| Oscar Wilde |
Throughout
three chapters, we can easily find the common characteristics of Oscar Wilde
and the main characters in Dorian Gray. While some experts claim that we should
analyze literature within itself, not relating it to the life of the author, it
is necessary to think of the relationship between the author and his works.
The
very first thing that struck me was the issue of homosexuality. Both the
demeanors and words of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry and Basil are not the expression
of mere "liking," but more of romantic feelings toward each other.
When Lord Henry asks how often does he see Dorian, Basil answers, “Every day. I
couldn’t be happy if I didn’t see him everyday. He is absolutely necessary to
me.” Dorian, on the other hand, is totally charmed by Lord Henry, who is a
magical speaker burping out witty saying every time he opens his mouth. Dorian
is so in love with him that he asks Henry to “promise to talk to me all the
time.” Other than these, there are numerous quotes in the book that indicate
the cheesy, romantic sentiment. Furthermore, the love between men and women are
almost ignored, especially by Lord Henry. He defines marriage as to be
short-lived and temporary, and asserts that women are a decorative sex. This
imparted comparison between homosexual and heterosexual love emphasizes the
homosexual romance among three guys. Lastly, Sibyl Vane, the actress of
Shakespeare plays, is portrayed as a foolish young woman who is enthralled by
"Prince Charming" whom she doesn't even know the name of. She
instantly falls in love with Dorian, and in later chapters, forsakes her whole
career just for him. How foolish is that? This stupidity of Sibyl Vane also
indicates the triviality of love between different sexes.
Homosexuality,
the prevailing thought of this book, was one of the characteristics of Oscar
Wilde; he was a gay. During his time, the Victorian Era, it was difficult to
express this feature of himself because of the zeitgeist of the time. In my
opinion, instead, he expressed this feeling in his literature.
Other
common factors are instilled in Lord Henry's personality and his views on
certain subjects; Oscar Wilde and Lord Henry are awfully similar to each other.
First one is hedonism, the appreciation of pleasure more than anything else.
Lord Henry actually insists that one’s life should be spent appreciating beauty
and seeking out pleasure rather than searching for ways to alleviate pain and
tragedy. Oscar was also a believer of hedonism as well. Second common factor is
the idea that art and life are not only closely related to each other, but also
interchangeable. Thus, Lord Henry claims that vice and virtue are only the
subsidiaries of aestheticism; they are merely the tools to create beauty. Oscar
talked about this a lot in his preface of this book; he is into aestheticism.
Moreover, Lord Henry loves social comedy and satire, so did Oscar.
