Dorian Gray Values

How Women Are Valued Throughout the history of the world, in several cultures and societies, women have been valued significantly less than men in so many aspects and circumstances. In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the manner in which women were valued throughout the Victorian era is emphasized through the interaction between the main male characters, Dorian Gray and Lord Henry, and the main female character, Sibyl Vane. (Wilde voices his beliefs through the character of Lord Henry.) This novel expresses that women do not contribute to society like men do, and that they do not have anything important to say. In addition, women are embodied as mere sex objects and as property owned by men, as their only use in a relationship is …show more content…
The way women are valued in this novel is much like how women were valued in Arabia after the implementation of Islam. In is novel, it is communicated that women are not significant in making contributions to society or being intellectual. Dorian is in love with an actress named Sibyl Vane. He thinks that she is a brilliant actress, and he often validly extols her for being so intelligent and skilled. One day, when Lord Henry, a much older gentleman, asks Dorian about his true love, he tells him about Sibyl, who he refers to as a “genius”. In response, Lord Henry expresses his belief that “No woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly” (Wilde 54). This expresses Wilde’s sexist belief that women cannot be equal to men in terms of intellect, and it conveys that all females are only useful for their looks and charm. This belief may seem outdated today in America, but according to Nasrin Albohassani’s review on Haifaa Jawad’s book, “The Rights of Women in Islam: an authentic approach”, “Women in Arabia had no …show more content…
This is also apparent in women in Arabia, because “They were considered a chattel to be possessed, to be bought, to be sold, to be inherited…They were treated as sex objects” (Abolhassani 101-102). This idea of women being “owned” or “possessed” by men is also mentioned when Lord Henry tells Dorian that “I suppose she [Sibyl] will belong to you someday” (Wilde 57). The opinions, thoughts, and feelings of women are not regarded much in this dilemma in either the novel or in Muslim Arabia. In Islam, “Since a man is allowed to marry four wives and keep numerous so-called slave girls, it follows that women’s feelings are not taken into consideration” (Abolhassani 102). Islam as practiced in Arabia allows for men to have several women at their disposal for sex, while the author implies that Sibyl, whether she likes it or not, is in the relationship because Dorian wants to use her for his own