Dorian Gray Hedonism Analysis

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, the civilization of England mediated around a rebirth of a religious movement that was exclusive to the Puritan age. People lived their lives upon the foundations of moral behavior, where all art was a mere reflection of religion and morality. This notion persisted that art served as a reinforcement of ethics. As religion and morality pursued to restrict art to stand on its own, a group of artists revolted against Victorian beliefs; among them was Oscar Wilde. He composed a philosophical fictional novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, that serves as a contradictory model against Victorianism for the sake of art. It directs on Wilde’s uprise against morality and the embrace of a hedonistic lifestyle. An …show more content…
The yellow book became as a guidance of hedonism for Dorian Gray. It represented the profound and damaging influence that pleasure can have on the essence of an individual and serves as a warning to those who cease to surrender themselves to pleasures: “Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book. There were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful” (124). It symbolizes the backbone of his life; an influence he could not break free from without heading towards ruin. It represents to Dorian Gray the indulgence of sensual pleasures as an escape from society and its norms; hence, to give into temptation and gain satisfaction. The image of the portrait once reflected the innocence that used to possess Gray; but, it shows the monster that lies beneath the surface of Gray’s youthful beauty. While Dorian indulged in evil, the portrait was a constant reminder of all that “had been in his brain and in his passions” (123). As a result of the decaying image, it led him to turn his emotions into being morally righteous and caused his consciousness to shed light onto his wrongdoings. The sole purpose of this symbol …show more content…
Wilde implements into Lord Henry’s character that, if one has no morality, then one will live a worthwhile and fulfilled hedonistic life. If an individual seeks to live hedonistically but becomes distraught by morals and attempts to merge ethics with sinful pleasure, then destruction will come upon that individual and spiritually or physically kill their essence. Oscar Wilde uses this cautionary tale to warn the civilization of his era; one either adapts to the social and traditional expectations of religion and morality or, one must fully give themselves to hedonism and stand against the habitual principles of morals and culture of the Victorian