Furthermore, Oscar Wilde projects himself in addition to the Id, Ego, and Superego through Dorian Gray, based on how Wilde lived a “Double Life”(Schmidt 3). Dorian was thought to be pure and innocent when really his inner self reflected the complete opposite. Dorian “desperately wanted to find his true identity”(Schmidt 4) and longed to be known for more than just his appearance. Dorian’s desperation resulted in an unhealthy intrigue with Henry Wotton. Henry’s fascination with Dorian resulted in him giving Dorian a gift called the “Yellow Book”. Dorian was enthralled with the book and it “becomes like holy scripture to Dorian, who buys nearly a dozen copies and bases his life and actions on it”( Coyne 10). Some of which caused Dorian to go insane, and lead him to kill
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The book represents the profound and damaging influence art can have over a person, and serves as an example to those who find themselves influenced by such a thing. As a result, Dorian lived an amoral life and developed an Id conscience, which made his thoughts and pleasures become mostly impure and lustful. This was shown through the portrait of Dorian which revealed his true identity and his depraved conscience. Similarly, Wilde had a copy of the first "Yellow Book" when he was arrested, at the Cadogan Hotel, in 1895. His version of the book “alerted the reader to their lascivious content”(Wiki 1). This is important because it can reveal Wilde's fascination with the same gender and his riveting ideas of aestheticism. In addition, Wilde shares his own experiences of living a double life. For example, Wilde was gay which was illegal during that time period. Wilde would hide this insecurity and conceal his feelings and let them emerge through his characters. This approach was exemplified through Wilde’s portrait of Dorian where he would also suppress the past and his actual
The book represents the profound and damaging influence art can have over a person, and serves as an example to those who find themselves influenced by such a thing. As a result, Dorian lived an amoral life and developed an Id conscience, which made his thoughts and pleasures become mostly impure and lustful. This was shown through the portrait of Dorian which revealed his true identity and his depraved conscience. Similarly, Wilde had a copy of the first "Yellow Book" when he was arrested, at the Cadogan Hotel, in 1895. His version of the book “alerted the reader to their lascivious content”(Wiki 1). This is important because it can reveal Wilde's fascination with the same gender and his riveting ideas of aestheticism. In addition, Wilde shares his own experiences of living a double life. For example, Wilde was gay which was illegal during that time period. Wilde would hide this insecurity and conceal his feelings and let them emerge through his characters. This approach was exemplified through Wilde’s portrait of Dorian where he would also suppress the past and his actual