Vanity, Evil, Immortality in "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde | Free Essay Example (2023)

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What is vanity in Dorian Gray? ›

Dorian's vanity is fostered in him by others, as the hero allows himself to be influenced by their view of him and begins to believe in the image of himself created by others. In Victorian London, “image is everything,” and the perfect image of Dorian others see gradually takes over his personality (Kidd 83).

James's Gazette, that Dorian Gray “is a story with a moral. And the moral is this: All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment” (Wilde 248). Aestheticism does well to condemn the renunciation of desires, but it is an excessive obedience to these desires that is subversively dangerous.

The original uncensored version of The Picture of Dorian Gray, edited by Nicholas Frankel, was published by Belknap Press, in 2011, 121 years after the magazine publication. It was censored in 1890 because of what was seen as its immoral sexual content, both heterosexual and homosexual in nature.

He decides it is better to destroy the last evidence of his sin—the painting of his soul—than face up to his own depravity. The depravity he seeks to destroy is, in essence, himself; therefore, by killing it, he kills himself.

1:2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. In summary, the Preacher who is the author of Ecclesiastes tells us that everything we do is 'vanity': empty, futile, and short-lived. It doesn't matter if you're wise or a fool, ultimately, because everyone ends up dying.

Closely related to BEAUTY, vanity can be defined as an excessive pride in one's looks or achievements. It connotes an element of futility and superficiality because the things the character values are fleeting and won't bring true fulfillment.

The Supremacy of Youth and Beauty.

“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike.”

Major conflict Dorian Gray, having promised his soul in order to live a life of perpetual youth, must try to reconcile himself to the bodily decay and dissipation that are recorded in his portrait.

Dorian Gray is a wealthy gentleman who has gained immortality by having his soul trapped within a painting. He is well known for his extravagance and debauchery.

Why is Dorian evil? ›

The charm of the youth is what made Dorian pure evil from the innocent man he was. Swayed by what Henry said, he wanted to grab on to his youth and that was where the tragedy happened. To want to become young again and to clutch on one's youth while one still has it is every person's desire.

In its time, The Picture of Dorian Gray was a sharp critique of a society that was clinging to a lost grandeur and a mythic past by valorising a veneer of moral probity while its day-to-day grim reality was kept from sight.

Deciding that only full confession will absolve him of wrongdoing, Dorian decides to destroy the last vestige of his conscience and the only piece of evidence remaining of his crimes: the picture. In a rage, he takes the knife with which he murdered Basil Hallward and stabs the picture.

The idea here is that nobody can get away with everything; even though Dorian thought that he could dodge earthly punishment and go about his evil business by destroying the portrait (the proof of how vile and corrupt he really was), his death actually comes as a kind of divine retribution for all of his crimes.

Glancing at his picture, Dorian feels hatred welling up within him. He seizes a knife and stabs Basil repeatedly. He then opens the door and listens for the sound of anyone stirring. When he is satisfied that no one has heard the murder, he locks the room and returns to the library.

Noun The handsome actor's vanity was well-known. She described her accomplishments without exaggeration or vanity.

There are two types of bathroom vanities: freestanding and built-in options. Freestanding vanities are good for small spaces and come in many styles. Built-in vanities are better for larger spaces and typically offer more countertop space and storage. You'll also need to consider sink type when selecting a vanity.

Vanity is often considered a negative thing because someone who is vain does not often recognize their faults or focuses too much on things that aren't considered to have lasting or serious value, such as money and beauty. Most uses of vanity are related to this idea.

Vanities come in six basic types: pedestal, free-standing, floating, vessel, under-mounted sink and cabinet.

Vanities were originally called toilet tables. They were used in the bathroom for general hygiene and included a wash basin beneath a fold down top. Over time, these tables became smaller and more delicate with elaborate drawers to keep beauty products tucked away when not in use.

What is the flaw of vanity? ›

Vanity is another character flaw we encounter often in fiction and film. Characters who are obsessive about their looks or boastful about their achievements abound.

Lord Henry Wotton makes Dorian Gray believe that the only thing important in life is beauty. However, Dorian realizes that he will become less beautiful as he grows older. He wishes the portrait Basil painted would become old in his place. Dorian then sells his soul so he can be beautiful forever, but not on purpose.

moral noun (MESSAGE)

The moral of a story, event, or experience is the message that you understand from it about how you should or should not behave: And the moral of the story is that honesty is always the best policy.

Morality is a set of values, beliefs, and principles that guide an individual's behavior and decisions. It is a code of conduct that is commonly accepted in a particular society or culture. It refers to the distinction between right and wrong, and is usually based on an individual's personal beliefs and values.

The moral of a story is the lesson that story teaches about how to behave in the world. Moral comes from the Latin word mores, for habits. The moral of a story is supposed to teach you how to be a better person. If moral is used as an adjective, it means good, or ethical.

First Dorian blames his own pride and passion for his situation, then he blames the fact that he has received no punishment to purify him. Then he blames his youth and beauty (Lines 31-36).

Note that Dorian defends Lord Henry but is quite willing to blame Basil for the loss of his soul.

Lord Henry "Harry" Wotton is the main antagonist of the 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray as well as its various adaptations.

As he takes a short cut through a den archway, someone suddenly grabs him from behind and shoves him against a wall, his hand choking Dorian, who hears the click of a revolver. The man who chokes Dorian is James Vane, brother of Sibyl Vane, the actress who killed herself eighteen years before.

Dorian is characterized by his evasiveness and his obsession with objets d'art. For example, when Basil comes to console him about Sibyl's death, he is unwilling to discuss the matter.

Does Dorian become evil? ›

Although Dorian Gray does not change into two distinct characters who share the same bodily vessel, he does visibly display his evil nature in a portrait of himself — like Jekyll, he alone realizes the truth of the hideous transformation.

Once Dorian discovers his godlike powers, he carries out various heinous acts, including murder; but to the Victorian sensibility his most unspeakable deed would have been his corruption of a series of young men. (Basil tells Dorian, “There was that wretched boy in the Guards who committed suicide.

Although Dorian Gray never contracts with the devil, his sacrifice is similar: he trades his soul for the luxury of eternal youth. For its overtones of supernaturalism, its refusal to satisfy popular morality, and its portrayal of homoerotic culture, The Picture of Dorian Gray was met with harsh criticism.

In Dorian Gray, Dorian's corruption by human influence manifests itself in a desire to collect material objects and in the harm that he does to others, and he is undone by his own desire to destroy his soul.

In the novel's powerful final paragraphs, Dorian, in effect, commits suicide. He despises the figure in the portrait, but that is who he has become. When he slashes at the painting with the knife, appropriately the same knife that killed Basil, Dorian kills himself.

Dorian's inner secrets and weakness of mind becomes his downfall. In this novel Dorian Gray's apparent perfection is destroyed by his weakness of mind and naiiveness, which becomes the downfall of his soul as his mind is opened to sin and Hedonism by Lord Henry Wotton.

If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that—for that—I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!

Meanwhile, Emily pleads with Dorian for the key to the attic gate, but Dorian realizes he genuinely loves her and turns his back, instead choosing to stab the portrait with a poker to destroy it as his body begins to rapidly age, matching the picture. Lord Henry drags Emily out of the attic, which is soon incinerated.

Instead of subtly leading Basil to his confession, Dorian steers the conversation away by kissing Basil, who eventually gives in to his passion and succumbs to a sexual encounter.

The main focus of the book is on its male characters: Dorian, Basil and Lord Henry. Basil has quite a detectable crush on Dorian, and while Dorian and Henry do have relationships with women, they treat these women rather poorly in favor of their own friendship.

Why did Dorian stab Basil? ›

Dorian seems to receive some sort of message from the image on the canvas and is driven to murder his old friend. Basil's death conveniently removes the most immediate and serious threat to Dorian's way of life and his pact with the forces of evil.

Joseph Andrew

His vanity was his innocence and ignorance; This was a satire that Fielding played on the Victorian concept of innocence and ignorance.

Dorian is exceptionally vain and becomes convinced, in the course of a brief conversation with Lord Henry, that his most salient characteristics—his youth and physical attractiveness—are ever waning.

He is captivated by Dorian, because Dorian lives the life he would like to live. Instead of seeing Dorian as symbolizing his need to involve himself in life, he contents himself with "philosophic contemplation" (40). He too represses his Dionysian side. He feels it sufficient to experience this through Dorian.

At the heart of Vanity Fair is the ambition to acquire social standing, money, love, economic success, sex, and more, even though the actions the characters take in pursuit of their ambitions rarely lead to happiness.

The theme of wisdom of the ancestors is invaluable in the Poem Vanity by Birago Diop. The peom presents ancestors as a weservoir of sound teaching and wisdom which are sufficient to guide their offspring through the challenges of life these teaching and wisdom are describe as “cries” and “wild appeals”.

In many religions, vanity, in its modern sense, is considered a form of self-idolatry in which one likens oneself to the greatness of God for the sake of one's own image, and thereby becomes separated and perhaps in time divorced from the Divine grace of God.

At the end of the novel, Dorian stabs his portrait and in doing so kills himself. The portrait returns to its original state and Dorian's dead body takes on the true appearance of the old, cruel man he has become.

In a moment of heightened irony, Dorian accuses Basil of being "too much afraid of life." In fact, Dorian is afraid that Basil will see the portrait and thus learn of his secret pact. As for Dorian, he shows himself to be fully immersed in his new life of selfishness and manipulation.

Immortality: After having his soul trapped within a painting, Dorian gained immortality. He does not age and seems to be immune to all conventional illnesses, diseases, viruses and infections.

Why does Dorian sell his soul? ›

Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade.

In fact, when Basil is killed, it is a sign of the death of real beauty, ironically at the hands of Dorian, a supposed lover of beauty and a sign of ultimate corruption, callousness and ugliness.

Basil's true problem is that art is more real to him than life. In an artwork, beauty is always a good thing, but in the real world, it's just not. He doesn't just want life to be like art—he wants life to be art, and vice versa.

In the coolness of Dorian's actions after he kills Basil, the reader sees that Dorian has spoken at least a few truthful words during his corrupt life — his admission that it is too late to save his soul. Dorian kills the only real friend he has, and with that, he kills the only chance he has to redeem his soul.