The Picture of Dorian Gray

A detailed Summary of The Picture of Dorian Gray

" All art is at once surface and symbol.

Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.

Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. "

During the Renaissance, Christopher Marlowe examined the human soul in his morality play, "Doctor Faustus." Over 200 years later, the high-class British world of the 19th century held youth and beauty above much more important qualities, as exhibited in Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In this fictional story, themes from Marlowe's famous work is seen through the main character, Dorian Gray. In his pursuit of aestheticism, Dorian desires to achieve a goal that is unattainable in real life: eternal youth. Subsequently, upon viewing a portrait of himself, he decides to sell his soul in order to achieve this supernatural goal. Wilde's epigram from the preface of the novel is proven by Dorian's self-destruction as he transfers his own soul into the portrait. Three essential factors to the success of Dorian's Faustian contract is the influence of Lord Henry, Dorian's own attitudes and behaviors, and Basil's enthusiasm which gives symbolism to the painting.

Despite being a pure and inexperienced man at first, Dorian's decadent

Lord Henry Wotton is at fault for Dorian Gray's Faustian Pact and many of its consequences. In combination with Dorian's naivety and perspective, Basil's painting develops "surface and symbol". Lord Henry knew that he could exert a powerful influence over Dorian and perhaps lead him away from his innocence. "To get back to one's youth, one merely has to repeat one's follies." Henry knows how many errors are committed during youth but does nothing to discourage Dorian. While Dorian can be blamed for his naivety, Henry is primarily responsible for the ruin of Dorian Gray's life, just like the way Mephistopheles recruited Faustus as a follower of Satan. In order to complete the Faustian contract, Basil Hallward's painting contains so much vigor that Dorian insists upon eternal youth, thus selling his soul to the portrait. By reading beneath the surface, Dorian realizes that his portrait was a doppelganger, and unwittingly kills his soulless body and his bodiless soul at the same time.

The third component of the Faustian contract lies in the enthusiasm of Basil Hallward, who painted Dorian's portrait with so much intensity that its symbol is reflected on its surface. Wilde believes that the artist should not portray any of himself in his work, as stated by the epigram "to reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim" in the preface. When Basil exposes himself through his masterpiece, it is he who creates his own downfall as well as Dorian's demise. At their first encounter, Basil "suddenly became conscious

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Approximate Word count = 1028
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English