The Portrait as an Alive Character in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Abstract

The paper studies Oscar Wilde 's  only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray,  first  published in 1890.    The novel is about a young man named Dorian Gray who falls in love with his own painted   portrait by the  artist Basil  Hallward  . The plot revolves around his corruption and eventual assassination at the hands of his portrait   which, in due course,  metamorphoses into an alive   being   to revenge for the distortion of its  aesthetic  value and beauty.     The  paper aims  to  prove  that Wilde  has  intended  for  the   portrait of his hero to take a leading role  in the  narrative discourse  . The title of the novel  itself , reveals that its main focus is the portrait of   Dorian Gray rather than the protagonist   himself  .

The study shows that the chain of events  and relationships  are unfolded  mainly through  a direct  reference to  Dorian 's portrait . It is also a central part of the ongoing arguments between the painter Basil Hallward and his hedonistic counterpart Lord Henry Wotton about  art , life  and beauty in the novel  : It endorses our understanding of the true  nature of their  contrasting  opinions on the marvel painted by Hallward . Wilde  employs the craft of the painted   portrait  of the hero  to  express    his  ideologies    concerning  the Aesthetic Movement which  appeared in the 19^th century period  and emphasized  the cult of beauty  in art and  literature. The   evaluation of this  modern  concept  of art  is  always seen in a parallel connection  with  the  painted portrait of  the hero , Dorian Gray  . Ultimately , Wild’s portrait of  himself, which   undoubtedly is  that of  Dorian’s  ,     precipitates   in providing  a deep understanding of his  personality and  his artistic  vision   in his experimental masterpiece The portrait of Dorian Gray . Indeed, it   is through Dorian’s image and not Dorian's character that the author resolves his conflicts with his prejudiced and   sceptic Victorian   readers.

Key Keywords: Artist – hero conflict, aestheticism, beauty ,art,  painting , metamorphoses , self- distortion, hedonism ,  Gothic elements  ,revenge  .