Life
Oscar Wilde was born in 1854 and he was a child of a rich and famous doctor. Thanks to his rich family, he was able to study in the best schools, universities and College. After, he went to Landon and he wrote poetry, that were published in 1881.
In 1884, he married Constance Lloyd and he found work like editor of a woman magazine. In 1888 he published ‘The Happy Prince and other tales’ and in 1890 his only novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. After, he wrote a lot of theatrical comedy works like: ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’, ‘A woman of No Importance’ and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. In 1895, Oscar Wilde was accused of homosexuality by his young lover’s father. Wilde accused Lord Queensberry of defamation, but this accuse was rejected and Wilde was tried for ‘gross indecency’. So, Wilde was forced to spend two years of imprisonment and forced labor.
In 1897, Wilde was free, but he was a physically and psychologically broken man, and he was abandoned by many friends. After this experience, he went exile in France where he died in 1900. ‘The Ballad of Reading Goal’ is one of the most significant works he wrote in exile. However, the most famous and important work that was wrote by Wilde is the novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, that was considered like immoral work and for this reason he added six chapters and a preface with which he trued to defend his work by the criticism it had received. In this preface we can find Wilde’s philosophy of art, that is based on the principles of Aestheticism. ‘Art is neither moral nor immoral, it has no moral purpose, but beauty in itself a supreme value’.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The theme of the double
‘The books that world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame’.
When the novel was published, many Victorian readers criticized the work because they believed that art was education and moral enlightenment. But in Wilde’s novel art has beauty as its sole purpose and that excluded bourgeois morality. But the novel has a basic moral, because the reckless life that Dorian led to his death. Despite his terrible actions, his appearance remains beautiful and young, even if inside he is not so innocent. The double life that Dorian leads is a sign of hypocrisy, he uses his innocent aspect to be accepted by society and to satisfy his desires. This novel and the novel “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” are an example of how literature is used to talk about society and the forbidden desires of the same society in which one lives.
Style and narrative technique
The novel is told by a third-person narrator unobtrusive. Wilde uses dialogue to present the personalities of his characters. Additionally, Wilde uses very detailed descriptions, with words referring to the senses. The portrait is the symbolic element of the work and represents the conscience of Dorian Gray.
Aestheticism and the cult of beauty
Aestheticism is an artistic movement that was born at the end of the nineteenth century. This movement claims that art exists only for beauty, but has no moral, political or didactic purpose. Furthermore, it arose as a reaction to the utilitarian philosophy of the industrial revolution and the moral principles of the Victorian age. Wilde also refers to European decadence when Lord Henry gives the book to Dorian to convert it to aestheticism. Decadence has origins in common with aestheticism.
The figure of the ‘dandy’
The term dandy comes from Andrew’s Scottish nickname, which was first used in the song Yankee Doodle Dandy, sung by English troops during the American Revolution. This term referred to a man who wore strange clothes and had vanity, extravagance and refinement as a characteristic. The figure of the dandy spread thanks to George Brummel. Brummel thanks to his clothing and ways of him became the leader of fashion at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Brummel created a new way of life which is called dandyism.
In England this style was linked to Symbolism and Aesthetics. Dandyism appeared in England thanks to Oscar Wilde. The Dandies weren’t aristocrats, but they had enough money and time to be able to live extravagantly. Furthermore, they were richer than the bohemians who had to work in order to live. The Dandies were beneficiaries of large sums of money, but they did not seek to increase their wealth and rather they gambled at the risk of losing their money. The bohemians and dandies were friends and frequented the same cafes. Both rejected a bourgeois lifestyle.
Extract from the preface of the The Picture of Dorian Gray
All art is quite usless
The passage is taken from the Preface to “The picture of Dorian Gray” where Wilde, in a tone which is both provoking and philosophical, reflects on art, the role of the artist and the function of the critic.
First of all, Art can express everything and it is basically useless: it doesn’t teach anything because of the absence of any didactic forms. The essence of Art is only Beauty.
In a second place, a real artist is the creator of beautiful things and thanks to his power, he may be considered like a God who has also the unlimited power to create everything.
Finally, the criticist is a person who gets a personal impression of the work of art and translates it into a new form. When a work of art is criticized with diversity of opinion, it means that it is new, complex and vital because a real work of art must generate contrasting opinions. Any book or work of art can be considered moral or immoral.