Wilde's novel is connected with the emptiness of aestheticism. The author shows how empty beauty can be, how disgusting it can sometimes be from the inside. The book is just a tool with which the writer tells us: "Beauty is empty, beauty disappoints."

As mentioned earlier, the famous Faust was taken as the foundation for the novel. We are talking about how a handsome and talented young man wants, by all means, to preserve his beauty and youth forever. Basil Hallward, who is not indifferent to the beautiful Dorian, undertakes to paint his portrait. As a result, this portrait turns out to be so incomparable that even Dorian falls in love with him. However, admiration is replaced by disappointment, and the young man begins to understand that, unlike this portrait, his youth is not destined to be eternal. It was as if for the first time he looked at himself from the outside and only now realized how perfect his facial features were. Now, more than anything in the world, Dorian wants to change places with the damned portrait, which, with its incomparableness, seems to laugh at him.

And fate sends Dorian an acquaintance with Lord Henry, who became the personification of the author of the novel. The character of the lord is contagious to the extent that without noticing it, the young man quickly falls into the network of his influence. The newly made acquaintance only intensifies Dorian's longing for the passing of his youth.

Being subject to Lord Henry's passionate stories about the omnipotence of beauty, Dorian begins to lead an immoral lifestyle. His talent and mind are overshadowed by an endless stream of crimes and depravity. He no longer knows the meaning of moral values. Only Henry's phrase that beauty is not subject to any earthly laws sounds in his head.

Years pass, and Dorian is still as handsome and young as before, when Basil painted his portrait. However, now the portrait itself is mutilated. He becomes for Dorian his lost conscience, his voice of reason. So that no one can find out about the portrait that has changed to a disgrace, the young man plunges a knife into it. The servants found in his room a beautiful portrait created by the artist Basil, and the mutilated corpse of an old man. Only by the rings on the hands of the deceased could it be understood that he was the same Dorian Gray.

The novel has been filmed more than 15 times.

Date of writing the article: 2010-02-23

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The mystical and philosophical novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" will seduce everyone who at least once in their thoughts or aloud wished to preserve their youth and beauty. But Oscar Wilde had no intention of sharing the secret of immortality at all; the author reflected in the work his own view of human morality, love and the world, where the desire for pleasure rules.

The plot is built around a young man who has a natural, sensual beauty. The young sitter poses for his friend, the painter Basil Hallward. In Basil's workshop, Dorian meets Henry Wotton, a man who subsequently poisons the young man's mind with his sophistical speeches and cynical views. Henry shows regret that beauty is not eternal, and youth, in his opinion, is the only wealth worth cherishing. Well, the portrait of a beautiful hedonist is completed. The handsome man is delighted with his reflection, transferred to the canvas, but bitterness crept into his soul, caused by the words of a new acquaintance. The young man understands that time will take away his beauty, the freshness of his face, and he will turn into a wrinkled old man with an ugly figure. In excitement, he exclaims: “If only I always remained young, and this portrait grew old! For this... for this I would give anything in the world! Wouldn't regret anything! I would be ready to give my soul for it.” From this moment on, the description of the book "Dorian Gray" takes on a gloomy tone: the main character reincarnates as a perverted egoist, transferring all the consequences of his lifestyle to the picture. She ages for him.

His wish comes true. A man throws himself into the pool of vice, torturing his soul and body with pleasures and amusements. For many years, the hero remains young, and his portrait takes on all his sins and crimes, becoming repulsive. He destroys the lovely girl Sybil Vane, breaking her heart. He kills his devoted friend Basil, who was very attached to the young man and loved him. And in the finale, the distraught Dorian plunges a knife into the ill-fated image, wanting to end the past and find peace. But in this way he finds only his death.

History of creation

Oscar Wilde made a bet with his friend that he would write a novel that would drive London crazy. "Dorian Gray" was written in the shortest possible time, in a single burst of creative will. The writer won the dispute, but paid the price for the victory: he was tried for corrupting English morals. As a result, he got real prison term.

The novel has a real basis behind it. Oscar Wilde actually had a friend, Basil, who was a talented artist. Once in his workshop the writer saw a very handsome young man. Wilde was delighted with the charming appearance of the sitter and bitterly noted that this beauty could not escape old age with its ugliness. But the artist was ready to paint the image of a handsome man every year, so that aging and wilting would be reflected only on the canvas.

"Portrait ..." is the only published novel that brought its creator success and almost scandalous fame. It was first published in July 1890 in the American Lippincott Monthly. After, in 1891, the book was published in a separate edition with six new chapters and with a special preface, which became the manifesto of aestheticism.

Genre

The Picture of Dorian Gray can be classified as an intellectual novel. In the work, the characters and the narrator are subject to introspection, comprehension of their actions and environment. Their conversations go beyond the plot, representing a debate of certain philosophical views. The book raises the most important aesthetic, moral and "eternal" problems.

According to the time of creation and style, the work can be attributed to Victorian novel. So they called the English prose of the period of the reign of Queen Victoria - an era of calm, puritanism and hypocrisy. Its author gracefully ridicules Lord Henry in his remarks.

The definition of "allegorical parable" is also applicable to the book. The events taking place in it should not be taken literally. Heroes are not human, they represent philosophical views, magic pictures - vicious temptation, death and love - trials, copper pipes that open the veil over human nature.

The direction of the author's creative thought is at the junction between romantic, fantastic and realistic beginnings. Thus, the book reveals an element of fantasy (the magical power of a portrait), the psychological and social components of realism, and the romantic type of the protagonist.

Main characters

Dorian Gray is a naive and beautiful young man who turned into a depraved and insensitive egoist under the influence of Lord Henry. He is a nobleman, a descendant of a noble family. His soul was eagerly looking for a mentor in a new secular world for him. Having chosen a sophisticated and vicious role model, the hero, being weak-willed and driven, hurries to try out all the cynical advice of his older comrade. From the very beginning it is clear that he is a sensual but cowardly egoist, because the thought of losing his own beauty (the only difference from other men in his circle) enslaves his mind, which has not yet had time to develop. He easily betrays love for other people, this speaks of the pettiness of his nature and the stinginess of his heart. Using his example, the author draws a parallel between internal and external wealth, which are not at all identical to each other. The writer has already embodied the image of Dorian Gray in the fairy tale "Star Boy". Wilde turns that hero into a freak, making it impossible to hide the disgrace. Therefore, he quickly transforms into a good and highly moral young man who is aware of his guilt. However, the novel is not a fairy tale, in it the creator truthfully told about what awaits the arrogant and self-obsessed character.
Lord Henry is a wealthy and refined nobleman, well received in high society. His sarcastic remarks and casuistic worldview (he professes hedonism) are liked by people around him who enjoy his wit. Every second of his quotes is an aphorism. However, he himself never follows his bold thought. He advises, cunningly, gradually corrupts the soul of Dorian, but he does nothing of the sort. His image is traditionally compared with the archetype of the devil in literature. Wotton is like Mephistopheles from Goethe's Faust: he only guides a person, skillfully shuffling hedonistic ideas, subtle humor and arrogant cynicism. The spirit of depravity emanating from this hero is attractive. He has refinement and loftiness, but this is only external beauty, which, like the beauty of the face, is only a fragile veil of a rotten sinful essence.
Sybil Vane - Dorian's lover, actress. The girl of rare beauty was also very talented. With her talent, she struck Gray. He fell in love with her for him, because the artist could never get bored: she reincarnated into other images every day. The real Sybil was ready to sacrifice her career, success, creativity itself for the sake of love, and, sensing this, the young man quickly became fed up with adoration. He liked the stage, far-fetched lady of the heart, as free and incomprehensible as himself. But the young woman was just kind, dreamy, naive and vulnerable. Therefore, the first disappointment in people made her commit suicide. Neither her mother nor her brother were able to dissuade her in time of bright hopes.
Basil Hallward is a painter, a friend of Dorian and Lord Henry, who introduces them. It was he who painted the fatal portrait. The artist sincerely admired the sitter and his beauty, and it was he who sensitively perceived the changes that had taken place in the young man. He saw the nascent viciousness in him and sounded the alarm, but Gray only moved away from him in response. Basil was a humanist and moralist, his moral principles contrast with Henry's refined immorality, and therefore annoy the protagonist. Hallward appreciates solitude, likes to reflect and philosophize, and is the bearer of the author's point of view in the novel. His sitter blames him for his fall, and then kills him, wanting to break the spell. He is unaware that the friend has been desperately trying to prevent his corruption all this time.
James Vane is Sybil's brother, a sailor. A sane and strong-willed young man. He is skeptical from the start about the wealthy nobleman's intentions regarding his sister. The man is used to relying on himself in everything, and not looking for easy ways up, so he warns his mother against excessive trust in a stranger from the nobility. He is a typical representative of the Victorian era, his social prejudices are unshakable. When Wayne learns about the death of his deceived sister, a desperate desire to take revenge on the heartless rich man wakes up in his heart. Since then, the sailor, firm in his convictions and purposeful, has been chasing the offender, but meets his death before he manages to present it to Gray.

The meaning of the book

Wilde's novel is as multifaceted as the creative embodiment of his idea is many-sided. The meaning of the work "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is to show us the superiority of the inner content of the human personality over the outer. Whatever the beauty of the face, the beautiful impulses of the soul cannot be replaced by it. The ugliness of thought and heart still mortifies the flesh, makes the beauty of forms lifeless and artificial. Even eternal youth will not bring happiness to ugliness.

The author also proves to the reader that art is eternal. The Creator paid for his love and devotion to ideals, but his creation is alive and beautiful. The portrait shows a charming young man in the prime of his charming youth and beauty. And a man who has devoted himself to the cult of pleasure, in love only with himself and his desires, is dead. His appearance is alive in the picture, alive in art, and the only way to save a moment for centuries is to depict it in all its glory.

The preface to the novel consists of 25 aphorisms that proclaim the author's aesthetic ideals. Here are some of them: "The artist is the creator of the beautiful", "To reveal oneself and hide the creator - this is what art craves", "The chosen ones are those for whom beauty means only one thing - Beauty." “Vices and virtues for the creator are the material of art.” "The ethical preferences of the creator lead to mannerisms of style." Although Oscar Wilde was a supporter of the theory of aestheticism, the work clearly outlines the danger of separating ethical and aesthetic principles. Service leads to death, as happened to the hero of the novel. In order to feel and enjoy beauty, and at the same time preserve your face and virtue, you must always observe the norms of morality and not bring yourself to fanaticism, even if there is eternal life in reserve.

Morality

Of course, the most important moral law of being is not to elevate the visible to the status of the only significant. If a person is beautiful, this does not mean that his soul corresponds to the shell. On the contrary, many handsome people are selfish and foolish, but society continues to value them more than people gifted with genuine virtues. This erroneous worship leads to absurd cults of heartless and empty mannequins, and truly beautiful individuals remain misunderstood. Carnival falseness, hypocritical adherence to decency and generally accepted attitudes were the immutable law of the Victorian era, in which the smart, courageous and original writer Oscar Wilde did not get along.

The worship of love ruined Sibyl Vane, love for beauty and admiration for it as an art, led the artist Hallward to the house where he found his death. The protagonist, who plunged into the vicious world of pleasure, fell by his own hand. The moral of The Picture of Dorian Gray is that any absolute worship is dangerous. You can love, create, enjoy, but at the same time leave room for a sober reflection on your actions. The characters are prone to impulsiveness, this is their misfortune: Sybil commits suicide after a breakup, Dorian, with triumphant anger, throws himself at the picture with a knife. And they all became victims of their ideals - such is the price of blindness. Within reasonable limits, cynicism helps people not to make such mistakes, which is what the author teaches when portraying Lord Henry.

Issues

The novel reveals the problem of "beautiful" and "ugly". These two extremes are necessary for understanding the wholeness of this world. The tragic and pure love of the actress Sybil, Basil's sincere affection for the young man and, of course, the protagonist himself, as the embodiment of true earthly beauty, belong to the "beautiful". “The ugly” is carried in his soul, with every vice and crime it smolders, rots, losing sensitivity and the ability to compassion. And all these metamorphoses are taken over by the mysterious canvas, turning the person depicted on it into an ugly vicious creature. But society is blind to the fine lines between beauty and ugliness, it fixes only the external attributes of the individual, completely forgetting about the internal ones. Everyone knows about Dorian's tricks, but this does not stop him from loving and respecting him. Some people are only cowardly afraid of losing their ostentatious virtue, so they do not accept it officially. In these circumstances, along with the promiscuity of people, there is their hypocrisy and cowardice - problems no less important.

The portrait of Dorian Gray is a reflection of his soul and conscience. It does not manage the life of its owner in any way, does not punish him, but only silently reflects all the baseness and immorality of the young man. Virtue is outraged, real feelings have given way to hypocrisy. The handsome man succumbed to temptation, and only his image will show the retribution for this temptation. There is a problem of impunity for a person from high society: he leads not only an immoral, but also an illegal lifestyle, and no one stops him. Of course, he is from the nobility, which means that he has the right not to reckon with the law until his behavior becomes public knowledge. Only then will everyone pretend that they are shocked by the news, but they did not suspect anything of the kind before. Thus, the author touches upon social and political issues, criticizing Victorian England for turning a blind eye to the crimes of its elite.

Subject

The theme of art was the most interesting for the writer. He talked about him in the dialogues of the main characters, he dedicated the finale of the novel to him, where the man died, and his portrait remained an eternal memory of him. The invisible power of the picture is an indicator that the most significant thing created by people is art, it overshadows and outlives its creator, perpetuating his name and skill. It also makes it truly attractive. Dorian admired the creative genius of Basil, the extraordinary talent of Sybil, the oratorical power of Henry. His uncorrupted soul was drawn to the light of the creative principle, and turned away from it, taking licentiousness and meanness for life guidelines.

In addition, the theme of the work can be called a dramatic clash of the ideas of hedonism (an ethical doctrine, where pleasure is the highest good and the goal of life) and aestheticism (a movement in European literature and art, which was based on the predominance of aesthetic values - the worship of art, graceful). Basil Hallward was in love with beauty, art and beauty were inseparable for him. Art is beauty. He sought to immortalize her features with a brush and exceptional talent. But the worship of the beautiful ruined the artist, his love and devotion to beauty were trampled on by the madness of a depraved soul. The hero chose the path of pleasure, in the center of which was himself. He reveled in his impunity and moral decline, because no one can deprive him of wealth - eternal youth. Such a way of life does not lead to true happiness, but only creates its illusion. Dorian at the end begins to regret the lost innocence, the former purity of his soul, but it is too late; sincere feelings, compassion, true love forever lost their meaning for him.

Criticism

The writer's contemporaries vehemently took up arms against "Dorian Gray" for ridiculing the prim Puritan society of that period. In addition, Wilde vividly described the immoral behavior of the protagonist, which was indecent to see even on the pages of the book. Particularly virtuous readers saw the propaganda of a hedonistic position and vicious leisure in the secret adventures of a secular lion. The enlightened and demanding public did not notice the gracefully hidden condemnation, because no one canceled the competition in ostentatious piety.

For desecration of morality, the writer was even convicted, and for a real prison term. Although his defense speech made a splash among sane people, it failed to convince everyone else. However, later this work was appreciated, and today it is one of the most significant not only in English, but also in world literature.

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