The relationship between life and art

in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray appeared in 1890, being the only novel Oscar Wilde ever
published. It was considered indecent by the editors, so they censored the novel before
publication. Even so, the readers received it very well.
The distinction between art and life may be simple, as we know that life is real, but art is not.
People create and imagine art, while they can actually live and experience art. Oscar Wilde is
inspired in his works by a very popular idea from the Renaissance. People back then found
correspondences between heaven and earth. This idea was seen in peoples reaction, as they
looked to the skies when things went wrong. Also, in the literature of the Renaissance, there was
a correspondence between beauty and virtue. Likewise, if someone was seen as a beautiful
person, it was also thought to be virtuous. But if it was ugly, it was assumed to be corrupt. This
emphasizes the idea that the face told the story of the soul.
Oscar Wilde is inspired by the idea of the correspondences and wants to see how it would work
in the world of the aesthetes. The aesthetes (1890s) were trying to develop a positive philosophy
of art. Art should not be subordinated to life, as a mirror is subordinated to the object mirrored.
Art should be superior, as it has no limit in time, it cannot be changed and it can be seen as
perfect.
In the nineteenth century, the relationship between life and art was often illustrated in works of
the time. For example, The Lady of Shalott is based on the idea of life and art, having
important parallels in Dorian Gray. The Lady is isolated from the world, and she only can see
worlds reflections through a mirror. But when she looks at Lancelot directly, the mirror cracks,
the result being the destruction of her art.
In The Picture of Dorian Gray, the relationship between art and life is reflected in the most
important characters, not only in Dorians life story. Likewise, this relationship can be seen also
in Sibyls life. She is isolated in the tower of art. She uses her gifts as an artist, and she manages
to transform the stage into the Forest of Arden.
The story of Sibyl Vane is an emblematic one, creating basic expectations about life that destroys
art. These expectations are ultimately satisfied by the novel. Before meeting Sibyl, Dorian
doesnt realize his potential for good or evil. But their relationship and its complications
transforms him in a spectator of her tragedy, by escaping from the suffering of life. This
relationship also emphasizes the most important characteristic of the novel, the mirrored image.
Wilde uses the metaphor of the mirror in his essays in order to show the superiority of art to life.
Sibyl is an important character in the novel, as her life is obviously imitating art. Her power as an
artist is the main reason for Dorians attraction to her. The relationship of the two characters
shows that Dorian is sick of the decaying world he lives in, so he wishes for a living within the
art, as art is timeless, and somehow perfect. His actions, the lack of aging and the way in which
he sees the world highlights his digression from reality. On stage, Sibyl Vane portrays
Shakespearian characters, which emphasizes once more the idea that while almost everything
dies, or disappears, art has no end in time. It is what he finds in these characters that Dorian
strives for: the permanence of life. But in the end, Sibyl is for Dorian just a personification of art,
and this thing is seen in his own words, in a discussion with Lord Henry: I have seen her in
every age and in every costume (51). The only reason Dorian keeps the young actress as
sacred (52) is that her existence portrays art in life. Thus, Sibyl, without being an actress, is not
appropriate anymore for his view on the world. He even confessed to Sibyl, saying that his love
for her existed only because she realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and
substance to the shadow of art (85). This idea is further continued, when Dorian says that
without your art, you are nothing (85).
Similar ideas as Dorian Gray are found also Mrs. Vanes character, Sibyls mother, in the way of
seeing the entire concept of art, when she tells her: you must not think of anything, but your
acting (59). This may state that one of the purposes of the novel is to bring into sharp focus the
idea that without art, life cannot exist either.
Art has a defining role in the novel, working in order to emphasize each character. The three
main aspects of art are divided by Oscar Wilde, each one representing one of his main three
characters in the novel. Basil Hallward is characterized by the absorbed view of the creator,
while Lord Henry presents the detached spectatorial view. The backbone of the novel is
illustrated with Dorian Grays character, through his philosophy of living life as art. This
philosophy presumes the existence of a beautiful life in the middle of the moralized society that
creates the broken world, full of fault. It is the only way Dorian can vanquish realism and live a
life in his own terms, as he managed to escape the fate of becoming art.
Lord Henry, by using his epigrams turns the world into a piece of art. Also, he succeeds at
turning Dorian into a piece of living art. Lord Henry has the power to destroy someones life,
only using words, a statement that is shown trough Dorians words to Lord Henry: you cut life
to pieces with your epigrams (95). In the end, it can be easily seen that Lord Henry is the only
one in the novel experiencing and gaining from art without being affected in the manner the rest
of the characters were. Through the character of Lord Henry, Wilde states that rather than
creating meaning in someones life, art exists in order to make life worth living, through all the
sensations art creates.
Although he seems independent in the beginning of the novel, Basil turns out to be the most
influenced character. He is influenced by Dorian and Lord Henry too. The only way he can
express himself is through art. He states that every portrait that is painted with feeling is a
portrait of the artist (9). This shows that for an intellectual, art is a way of expressing himself in
beauty. Hallward sees art as an universal language which can influence others, and he also thinks
that there is nothing art can express (13), an argument that is continued in The Decay of
Lying by Oscar Wilde, stating that by capturing the essence of nature in art more profound and
abstract feelings can be produced. Basils downfall is captured in his exclamation as he sees the
painting: I worshipped you too much, I am punished for it (151). The degradation of Dorians
portrait can be seen as a metaphor for Basils morality. Just like the painting, the workshop in
which the portrait was created suffers degradation, because the original beauty doesnt exist
anymore, as the painting aged and the magical moment disappeared. This idea is inspired by
Wildes aesthetic ideal which states that one cannot recapture the essence of a lost moment of
recognition. Wilde uses this ideal to create both Dorians and Basils development, and also their
errors.
Basil believes that Love is a more wonderful thing than Art (p. 84), just like Sibyl Vane does.
Thus, while Basil sees in the portrait his love for Dorian, Dorian can see nothing else but his
monstrous vanity. It is Wildes argument in the Preface, It is the spectator, and not life, that art
truly mirrors that sustains this idea.
Dorians figure is fixed as time passes, remaining just as it was painted by Basil, while the
portrait gets deteriorated as Dorians soul is. Dorians not paying for his sins in the way he looks,
but when his creator confronts him, he realizes that his life would have been very different
without Basils painting, so he kills his creator, when he asked Dorian to reform. But without the
creator, his sins mark not only the portrait, as he becomes nervous and edgy. Now he wants to
follow Basils advice, unfortunately, too late. His only way to escape is to destroy the art that
destroyed his life. In the end, he commits suicide.
The relationship between art and life is about the idea of questioning what is true and what is not.
Wilde says: Lying, the telling of beautiful untrue things, is the proper aim of art, characterizing
art as a form of untruth.
Art is not meant to be realistic, as it cannot be as real as lifes experiences are, and it can never
be considered as true or immediate.
In The Decay of Lying, Oscar Wilde says that Art never expresses anything but itself (48).
Wilde has a new aesthetic doctrine which contradicts the idea that art expresses many things. In
his opinion, the truest form of art has no purpose - it simply exists as art does nothing more
than creating the expression of an artist.





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