Dorian Gray’s hedonistic and aesthetic tendencies as the reflection of the

development of the historical context in which the novel takes place

English B- HL

Category 3

Word count: 3908

Daniela Andrea Salazar Pinzón

006356 - 0004

Supervisor: Luz Natali Gonzalez Piza

Cajicá, February 8th 2016

Abstract:

The Portrait of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is developed in the context of Victorian Era
leisure ascended culture. These cultural protocols as visits to the theaters, dinners, etc.
were highly treated as the main subject matter around the characters and its influence
in the development of the novel argument. The intended aim of the novel motive
different responses were evidently it is a diffusing comprehension of the wrecked
actions of the characters in the novel. Therefore the question treater in this essay is; in
which way Dorian Gray hedonistic and aesthetic tendencies are the reflection of the
development of the historical context in which the novel take place?

The scope of this essay is limited to the study of the novel, adding secondary materials
of historical studies of the Victorian Era leisure and literacy. The development of the
essay allowed clue information of the double life practices of the Victorians, the high
interest on social places, the birth of reunions that stablish most of the canons of social
duties and the involvement of the individual in the context. Its limitations therefore are
its own matter of study because Dorian was the center of attention making a
generalization towards every individual may vary.

The essay concludes with the traces of an epoch that influenced several conducts in
their individuals part of the historical background and evolvement it analyzed the
appearance of factor as beauty, art and soul as the critique of individual. Oscar Wilde
presented hedonism and aesthetics as a phenomenon of Victorian middle-class as a
known practice of the emergent self-center and individual corruption towards practices
that intended to establish the social wellbeing manners. Finally Dorian Gray was
emerged in social relationships that unchained several philosophical thoughts towards
cultural habits and literature that degenerate the individual and the morals.

Word count: 300

 INDEX

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter one: Victorian Era: Leisure as a cultural assimilation ....................................... 2

1.1. Hedonism in the Portrait of Dorian Gray .................................................................. 3

1.2. Aesthetics in the Portrait of Dorian Gray ........................................................... 5

Chapter two: Lord Henry fatalism ................................................................................... 6

2.1. Beauty and soul dependence ............................................................................... 7

2.2. Sins and morals revolution ................................................................................ 8

Chapter three: Dorian Gray depravity - The yellow book..…………………………............9

Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………………...11

Bibliography …………………………………………………………………….....................13
 Introduction

The Portrait of Dorian Gray is a work judged and evaluated by the corrupted, selfish,
wicked and destructive content in it. Source of multiples discordance and
misunderstandings, Oscar Wilde presents a venomous comprehension of social
surroundings were practices as hedonism and aesthetics were magnified inside the
novel. Wilde’s work exposes a degenerative case of moral, sins, beauty and soul
corruption, work that by the introduction of different characters as Lord Henry enlarged
the effect and multiples interpretations of the self-centered conceptions. The open
treated deplorable corruption of social dynamics lead to analyze a certain reality of the
novel in the English context as big scandals to Victorians literature context and explored
deep realities in this particular period of time.

This extended essay pretends to make a connection between the historical background
of the novel and The Portrait of Dorian Gray inner context. The study focal point is the
social customs of the bourgeois and the developing leisure during Victorian Era. Leisure
as the starting point of debate where social traditions will be evaluated by its natural
behavior in Victorians and posterior disclose. This intended to establish link between the
developing and changing social surroundings and the admittance of hedonism and
aesthetics conceptions in the character Dorian Gray. The preponderance of the study is
to stablish a force of preeminence in the social context and its impact on the individual,
the focus tried to expose a different interpretation of the immoral components in the
novel as an analytic tool that Oscar Wilde intended to make as a critique to the Victorian
cultural characteristics. Thus, the main research question of the extended essay is; in
which way Dorian Gray hedonistic and aesthetic tendencies are the reflection of
the development of the historical context in which the novel takes place?

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 Chapter I: Victorian Era - leisure as a cultural assimilation

The Portrait of Dorian Gray takes place in the iconic Victorian Era. To tell iconic to this
extent of the English history in fact refers to the blooming experienced by Victorian
society in several aspects as economical led by industrialization, literary works
strengthen by the individual’s adaptation, etc. These major changes indeed had several
effects in English population especially a colossal change in the middle-class and
aristocratic culture and social space.

The middle-class and aristocratic classes were the ones who enjoyed the most of the
blooming metamorphosis of England. Ironically the blooming was selective as the lower
classes were immersing in dirt, crime, ugliness carried by the industrial revolution. The
peak of unhuman conditions.

This period of time was the highest point in philosophy and scientific radical influence.
This led a lot of questions and critics of the assumptions of the age, factor that
contributed to the development of multiples currents of the thought. England
experienced the economic prosperity but, the price it had to pay was the highest in the
deplorable development of social problems. In a general glimpse, Huggings and
Mangan (2004) summed up the nineteenth century evolve as a “changed cultural and
economic values, the world wars, burgeoning hedonism, new historical fashions,
political imperatives and even the heritage industry” all of them which “have all
influenced the way in which the Victorians have been presented.” (p.9).

In the main focus of these “social problems” upper classes experienced a total different
kind of declining. The upgrade in economic wellbeing allowed middle class to savour the
spare time and with it the leisure became a cultural adjustment to this social rank.
Hugginsd and Mangan (2004) exposed that “Bailey, Cunningham and Walton viewed
popular Victorian mass entertainments such as the music hall, the seaside on the pub
mainly from this working- class perspective” (pag.10). But more than an engaged
laboring compromise it became an ordinary practice in which popularized leisure
generally associate with a segregated “high culture” in which arts and intellect outset
them as insignificant and flat. (Huggings & Mangan, 2004, p.10).

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In The Portrait of Dorian Gray theaters, clubs, social parties, galleries were scenarios of
multiple events associated with secular purposes. Huggins explains the implication of
leisure as an “important cultural space where class, gender and ethnicity were
articulated, debated and developed” (2000). In the novel Dorian used to take place of
this social encounter where most of the ideological approach between Lord Henry, Basil
Hallward and Dorian itself came to life. These practices began to be a “cultural
adaptation”, culture in fact, as a whole body of practices and perception of ourselves
and the world, a living system of meaning and values, as constitutive and constituting
(Williams, 1960). Leisure was indeed an institute of deliberated thought articulation and
society itself.

1.1. Hedonism in the Portrait of Dorian Gray

Leisure was an open practice among high classes, class in which Dorian, Lord Henry
and Basil were part of. As presented by Lord Henry and Basil deliberation in Basil own
studio, where the beginning of the hedonist practices where openly treated, the first
special feature treated in the book was the exceptional beauty appearance of Dorian
Gray. Dorian was the perfect archetype of beauty and youth. Basil Hallward truthfully
admiration and affection was in a deeper sense the relation between the ancients
Greeks poets and its muse, this act was merely idolization. “There was something about
Dorian that charmed everybody. It was a pleasure even to see him” (Wilde, 2007,
pag.120)

“All hedonistic theories identify pleasure and pain as the only important elements of
whatever phenomena they are designed to describe” (Weijer, 2012. pag.15). Eventually
Lord Henry clarifies his own position regarding pleasure, rectifying that “pleasure is the
only thing worth having a theory about” (Wilde, 2007, pag.79) a wide connection
between young, beauty and pleasure stablished what Lord Henry called a New
Hedonism; “Be afraid of nothing . . . A new Hedonism – that is what our century wants.
You might be its visible symbol”. This ultimatum in reference of Dorian as the
anthropomorphism of the “New Hedonism”.

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In the novel, the hedonism began to be expounded in the frequent visits to the theater,
nocturnal clubs, gatherings with Lord Henry intimate friends and family, etc. These
places wherein most of the hedonistic phenomena postulates take place; as well as
Dorian’s awareness of it. Independent of the place, the social circle, beauty and
pleasure was a main topic of the conversation during and after Basil and Lord Henry
intimations, especially in regarding Sybil Vane “Believe me, no civilized man ever
regrets a pleasure, and no uncivilized man ever knows what a pleasure is.” (Wilde,
2007, pag.80).

It established a direct dependence between leisure and hedonistic practice, leisure as a

social integration and search of culture “permitted self-serving dichotomous identities –
“refined” and rough”- and defined a polarized world of absolutes: virtue and vice,
morality and immorality, sanctity and sin, purity and impurity, puritanism and pleasure”
(Huggings & Mangan, 2004. pag.10).

Oscar Wilde used Lord Henry as a supportive individual of Hedonic practice that
reinforced his thesis that moral and society inhibitions make the soul retrogression. That
is how Dorian turns into a radical follower of hedonism philosophy pursuing personal
gratification as an aim. For instance, Sibyl Vain is a perfect example of his search of
personal pleasure. It relationship with Sibyl Vain might be understood as merely an
actress who performed characters in several roles. Her multiples recreations in the
theater seem to provide the pleasure to Dorian. But behind the stage she was useless
to any kid of pleasure act; she was therefore incompetent to Dorian’s hedonic life.
Dorian was insane with Sybil the artistic representation. The selfsame of his actions and
persuade of pleasure was the event that induced Sibyl Vane death, although it seems
as Dorian was convinced of the artistic end Sibyl gave him, a brutal demonstration of
love that was more pleasant than any of her tragic roles end.

The portrait itself is a hedonistic symbol. Dorian enjoyed the idea of making wicked
actions being aware that his soul (his portrait) was eventually object of decadence.
Therefore his portrait was an object of narcissism and selfishness a buildup his frequent
opera visits, sordid affairs, luxuries, opium, clandestine visits, in fact a double life.
Victorians as well developed a double identity as a pleasurable double life “the

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Victorians were multifaceted, entailed lives with multiples identities and selves, at
different times, places and companions. They live in several worlds.” (Huggings &
Mangan. 2004. pag 10). Lord Henry, Basil and Dorian were a perfect exemplification of
duplexity relations and mien "Before which Dorian? The one who is pouring out tea for
us, or the one in the picture?" (Wilde, 2007, pag.31)

1.2. Aesthetics in the Portrait of Dorian Gray.

“The aesthetic values of a thing or event depends on its capacity of evoke pleasure.
For aesthetes, the pursuit of beauty is the most important of aims in life.” (Matsuoka,
2003, pag.77). Aesthetic is the particular key of the development of the hedonistic life of
Dorian Gray. The importance of the portrait is the own connotation with the beauty. The
paint itself was art and indeed it was, the portrait embraces beauty itself. “When he saw
it he drew black, and his cheeks flushed for a moment with pleasure. (…)The sense of
his own beauty came on him like a revelation.” (Wilde, 2007, pag.27). The portrait
evokes pleasure and lucidity to what it’s seems to merit life, beauty and youth.

Matsuoka explained that “to the aesthetics movement, art should not be educational,
but should aspire to provide sensuous fulfillment for the individual.” (pag.97, 2003)
Oscar Wilde in the Preface mentioned that art was purposeless and the only thing that it
should be was beautiful, Dorian fulfillments was vanity and his own youth and grace.
Lord Henry shared with Dorian that “it´s better to be beautiful that to be good” (Wilde,
2007, pag.147). His awareness awaked with Lord Henry persuasive rhetoric and while
he began his leisure life influenced by the intimacy with Henry’s traces of his motivation
to apparently fulfill Lord Henry intended hedonistic life.

One remarkable point in the novel was Dorian’s devotion to Sybil Vane. Sybil Vane own
nature is comparable to Dorian’s while he was incorruptible. She was sublimely beauty,
talented and innocent, Sybil was his theoretical other self with an intact “soul”. Her
death was a truly tragedy of a blameless. Her biggest sin was her lack of skepticism in
her own society values. While Dorian expectations was an encounter with art itself,
aesthetics, Sybil’s encounter with Dorian makes her openly discern about the simulated
life she lived, her realization of her own double-life, one of it less real than the other.

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The importance of Dorian corruption in his fulfillment implication of aesthetics was
manifested in the acceptance of no morality. To Aesthetics there is no moral or immoral
action or any kid of virtue, that is why, Sybil’s suicide was to Dorian another beauty
scenario, “It seems to me to be simply like a wonderful ending to a wonderful play. It has
all the terrible beauty of a Greek tragedy, a tragedy in which I took a great part, but by
which I have not been wounded” (Wilde, 2007, pag.114)

In occasions the reader might think that Oscar Wilde ultimate purpose it’s to promote
the aesthetics life in form. Although Oscar Wilde does reject the conduct of machines in
humans acting by morals that hamper the individual realization “people are afraid of
themselves, nowadays. They have forgotten the highest of all duties, the duty that one
owes to one's self” (Wilde, 2007, pag.20-21), Dorian own case expose the extremes of
the aesthetic hedonics life without equanimity.

Chapter two: Lord Henry fatal influence

Lord Henry influence undoubtedly was the source of the strong impact of a “pleasure-
seeker” as well as tons of social theories in Dorian. Lord Henry is the undoubtedly an
adherent and proclaimer of Hedonisms practices and experience as well as the
eventually moral and immoral undergoing. But in general terms Lord Henry lives an
average sober life style, ironical to all his believes in hedonism.

To project one’s soul into some gracious form, and let it tarry there for a moment;
to hear one’s own soul intellectual views echoed back to one with all the added
music of passion and youth; to convey one’s temperament into another as though
it were a subtle fluid or a strange perfume: there was a real joy in that.

(Wilde, 2007, p.38)

This quote explains the situation in which Dorian began his leisure contemplation. Lord
Henry never did any of his own philosophy, but he actually saw it is realization in his
influence to Dorian. Lord Henry persuasive speech command Dorian to the trace in
which he eventually experienced all of his philosophies. Lord Henry representative self
as an individual will emblematic curiosity and criticizing self. He spent a lot of time

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criticizing moralism partially by his own curiosity about life and his ambition in the
desired to know (Wilde, 2007, p.129). His radical way of thought was used as a tool in
the satirical Oscar Wilde style in order to arise Lord Henry as the social promoter of
leisure as a hedonistic and aesthetic way of life, which in fact was Victorians’ way of
living. “My dear fellow, you forget that we are in the native land of the hypocrite” (Wilde,
2007, p.150) with this severe affirmation Wilde once again presents a veridical fact of
the Victorian era and what is once again more contradictory is that Lord Henry was part
of this hypocrisy, because Lord Henry advocates sins but he was hardly a sinner.

2.1. Beauty and soul

Oscar Wilde intention target reasoning is to contemplate the supremacy dependence

between one’s own soul and beauty. This dependence exposes a degenerative
subornation when hedonistic practices are exposed to an individual, claiming and
degenerative progress along the Victorians social gatherings. This very first conclusion
that the author clarifies is a preexistence of the soul and the senses. “Nothing can cure
the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul” (Wilde, 2007,
p.23), this blunt vitality between one and other persuasive contemplation gives birth to
the own name of the book.

Dorian equanimity soul was his rumination to his artistic manifestation “Dorian had his
beautiful face and his beautiful soul” (Wilde, 2007, p.56). Multiples authors make a
parallelism between ancient Greek legend Echo and Narcissus and The Portrait of
Dorian Gray. Further more than their common aesthetical appealing main character,
their own narcissism and selfishness leads them to a dreadful end. Narcissus and
Dorian admiration and adulation to their own beauty lethally decisions might to conduct
them to the very same ending.

The portrait intent claim the property of Dorians own rejection to morality and soul. “It
held the secret of his life, and told his story. It had taught him to love his own beauty.
Would it teach him to loathe his own soul?”(Wilde, 2007, p.92). Aesthetics face a
superimpose to the principle of life, the principles of moralism in Dorian his historical
writing. His corrupted behavior, eventually disregard his own soul. By the fantastic

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illusion of the subtraction among the individual and the beauty exceed Dorian itself. The
portrait, as Lord Henry highlight, was source of unity subordinate. A total entity of
dependence of soul and beauty with the altruistic self of the conduct of the other
individual is, the corruption of his soul, his art.

The aftermath immediate present the side effect of the every action and decision
exercised by the own Dorian. One might think that as Lord Wotton’s coexistence
between soul and beauty was the foundation of the own novel. In fact it is, it eventually
his way or road to explore the degradation in an explicit way as the esthetic, the very
surface of the Victorians. Eventually this contrast reinforce his despicable way of exhibit
the growing self-center of the individual and this process lead the Victorians chase of a
self-center and frivolous living. Moreover their indifference towards the social
degradation “he grown enamored of his own beauty, more and more interested in the
corruption of his soul” (Wilde, 227, p.103).

2.2. Sins and moral revolution.

“Was the soul a shadow seated in the house of sin? Or was the body really in the
soul (…) The separation of spirit from matter was a mystery, and the union of
spirit with matter was a mystery also.”

(Wilde, 2007, p.60)

Moralism’s and eventual sins committed by the own story and their characters were the
resolute action of the evident transformation between leisure, hedonism, aesthetics and
eventually moral degradation. What makes the reader wonder in which point of the
history an innocent natural desire of pleasure overtake the point in where the evident
destruction of the “being” is a huge concern of a social phenomenon. “Eternal youth,
infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joy and wilder sins” (Wilde, 2007,
p.106). As a sequence of ideas it was certain a kind of a ripple effect in where the
individual was enabled of accomplish or internalize his own beliefs towards the infective
sway of Lord Henry, besides the persuasion not only affected Dorian but the entire
book. The existence of sins and morals are challenged along the reality of the portrait.

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This hedonistic and aesthetics “ideal proposal” takes only place in the conception of
Lord Henry and the intentions of Dorian, but the accurate and indubitable voice of the
reason is nor other than the canvas, morals and sins as a revolution, have a huge
impact in the authors playful presentation of the climax and conclusion of the novel.
Golaszewska (1985) explained that the systems were influenced by the world and its
mayor changes and events, which also changed humans’ culture, causing the
emergence of new values and the disappearance of others. She clarifies that the
emergence of these new values do not happen spontaneously, but because the ability
of the individual to reflect, freedom and act to a final result in his own intentions, in other
words autonomy. (p.25) Lord Henry’s influence was poisonous as well as his own
temperament, he was an active critic and innovator of society and it wasn’t rare that his
severe judgement to the evolution of the system of values of Victorians’ “the costume of
the nineteenth century is detestable. It is so somber so depressing. Sin is the only real
colour-element left in modern life” (Wilde, 2007, p.31) the important aspect to stand out
and highlight is the lack of individuality of the characters. Certainly Dorian was a person
who lacked in judgement and who failed of as an individual because he lived as
replication of Lord Henry’s thoughts.

Chapter three: Dorian Gray depravity - The Yellow book

Although consciousness hit Dorian by an act of despair, the appearance of another

important factor speculate the influence of the own cultural leisure towards the actual
declination in Dorian. This important aspect was the eventual parallelism of the Yellow
book with the Portrait of Dorian Gray. “Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book”
(Wilde, 2007, p.145) above all, the literature work corrupted the only lucid and partial
only demonstration of Dorian individuality. In fact was this book how annihilate the
decision of embrace one again the moralism accepted demeanor. Dorian was highly
affected by the poisoning literature and proposals this book contemplated. Huggings
and Mangan (2004) explained that “Victorian literature were the sinful pleasures of the
young, unmarried middle-class male. He enjoyed more free time than his elders and
sometimes applied himself more to play than to work” (pag.XV) This important historical
context reinforces the systematical oppression in which once again Dorian was part of.

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Literature inside the own literary text exposed the similarity of the case in which Dorian
was part itself and the personification of hedonistic essence practices and pleasure
searched in a far particular case; A “Parisian who spent his life trying to realize in the
nineteenth century all the passions and modes of thought that belonged to every
century except to his own”(Wilde, 2007, p.125). It was a reality that Dorian admitted the
poisonous effect of literature in his own life.

Dorian tells Henry’s malignant outcome on reading the “Yellow book” and certainly
literature was corrupted but it also contemplate a different position “the books that the
world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.” (Wilde, 2007, p.215).
Lord Henry claim the existence of the immoral contents in the book emphaticizing the
existence of what the book claimed in the palpable world, an exemplar was the
hedonistic Gray. The importance of literature was the reference of pleasured samples
inside of the sinful book. This reinforce of the hedonistic and aesthetic practices aimed
to impose literature as the contrast between fiction and reality. The high influence of
literary productions endangered the morality of the individual influencing the
discernment, it was a dawn in the exploration of personal gratification in stretch relation
with wicked actions.

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 Conclusions

To sum up, Wilde reinforces that the grande passion are privileges reserved of those
who have nothing to do and certainly it was the middle class case, the free time develop
itself multiple ways of “enjoyment”. In loose ends, Dorian depravity was a step by step
construction influenced by several sources, noteworthy influence that was part of a
social construction. The involvement of social duties enlarged the irrigation of leisure
immoral practice especially in young people. The construction of hedonism and
aesthetics postulates was part of the intellectual classes who spent time in social
locations building the foundation of modern spare individual in Victorian society.

One might think that Oscar Wilde ultimate purpose is to promote this hedonistic
pleasured philosophy but the deadliness gran finale of the work promotes a total
different philosophy. It tries to remind the logic of the plethora, concretely on the art and
senses who only head self-gratification. The novel absolutely announce the carpe diem
(enjoy the day) with the limits of the rightness and equanimity. The novel presents a
society who forgot about the limits therefore the inflexible effects of the achievement to
it. The novel itself develop a historical background were ethic and social principles were
developing, demolish and reconstructed.

To rescue the lack of Dorian decisions that affected his braveness to work on the own
intellect without the guide of others. In a social view, Dorian was exposed to an inner
conflict where he was enabled of profess his individuality and as the vulnerable child he
always were variables who allowed a more effective dissemination of hedonists and
aesthetic practices. Moreover the artistic influence of the novel aims to objectify the
moral polarity evidence of the portrait and the substance Dorian. By the historical facts
of the Victorians, Dorian was the stereotype of the Victorians rise up middle-class new
practices, practices magnified with the economical uprising Economy of English society;
therefore the double life was a common manner in middle-class.

Furthermore, The Picture of Dorian Gray exposes the one case of many of Victorians
century ones, this novel as many of the epoch explain duplicities and morality display
and boisterous from evolutionary. The importance of the soul and beauty independence

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reinforced the morality breaking point and the inevitable high rising of immoral practices.
The system of value of the era was gradually changing and as every transformation it
required changing and adaptation of the individuals. Dorian adaptation prorogued a loss
of individuality consequently Dorian was his own victim moving by his own system.

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 Bibliography

Golaszewska, M. (1985). Artistic and Aesthetic Values in the Axiological Situation.

Jagiellonian University of Cracow. (p. 25-42). Retrieved from:
http://logica.ugent.be/philosophica/fulltexts/36-3.pdf

Huggings M. & Mangan , J.A. (2004) Disreputable Pleasures Less virtuous Victorians at
play. London and New York: Frank Cass.

Huggins, M. (2000). More Sinful Pleasures? Leisure, Respectability and the Male
Middle Classes in Victorian England. Journal of Social History. Retrieved from:
https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-61372235/more-sinful-pleasures-leisure-
respectability-and

Matsuoka, M. (2003). Aestheticism and Social Anxiety in the Picture of Dorian Gray.
Journal of Aesthetic Education 29, 77-100.

Weijers, D. (2012) Hedonism and Happiness in Theory and Practice. Victory University
of Wellington.

Wilde, O. (2007) The Picture of Dorian Gray and Three Stories. New York: Signet
Classic.

Williams, R. (1960). Culture and Society 1780-1950. Garden City, New York: Anchor
Books. Retrieved from:
https://archive.org/stream/culturesociety17001850mbp#page/n7/mode/2up/search/c
ulture+and+society

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