Analysis of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray
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ScribdTranslationsAnalysis of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray
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ScribdTranslationsLiterature of Northern Europe Prof. Ma.
Angelina Cazorla
READING GUIDE
The Picture of Dorian Gray
OSCAR WILDE (1854-1900)
1. Disillusioned with the reception of his first novel, Oscar Wilde decided to revise the
first version and adding a preface in 1891. This anticipates some criticisms that the novel might generate and
He responds to the critics who accused him of writing an immoral story. Additionally, he succinctly summarizes the...
Fundamentals of his philosophy of art. Read 'The Soul of Man Under Socialism' as material.
complementary.
2. In light of the legend of Faust, comment on the role of Lord Henry Wotton in it.
relationship with Dorian. His role is not explicitly defined in the novel. Is the demon literally
(Mephistopheles) or is he the unintended lawyer/representative of the devil?
3. In chapter 4, there is a description that the modern reader might consider quite
crude and racist of Mr. Isaacs, a Jewish theatre owner, contractor of Sibyl Vane, and creditor of the family.
We should say in defense of Oscar Wilde that the author describes a specific person and not
necessarily to the stereotype of the Jew. Moreover, it is Dorian Gray who speaks and these anti-
Remarks about Mr. Isaacs prematurely reveal the superficiality of his character. The racist and anti-
Semitas were very common in England and the rest of Europe during the 19th century. Compare with the
description of the character of Fagin in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
4. Mrs. Vane has suffered a terrible romantic disappointment by getting involved with a married gentleman.
(father of his two children: Sibyl and James). Moreover, the Vane family has a debt of £50 to Mr. Isaacs.
This leads to moments of despair and economic anguish. In such circumstances
Particular, will Sibyl's suitor be the hero who rescues the family from misery and provides for Sibyl?
all the happiness and comfort he deserves? Or perhaps, Dorian is a shameless opportunist who repeats the
sad story of the boys' father Vane. Reread chapter 5.
5. The frivolous, indifferent, disrespectful, contemptible, and unserious attitudes of Lord Henry
Wotton and Dorian Gray exposed in chapter 8 lead us to think that Oscar Wilde has written a book.
immoral when it was first published in 1890. Subsequently, the author had to 'soften' the content
of the content by adding the preface and six chapters: 3, 5, 15, 16, 17, and 18 and dividing chapter 13 into two
(19 and 20). Furthermore, the reader must distinguish between the author and his characters. Certainly, Lord Henry and Dorian
Gray behaves like two scoundrels/rogues, but continuing with the theme of Faust, Lord Henry is
demonic and Dorian Gray blindly acts according to the whim of his mentor, who knows the many
weaknesses of the young. The reader may envy or admire parts of their lives, but at this point it is very difficult.
that we like these characters.
6. The long paragraphs that Oscar Wilde dedicates in chapter 11 to the description and
the enumeration of perfumes, music, jewelry, fabrics, etc. is not merely a display of knowledge on the part of the
author. What, at first reading, seems tedious will transport us to the world created by Dorian Gray in the
When the passionate search for pleasure becomes monotonous, vain, boring, endless, and trivial. Dorian Gray
he will never be satisfied.
7. The descriptive style that Oscar Wilde uses in chapter 16 is purely gothic because of the
macabre details and grotesque images. The author achieves an atmosphere of desolation and hopelessness. The
similes and metaphors (which rarely appear in other chapters) are very effective in portraying the secret world
of Dorian Gray. Note the allusions to death that permeate the last four chapters of the novel.
8. Hetty Merton is a character in the novel who embodies innocence and vulnerability. Her story arc often highlights the themes of love, social class, and personal growth.
9. Comment on the value of friendship in the novel. Specifically consider relationships.
deBasil, Lord Henry, and Dorian.
10. What is the role of innocence in this novel? Consider the characters of Sibyl Vane.
Hetty Merton and Dorian.
11. Compare Heathcliff (from Wuthering Heights) with Dorian Gray and establish the nature.
demonic and self-destructive of both characters. The authors do not attempt to explicitly trace the origin
of evil/cruelty; but where does it come from? Dare to provide a satisfactory answer.
Literature of Northern Europe Prof. Ma. Angelina Cazorla
12. Lover of Lord Henry is a constant element of his personality from the beginning
until the end of the novel. Although he seduces women with his interesting conversation during the
things, and amuse them with their extravagant aphorisms, do not consider them intellectually their equals. Many
of his sharpest epigrams are at the expense of women and marriage. For example: 'Women us
they inspire with the desire to create masterpieces, and they always prevent us from carrying them out" (chap. 6). When
Dorian laments having been cruel to Sibyl, Lord Henry replies: 'I'm afraid women appreciate the
cruelty, the cruelty frankly, more than anything else. They have wonderfully primitive instincts.
We have emancipated them, but they are still slaves in search of their masters. They love to be dominated.
It is Oscar Wilde himself who speaks through Lord Henry. Henry's misogyny emphasizes the
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel about the relationship between men. Many critics,
they have also argued that Henry's aphorisms and paradoxes about women and marriage were
shaped by Wilde's own marriage and homosexuality. Trace the aphorisms and paradoxes in the
novel.
13. Gothic elements in The Picture of Dorian Gray include murder, suicide, the
violence and the supernatural. It is the supernatural element that drives the plot forward: there is no a
rational explanation of the metamorphosis of the portrait image.
14. Traditionally, physical beauty (external) was closely associated with purity.
internal (moral). Literature is abundant in representing physical perfection and moral perfection as two sides
of the same coin. However, in the closing years of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, there was a
fascination/obsession with everything demonic/macabre/dangerous that was hidden behind the (apparent)
beauty, youth, and purity. Both Oscar Wilde and Henry James play with these expectations.
traditional readers and they propose to discover the true nature of Dorian Gray, Miles, and Flora
The Turn of the Screw
