In today’s society the idea of everlasting beauty is very prominent. This is seem through the many creams that can be used to help conceal wrinkles and make the skin smoother, however, those do not stop aging forever. In “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” by Oscar Wilde, everlasting beauty is an important aspect that leads to ultimate demise. During the Victorian era, beauty was extremely imperative. When an individual shows beauty they were considered to be very wealthy and influential people. Though not only the outward appearance of an individual mattered, the art in which surrounded them was also important. Only the wealthy and upper class of society could truly be able to understand the significance of the art; this frame of mind separated
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Dorian Gray is a complex character for he is perfect yet flawed, beautiful yet hideous, and good yet evil. These complexities are displayed when Basil created the portrait for Dorian. The painting started off as the ageless beauty but turned into this horrendous reminder of the sins Dorian has done. Readers want to sympathize with Dorian yet they can’t due to all the awful things he does. The first sign that Dorian is on a downward spiral is the death of Sibyl Vane in chapter eight. Dorian felt responsible for her suicide yet Lord Henry disagrees with this fact. Dorian was simply in love with the beauty and the talent Sibyl Vane had and was distraught when she no longer possess what he desired during that night’s performance. The smirk appears on the portrait after Sibyls death and grows into this hideous picture while Dorian remains this beautiful work of art; but one cannot run away from the things they have done. In chapter twenty, Dorian sees himself in the mirror and hates what he sees, so he shatters the mirror. The things Dorian did in order to stay beautiful were truly an ugly thing and when he tried to destroy the depiction of the monster his life choices caught up with him. The age and sins all rushed back at once, killing the once beautiful Dorian. Dorian stayed true to an aesthetic position by not being concerned about morality or the utility of an individual’s actions, everything Dorian did was to benefit
Dorian Gray is a complex character for he is perfect yet flawed, beautiful yet hideous, and good yet evil. These complexities are displayed when Basil created the portrait for Dorian. The painting started off as the ageless beauty but turned into this horrendous reminder of the sins Dorian has done. Readers want to sympathize with Dorian yet they can’t due to all the awful things he does. The first sign that Dorian is on a downward spiral is the death of Sibyl Vane in chapter eight. Dorian felt responsible for her suicide yet Lord Henry disagrees with this fact. Dorian was simply in love with the beauty and the talent Sibyl Vane had and was distraught when she no longer possess what he desired during that night’s performance. The smirk appears on the portrait after Sibyls death and grows into this hideous picture while Dorian remains this beautiful work of art; but one cannot run away from the things they have done. In chapter twenty, Dorian sees himself in the mirror and hates what he sees, so he shatters the mirror. The things Dorian did in order to stay beautiful were truly an ugly thing and when he tried to destroy the depiction of the monster his life choices caught up with him. The age and sins all rushed back at once, killing the once beautiful Dorian. Dorian stayed true to an aesthetic position by not being concerned about morality or the utility of an individual’s actions, everything Dorian did was to benefit