In Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray, Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray both want to achieve beauty. Frankenstein wants to create beauty in the form of another creature. Dorian wants to maintain his beauty, like in his portrait. It seems that both Victor and Dorian show us their view on the importance of beauty through their monsters, but it seems to show us two different consequences that occur for the pursuit of beauty.
A theme that seems to run through both novels is obsession. It seems that Victor Frankenstein is obsessed with science and Dorian Gray is obsessed with his beauty. Their obsessions seem to have led to the creation of the “monsters.” Frankenstein was obsessed with science and the human form. Frankenstein states, …show more content…
Gray tells both the painter and Lord Henry, “I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted of me” (Wilde 28). Dorian was jealous because he knew that he would get older and uglier. Dorian says about the painting, “If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that—for that—I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!” (Wilde 28). From this quote, one could imagine that Gray would stop at nothing to get eternal youth, and therefore eternal …show more content…
Each novel interprets this theme in different ways. In Frankenstein, it tells us that one can be made of beautiful parts and still be ugly. The Creature was constructed of perfect parts, but was externally ugly. When first created, the Creature was not a bad guy. He wanted to adapt to society but could not. Because he could not adapt to society, he became a murderer. Because the Creature turned into a bad guy, Frankenstein was forced to pursue the Creature. During his pursuit, Frankenstein died. If Frankenstein did not want to create beauty, he would not have had to pursure the Creature and ultimately die. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, we are taught that superficial impressions are meaningless and that corruption can lay beneath beauty. After Dorian sold his soul to the painting, he began to perform terrible acts that should have wounded his soul. Because his soul was shown on the painting, he could not change his physical appearance. This allowed him to remain beautiful. In the novel, when Dorian died, he was described as “withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage” (Wilde 213). In both Frankenstein and The Portrait of Dorian Gray, the Creature and the portrait outlived their
A theme that seems to run through both novels is obsession. It seems that Victor Frankenstein is obsessed with science and Dorian Gray is obsessed with his beauty. Their obsessions seem to have led to the creation of the “monsters.” Frankenstein was obsessed with science and the human form. Frankenstein states, …show more content…
Gray tells both the painter and Lord Henry, “I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted of me” (Wilde 28). Dorian was jealous because he knew that he would get older and uglier. Dorian says about the painting, “If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that—for that—I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!” (Wilde 28). From this quote, one could imagine that Gray would stop at nothing to get eternal youth, and therefore eternal …show more content…
Each novel interprets this theme in different ways. In Frankenstein, it tells us that one can be made of beautiful parts and still be ugly. The Creature was constructed of perfect parts, but was externally ugly. When first created, the Creature was not a bad guy. He wanted to adapt to society but could not. Because he could not adapt to society, he became a murderer. Because the Creature turned into a bad guy, Frankenstein was forced to pursue the Creature. During his pursuit, Frankenstein died. If Frankenstein did not want to create beauty, he would not have had to pursure the Creature and ultimately die. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, we are taught that superficial impressions are meaningless and that corruption can lay beneath beauty. After Dorian sold his soul to the painting, he began to perform terrible acts that should have wounded his soul. Because his soul was shown on the painting, he could not change his physical appearance. This allowed him to remain beautiful. In the novel, when Dorian died, he was described as “withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage” (Wilde 213). In both Frankenstein and The Portrait of Dorian Gray, the Creature and the portrait outlived their