The Fatal Book
Both Dorian and Des Esseintes also explore the fineries of clothing, and décor, but more so they strongly draw upon the study of jewels. Dorian wears a dress coated in over five hundred pearls. He could spend an entire day going through his collection of stones of silver, topaz, amethyst, ruby, opal and sapphire. He then explores more exotic jewels and silks that he procures from all over the world. He fills his home with these wonderful treasures and uses them to distract himself from his own mind. Des Esseintes takes a strange approach to jewels by agonizing over which bouquet of stones to encrust on the shell of a tortoise he purchased in order to create a pleasing aesthetic for his oriental rug. Dorian is more of a collector and admirer, which Des Esseintes is a true connoisseur of fine jewels. He even applies some fake stones among the real ones on the tortoise's back to create the desired effect, thereby adding to the decadent notion that the artificial is superior to the natural.
Despite these similar scenes, there remains a notable difference between these two effeminate characters: their ability to change. Dorian changes internally throughout the novel, beginning from the first moment he meets …show more content…
Wilde and the Decadents both feel that "This rationalization of homosexual desire as aesthetic experience has as its subtext an escalating contempt for women, whose bodies seem to stand in the way of philosophical beauty" (Showalter 176). To repeat, Decadents sought out feminine essence, but rejected actual women, because their nature threatens the Decadents' artificial beauty. The Decadents were obsessed with and seduced by all that a woman represents, but afraid of the woman herself. Similarly, Dorian and the Decadents are seduced by the fatal book, but also terrified of its
Both Dorian and Des Esseintes also explore the fineries of clothing, and décor, but more so they strongly draw upon the study of jewels. Dorian wears a dress coated in over five hundred pearls. He could spend an entire day going through his collection of stones of silver, topaz, amethyst, ruby, opal and sapphire. He then explores more exotic jewels and silks that he procures from all over the world. He fills his home with these wonderful treasures and uses them to distract himself from his own mind. Des Esseintes takes a strange approach to jewels by agonizing over which bouquet of stones to encrust on the shell of a tortoise he purchased in order to create a pleasing aesthetic for his oriental rug. Dorian is more of a collector and admirer, which Des Esseintes is a true connoisseur of fine jewels. He even applies some fake stones among the real ones on the tortoise's back to create the desired effect, thereby adding to the decadent notion that the artificial is superior to the natural.
Despite these similar scenes, there remains a notable difference between these two effeminate characters: their ability to change. Dorian changes internally throughout the novel, beginning from the first moment he meets …show more content…
Wilde and the Decadents both feel that "This rationalization of homosexual desire as aesthetic experience has as its subtext an escalating contempt for women, whose bodies seem to stand in the way of philosophical beauty" (Showalter 176). To repeat, Decadents sought out feminine essence, but rejected actual women, because their nature threatens the Decadents' artificial beauty. The Decadents were obsessed with and seduced by all that a woman represents, but afraid of the woman herself. Similarly, Dorian and the Decadents are seduced by the fatal book, but also terrified of its