The Picture of Dorian Gray《His best autobiography》

是因为文学课老师要求这个学期要看一个小说，还要写评论才坚持着看完的。看完之后并无多大感觉，但是写完作业后，大概是多了些理解，就开始很喜欢这本书。

就把作业的一部分粘出来当评论吧~

It is said that for an artist his best autobiography is his own works. The author may write a novel based on his own experience about his outlook to the world with his soul hiding in it. That is true. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a perfect illustration of Oscar Wilde’s life as well as his characteristics. Wilde noted in a letter that the main characters are in different ways reflections of him: “Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry what the world thinks me; Dorian what I would like to be --- in other ages perhaps.”

Wilde in Basil Hallward

“Basil Hallward is what I think I am.”

The author did not set Basil to the “moral circle” or to the “immoral circle”. He was just a cordial artist who pursued beauty instinctively. His adoration to Dorian Gray was out of his love to beauty. In this novel Dorian Gray --- or the body of Dorian was the symbol of extreme beauty. As we know Oscar Wilde was the best representatives of the Aesthetic movement in late nineteenth-century in Britain. “He began wearing his hair long and openly scorning so-called "manly" sports and began decorating his rooms with peacock feathers lilies sunflowers blue china and other objets d'art” 2 Striving for beauty is the essence of their similarities between Basil and Wilde.

Firstly when that gorgeous portrait was finished Basil as an artist unexpectedly refused to send it to famous art exhibition which would absolutely brought him huge reputation. Even cynical Lord Henry praised it as the best work of him and addressed:

A portrait like this would set you far above all the young men in England and make the old men quiet jealous if old men are ever capable of any emotion.” (6)

Basil explained that he had put too much of himself into the picture.

‘Harry’ said Basil Hallward looking him straight in the face ‘every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist not of the sitter. The sitter is merely the accident the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who on the coloured canvas reveals himself. The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul.’ (8)

Probably we can not conclude that Basil was high-hearted artist who was indifferent with reputation. But it was also true that he would definitely not exchange his soul for them. Just the same Oscar Wilde never hid his zest for status and reputation but his persistence to art to aestheticism could never be exchanged.

Secondly for beauty’s sake immorality was acceptable for Basil even though it didn’t suit his philosophy. He rushed to Dorian’s home as soon as he got the news of Dorian’s fiancée Sibyl’s death and only to find that Dorian was totally indifferent with it. From that Basil knew that Dorian was not the simple natural boy any more so when what he wanted he “said sadly ‘I want the Dorian Gray I used to paint’” (88). After listening to Dorian’s begging the painter felt moved and gave up persuading. He sill believed that “there was so much in him that was good so much in him that was noble.”(89) Dorian was his art the perfection of beauty; he could hardly be harsh on him. The author Wilde held the idea that morality and beauty were two different things; they should not “disturb” each other. “The artist is the creator of beautiful things.” “There is so such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.” 3 Sometimes beauty itself was toxicity Wilde was much clearer than anyone else about his own flaw in his character. He just could do nothing about it. Wilde lived a sexual double life. In 1893 he distanced himself from his family and started a passionate relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas. His behavior was intolerant at that time; he was regarded immoral corruptive. However love could also a kind of beauty which he pursued his whole life for what Wilde had to give up so many other things.

Thirdly even had never stopped believing in Dorian’s innocence after all the painter was killed by his adorable beauty. Before his death Basil was still in the hope that Dorian could deny those rumors about those hideous things. The artist created such beauty spoiled it tried to believe it is being good but ended with being murdered by it. I am not clear about how to conclude his life pathetic or too great. Perhaps both are. Then came to Wilde he died at the age of 46 at a hotel in France only companied by two friends. Can it be called pathetic?

After the ***ysis above I myself am so convinced that Basil is no other than Wilde.

Wilde in Lord Henry

“Lord Henry what the world thinks me.”

When challenged about his ambitions in life Wilde replied prophetically: “I’ll be a poet a writer a dramatist. Somehow or other I’ll be famous and if not famous I’ll be notorious.” To be a poet a writer a dramatist to be famous to be notorious Wilde had made them all true. Lord Henry highly reflected both famousness and notoriousness of Wilde.

Lord Henry who came from upper class was wise learned with recalcitrant disposition and regarded beauty and youth as the supreme. Also he was a man of great insight and eloquence who could decorate his fallacies make them look like truths. Through Lord Henry Wilde had expressed his numerous paradoxes. “Writing in the Free Review on June 1895 the music critic Ernest Newman celebrated the fact that ‘no one has given more paradoxes to our literature than Mr. Oscar Wilde.’”4 On the one hand that Lord Henry’s cherish to beauty was no less than the painter Basil fit Wilde’s aestheticism.

‘I never tilt against Beauty’ he (Lord Henry) said with a wave of his hand.

‘That is your error Harry believe me. You value beauty far too much.’ (The Duchess)

‘How can you say that? I admit that I think that it is better to be beautiful than to be good. But on the other hand no one is more ready than I am to acknowledge that it is better to be good than to be ugly.’

‘Ugliness is one of the seven deadly sins then?’ cried the Duchess.

‘Ugliness is one of the seven deadly virtues Gladys. You as a good Tory must not underrate them. Beer the Bible and the seven deadly virtues have made out England what she is.’(154)

According to Henry Beauty was better than be good and be good was better than ugliness. In addition Lord Henry made satire on those ethics morality as well as his hometown. Let us look at what kind of public figure Wilde held. Wilde came from a well-off family whose father was a celebrated surgeon and mother was a poet a writer. Soon after he showed in culture circle people were impressed by his exotic costume his wit and his epigram. Those were one of the reasons that people consider him immoral corrupt. Some even wrote passages to satirize him.

There was another important reason to explain why the world thinks Lord Henry is Wilde. Henry’s philosophy about love marriage was considered quiet the extreme of decadence so did Wilde’s distance from his wife and two sons. Lord Henry kept seeking to be merely the spectator of life yet a notorious spectator. “…the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties.” “Men marry because they are tired; women because they are curious; both are disappointed” "A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her." “Of course married life is merely a habit a bad habit.”(168) Even today these theories would also be regarded as immoral and degenerated. Wilde was really known himself so well just like looking into anyone else’s life. His “anti-convention” was where his charm laid as well as his lament.

Wilde in Dorian Gray

“Dorian what I would like to be --- in other ages perhaps.”

According to my understanding this confession’s focus was not on the inner Dorian Gray but just the outer-body. As stated before in The Picture of Dorian Gray the protagonist – the pure innocent portrait when painted – was a symbol of internal deepest beauty that nothing could compare with. Wilde devoted his whole life in striving beauty at any price as an aestheticism. What kind of things could be more attractive than beauty? Even it was morality or so-called happiness that pressed so many under it. Suppose you were in the situation like Dorian Gray’s with appearance of extraordinary personal beauty. There happen to be a portrait which could endure the mar caused by time for you. That means you keep your extreme good looking forever and that picture be stained which can be kept as your own secret will you refuse it? I guess it is hard to say.

To an aestheticism beauty was the only in the whole universe. This philosophy might be too extreme; however couldn’t we just be tolerant with such a splendid genius? What’s more this genius also had created so many beauties not for himself only but for us for the whole society. On the other hand Wilde’s tragedy had parts of his own responsibility. Anyway moth is woeful but poets still eulogize them.

Lord Henry used to say that emotion was the obstruction for pursuing pleasure especially organic pleasure. So Dorian’s efficient way to get over sorrow was to forget forget the past. The second day after his first lover Sibyl’s death Dorian referred that death the past.

‘Stop Basil! I won’t hear it!’ cried Dorian leaping to his feet. ‘You must not tell me about things. What is done is done. What is past is past.’

‘You call yesterday the past?’

‘What has the actual lapse of time got to do with it? It is only shallow people who require years to get rid of an emotion. A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them to enjoy them and to dominate them.’(88)

Heartless Dorian became what he himself said ‘Like the painting of a sorrow A face without a heart.’ from Hamlet. (P.170) these words must came from someone who had too much sorrow suffering too much. A way that could end a sorrow as easily as he could invent a pleasure was in desperate needed. Actually when we were sad we would have this kind of thought too. Sensitive as Wilde would be hurt by be sad about too many things so he needed a way to deal with.

The last part of the confession ‘in other ages perhaps.’ perhaps In other ages when beauty had higher position and be treasured more; perhaps in another ages when beauty could be more free especially free from so-called morality; perhaps in another age when immorality did not had so wide definition; perhaps in another age when people were cooler about arts.

Dorian Gray was Wilde’s dream a dream partly came true. They shared the same sorrowful ending just as other geniuses.

After the ***ysis I am so convinced by myself that The Picture of Dorian Gray should and must be valued as Oscar Wilde’s best autography. Just the same as Wilde himself said Basil Hallward is what he thinks he is; Lord Henry what the world thinks him; Dorian what he would like to be --- in other ages.