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Maria Daniela Leonte

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Victorian Fiction - Assessment 2

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly
written. That is all. (Oscar Wilde, Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray)
Discuss the relationship between art and morality in one or two Victorian texts. You may
use the above quotation as a starting point if you wish.

1. Introduction
Oscar Wildes novel The Picture of Dorian Gray was highly critiqued ever since its first
appearance in the July 1890 issue of the Lippincotts Monthly Magazine. The Victorians
considered it to be extremely scandalous and immoral. Because of this reason Oscar Wilde
revised the novel and added a preface to it that anticipates the negative reaction of the Victorian
society and critiques. In this preface the author tries to explain, from the point of view of the
aesthetic movement, how the novel is constructed. Aestheticism was a late nineteenth-century
European arts movement which centered on the doctrine that art exists for the sake of its beauty
alone, and that it need serve no political, didactic, or other purpose
1
. This movement was born in
clear opposition to the general beliefs of the Victorian era which considered art a tool for
education and moral guidance. Because of his work and philosophy Oscar Wilde is considered
one of the major representatives of the aesthetic movement, and the ideas of art for arts sake
and the pursuit of pleasure as the ultimate goal can be found at the core of The Picture of Dorian


1
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7474/Aestheticism> (last
accessed 29 January 2012)

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2. Content
The story revolves around the main character, Dorian Gray, a young Victorian aristocrat, very
innocent and nave, whose transformation begins after a conversation he has with his decadent
friend, Lord Henry Wotton, who teaches young Dorian his philosophy of life and pleasure. After
this conversation and after seeing the picture that Basil Hallward painted of him, the young
protagonist becomes aware of his own beauty and, guided by his vanity, he starts to desire
eternal youth, wishing for the picture to grow old in his place. We see later in the novel that this
wish becomes true and that Dorians cruel and vicious acts are only reflected on the painting,
while his image remains intact. Through this the author tries to underline that between art and
morality there is absolutely no connection. A work of art can still be beautiful despite the fact
that the subject that inspired it is immoral and decadent. In the Preface to the novel Oscar Wilde
expresses this idea with the following words: The moral life of man forms part of the subject-
matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.
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In his article Wilde as critic and theorist Lawrence Danson writes: nature's crude
imperfections and unfinished condition, its failure to fulfill its good intentions, is a cause of art.
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He goes on saying that Wilde's new version of the old aestheticism deploys subjectivity,
individuality and the autonomy of art against the supposed objectivity and professionalism of
nineteenth-century science and its offshoot in literature, realism. (Danson, p.85)
Lord Henry Wotton becomes Dorians mentor and initiates him into a hedonistic and
decadent way of life. He gives Dorian a book of a French author that will represent Dorians

2
Wilde, Oscar. Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 3
3
Danson, Lawrence. Wilde as critic and theorist in The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde. Ed. Peter Raby.
Cambridge University Press, 1997.Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University Press. 19 January 2012
DOI:10.1017/CCOL052147471X.006, p. 85

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source of knowledge and inspiration. From that point onward the young man starts to indulge in
epicurean pleasures, devoting himself to the study of every aspect of art. In chapter XI his
increasing devotion to the satisfaction of his senses is closely described:
And so he would now study perfumes, and the secrets of their manufacture, distilling
heavily-scented oils, and burning odorous gums from the East. He saw that there was
no mood of the mind that had not its counterpart in the sensuous life, and set himself
to discover their true relations, []
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His pursuit of pleasure and beauty is just a way for Dorian to escape his true existence.
He never becomes involved with the objects of his desire and, as soon as his senses are satisfied,
he throws them away as pure aesthetic instruments that have accomplished their unique purpose.
It was the creation of such worlds as these that seemed to Dorian Gray to be the true
object, amongst the true objects, of life; and in his search for sensations that would be
at once new and delightful, and possess that element of strangeness that is so essential
to romance, he would often adopt certain modes of thought that he knew to be really
alien to his nature, abandon himself to their subtle influences, and then, having, as it
were, caught their colour and satisfied his intellectual curiosity, leave them with that
curious indifference that is not incompatible with a real ardour of temperament, []
(Wilde, p. 112)

At the core of the aesthetic movement and Oscar Wildes philosophy is the idea that the
only purpose that art should pursue is that of being beautiful. This idea was inspired from the
thoughts about art and beauty of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. An aesthetic
judgment, in Kant's usage, is a judgment which is based on feeling and in particular on the
feeling of pleasure or displeasure.
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Something is beautiful in itself and not because it serves a

4
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), p.113
5
Ginsborg, Hannah, Kant's Aesthetics and Teleology, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/kant-aesthetics/>. (last
accessed 19 January 2012)

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particular purpose. In the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray Wilde states that No artist
desires to prove anything.(Preface, p.3) He further develops this idea saying that No artist has
ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style. No
artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything.(Preface, p.3) This idea can be observed
in Dorians behaviour towards Sibyl Vane. When he sees her on stage performing art he is
absolutely captivated by her, but once she offers to exchange her performance with love, he
rejects her. When the curtains are down Dorian cries:
You have killed my love. You used to stir my imagination. Now you dont even stir
my curiosity. You simply produce no effect. I loved you because you realized the
dream of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have
thrown it all away. You are shallow and stupid [...] without your art you are nothing.
(Wilde, p. 75)

The precise moment when Dorian separates himself from his moral spirit and starts
leading an immoral existence is Sibyl Vanes death. At first the young man experiences feelings
of guilt and regret but these go away after his conversation with Lord Henry, who convinces him
that he is in no way linked to the young actress death. He embraces this theory and absolves
himself of any guilt or responsibility. This represents the beginning of Dorians moral
decadence. He starts living a sinful life indulging in vices such as opium and promiscuity. The
highest point of his degradation is reached towards the end of the novel when he murders Basil
Hallward, the only person that tried to bring him on the right path.
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde did not intend to create an original story that
would amaze the reader with its innovative plot. He used the novel as a way to express his
innovative and controversial ideas about art and aesthetics. In The Picture of Dorian Gray we
can find themes and motifs that were already used in previous works such as Goethes Faust or
Shakespeares Hamlet. Both Dorian Gray and Faust become victims of their desire to preserve
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their youth eternally. The two protagonists represent the object of love of two beautiful women
which will eventually commit suicide. Another aspect the two stories have in common is the
presence of the vengeful brother that ends up being murdered. This theme is also present in
Shakespeares play where Ofelia commits suicide because of Hamlet, followed by her brother
seeking for revenge.
In the Preface for The Picture of Dorian Gray the author warns the reader about looking
beyond the mere appearance of art. All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath
the surface do so at their peril.(Preface, p.3) Towards the end of the novel Lord Henry Wotton
once again states this principle in his conversation with Dorian: I am so glad that you have
never done anything, never carved a statue, or painted a picture, or produced anything outside of
yourself! Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your
sonnets.(Wilde, p. 182) We realize that the true work of art was not Basils painting, but it was
Dorian himself. While Dorian represents everything that is beautiful and elegant, the true Dorian,
represented by the painting, is deteriorated by sins such as vanity, cruelty, pride and the
indulgence in a life of degradation and pleasures. Wildes warning is that we should not look
beneath the surface when appreciating art because this may cause the loss of arts entire purpose.
Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupted without being charming. This is
a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there
is hope.(Preface, p.3) With this statement Wilde launches a direct critique to those who
interpreted The Picture of Dorian Gray as immoral, grotesque and violent.
The Victorian society was interested in superficial aspects such as appearance, image
and, most importantly, social status. In order to be part of this society people had to constantly
reinvent themselves and lead a double life: a private one, where they could indulge in their own
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passions and desires, and a public one, led for the satisfaction of the others. The theme of the
necessity of a double life is present throughout the entire novel, and is symbolized by the portrait
which represents Dorians true self. Lord Henry Wotton expresses this distinction between the
public and the private spheres in a conversation with Basil, at the beginning of the novel, when
he says that Being natural is simply a pose, and the most irritating pose I know (Wilde, p. 8)


3. Conclusion
The very gothic end of the novel presents Dorians ugly fate as a result of his poisonous
existence:
When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their
master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty.
Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was
withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the
rings that they recognized who it was. (Wilde, p. 188)

This almost moralizing end underlines the aesthetic principle that a beautiful exterior does not
necessarily hide an equally beautiful interior. Oscar Wilde manages to achieve through The
Picture of Dorian Gray the liberation of art from the restrictions that the Victorian society had
placed upon it. The Victorians considered art uniquely as a tool for promoting a moral way of
existence, and any work whose only purpose was that of entertaining was heavily criticized.
Through the use of motives and themes such as the theme of the mirror and that of the double,
Oscar Wilde reaches his main purpose: that of warning the readers of the dangers that may result
from placing an educational purpose on a work of art. In the end of the Preface to The Picture of
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Dorian Gray the author makes the final and conclusive statement: All art is quite useless.
(Preface, p.3)

Word Count: 1920



















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References
Wilde, Oscar, The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006)

Manganiello, Dominic, Ethics and Aesthetics in The Picture of Dorian Gray, in The
Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, Dec.,1983),
pp. 25-33

Calloway, Stephen. "Wilde and the Dandyism of the Senses." The Cambridge Companion to
Oscar Wilde. Ed. Peter Raby. Cambridge University Press, 1997.Cambridge Collections Online.
Cambridge University Press. 19 January 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL052147471X.003

Mccormack, Jerusha. "Wilde's fiction(s)." The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde. Ed. Peter
Raby. Cambridge University Press, 1997.Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge University
Press. 19 January 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL052147471X.007

Danson, Lawrence. "Wilde as critic and theorist." The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde.
Ed. Peter Raby. Cambridge University Press, 1997.Cambridge Collections Online. Cambridge
University Press. 19 January 2012 DOI:10.1017/CCOL052147471X.006

Encyclopedia Britannica < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7474/Aestheticism >
(last accessed 19 January 2012)

Ginsborg, Hannah, "Kant's Aesthetics and Teleology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Fall 2008 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL =
<http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/kant-aesthetics/>.

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