Oscar Wilde as Dorian Gray

‘I have put too much of myself in it’ (Wilde 12), commented Basil Hallward, a fictional artist, about his newly completed masterpiece. Just like Oscar Wilde, the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890, revised 1891), who put so much of his life into his novel; his experience, surroundings, and the global happenings of his time, strongly influenced the production of the speculative, philosophical, gothic novel. The author’s homosexuality, the ridiculous social standards of Victorian England, and the Aesthetic Movement throughout Europe in the late 19th century, gravely inspired the creation of the Faustian fable.

Oscar Wilde’s most well-known literary work – The Picture of Dorian Gray – had been greatly affected by his personal life, the environment he lived in, and the world during his time. Homosexuality, by definition, is the sexual attraction to one’s own gender. Oscar Wilde’s unique sex life had roused numerous debates about his sexual orientation, but many came to a consensus that Oscar Wilde was homosexual. Most biographers believed that Wilde was introduced to homosexuality in 1885, a year after marrying his beloved wife, Constance Lloyd.

It was said that his first serious male-to-male relationship happened somewhere during that time. Wilde’s sexual timeline confirms that he had homoerotic behaviours during the writing of The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was released in 1890. Homosexuality in 19th century England was illegal; as a highly regarded figure in the public eye, Wilde was forced to keep his sexual orientation a mystery. Being unable to exhibit his true nature was a wicked torment. As an attempt to liberate himself from the bonds of misery, he expressed himself by incorporating homosexual characteristics in his literary work.A line from the novel by Basil Hallward, “As long as I live, the personality of Dorian Gray will dominate me.

” (Wilde 23), is one of the many examples of Wilde’s pseudo confession. In the story, Basil Hallward plays an average painter, who created the most magnificent piece of art after meeting a handsome, young person – Dorian Gray. The quote signs the secret homosexual affections Dorian and Basil had for each other. This resembles the writer’s personal life because he had to conceal his own homosexual relationships and homoerotic behaviours.

This line is also significant because it was adopted from Constance Lloyd’s answer to his marriage proposal – “As long as I live, you shall be my lover” (Seymour). Wilde puts Basil Hallward’s love for Dorian Gray on the same level as his wife for him, which further tightens the intertwinement between reality and fiction. The production of this novel is surely a manifestation of Oscar Wilde’s sexual repression. The Victorian Era was a time when morals and ethics were matters of utmost importance in the English society.The country was packed with observant critics who saw debauched demeanor as malevolent acts; having said that, the rich and wealthy possess the power to justify their actions regardless of the degree of evilness in their conduct.

Oscar Wilde was living in Britain during the Victorian era, and as a prisoner of morality, he was shackled by public scrutiny. Wilde released The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890 as a literary analogy about the world he was living in, and although the novel was censored by the publisher before releasing (The Censorship of “Dorian Gray”), it infuriated many critics due to the lack of morality the content held.He revised the novel and released the second version the next year, with seven extra chapters and altered wording, to appease the public. Society – civilized society, at least – is never very ready to believe anything to the detriment of those who are both rich and fascinating. It feels instinctively that manners are of more importance than morals, and in its opinion, the highest respectability is of much less value than the possessions of a good chef.

(Wilde 160) One of the major philosophies in Wilde’s novel was that the society was flawed.This novel was filled with negative opinions about the biased judgments of the society, which was highly favourable to the upper class. This was linked to the dramatic irony that Dorian Gray has an innocent and pure personality because he was perfect, both financially and physically, but in reality, he was a horrendous person who committed countless sins. The rich and the powerful will never commit crime – the dogma of the ‘civilized’ Victorian society.

Wilde’s disappointment of his world led to the writing of The Picture of Dorian Gray, a book with high comparison to the flawed social order of Victorian England.Aestheticism was an artistic belief that spread through Europe from the mid-1800s to the early-1900s. The movement was started by a group of radical artists based on the simple idea of not pursuing the conveyance of any ethical, emotional or educational messages in all art, but should solely devote to sensual pleasure. The aim of art was to exist ‘beautifully’ (Brookes).

The famous saying goes, Art for Art’s sake, explains the hedonistic ideology of the campaign. Oscar Wilde was very well-known in the Aesthetic Movement, so influential that his death marked the end of the movement.The famous (or infamous), aesthete was exploring new ways of living in defiance of the horrid societal standards in his time. He assimilated many of his discoveries as philosophies in his literature. The inspiring writer filled The Picture of Dorian Gray with numerous aesthetic beliefs. To influence a person is to give him one's own soul.

He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of someone else's music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him.The aim of life is self-development.

To realize one's nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for. People are afraid of themselves, nowadays. They have forgotten the highest of all duties, the duty that one owes to one's self. Of course, they are charitable. They feed the hungry and clothe the beggar.

But their own souls starve, and are naked. Courage has gone out of our race. Perhaps we never really had it. The terror of society, which is the basis of morals, the terror of God, which is the secret of religion – these are the two things that govern us.

The author granted Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian Gray’s close companion, an influential personality who has many unique speculations of the society. Henry becomes a fictional spokesman for the aesthete himself. One of his popular doctrines is that people are controlled by morals and religion. They are badly treated slaves of the helpless society. It connects the viewpoints of the person of influence in the novel, to the reputable artist of the Aesthetic movement.

The novel in itself is a form art created with complete dedication to Aestheticism.The foundation of Wilde’s literature is certainly affected by 19th century Europe. The Picture of Dorian Gray is most definitely written with the heavy influence of Oscar Wilde’s previous experience, unique surroundings, and the international events going on during his writing. Wilde’s sexual orientation, the awfully flawed Victorian society, and the philosophies of Aestheticism, all contributed to the production of the well-recognized novel.

As the author’s life is closely associated with the features of the plot and characters of the story, the ability to comprehend the novel really intensified.