Corruption and Influence in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde

I have actually read The Picture of Dorian Gray before, but it was about eight or nine years ago, so it was interesting to see it from a more adult perspective. Many readings of The Picture of Dorian Gray tend to focus on a homosexual angle, analysing the relationship between characters with a deliberate nod to the life and experiences of Oscar Wilde himself. I would argue, however, that in doing so, one could easily miss several other very valuable points and observations that this novel has to offer. In addition, Wilde himself argued strongly for a separation between art and the artist, as well as between art and morals. With this in mind, I would like to look at The Picture of Dorian Gray from a slightly different standpoint, namely, to what extent are art and people able to be corrupting influences and also, whose responsibility is it to avoid such corruption.

The preface Wilde wrote for the book edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray (it was first published in a magazine and faced criticism for its contents) is actually very famous in and of itself. In it, Wilde argues against any attempt to find himself within the novel, stating that ‘to reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim’. In fact, it is interesting that it is only when it comes to forms of sexual ‘un-normalness’ that authors and their works are attacked as one and the same. One could, for example, think of Lolita and the view of Nabokov held by poorly informed readers, that in some way he himself must be a pervert; how else could he write so convincingly? I believe that this is a trap fallen into by many readers of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Of course, the novel does have a homosexual element, but it is in my opinion a very minor one. Originally, it may have been a more important theme but after substantial editing of this element (in his trial, Wilde admitted cutting passages that may have had more overt homosexual overtones), this is a lesser theme.

Oscar Wilde’s 1895 trial involved a fairly long cross-examination of Wilde, on the topic of The Picture of Dorian Gray, which had first been published five years earlier. The notes that I have made on the trial come from Irish Peacock and Scarlet Marquess by Wilde’s grandson, Merlin Holland. Upon discussing the novel, Edward Carson (the prosecutor), asked Wilde, “A well-written book putting forth sodimitical views might be a good book?” to which Wilde replied, “No work of art ever puts forward views of any kind.” This observation is important when looking at what becomes of the character of Dorian Gray in the novel. Two ‘works of art’ are central to events in Gray’s life; one is, obviously, the painting, the other is the unknown book detailing the life and misadventures of the young Parisian. Firstly, let us look at the portrait itself. I would be inclined to argue that it has no corruptive power. Its ability to allow Dorian his sins and vices with greater ease comes from Dorian’s own wish; in other words, Dorian had the desires before, the portrait only assists him. The portrait itself is not a corrupting influence – Dorian was already well on his way. When it comes to the unnamed book, one could first of all comment that the book is given to Dorian by Lord Henry, so it is he, perhaps, who is to blame for its apparent influence over Dorian. In addition, ‘for years, Dorian Gray could not free himself from the influence of this book. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he never sought to free himself from it.’ – p.102 When we are told that ‘Dorian Gray had been poisoned by a book’ – p.116, it is important to note that this was done willingly. Dorian was utterly fascinated by its contents. The idea of a work of art corrupting a human being is ridiculous and this was the position held by Oscar Wilde.

When it comes to some characters’ influence of, and responsibility towards, others, there is plenty to say. Even Mrs Vane has a responsibility towards her daughter Sybil, and her failure as a mother reminded me of Dickens, in particular the character of Mrs Nickleby in Nicholas Nickleby – too self-absorbed and self-concerned to notice the troubles of their offspring. Basil has responsibility towards Dorian only in the sense that he is older and they are friends. It is clear that we are looking at Dorian’s feelings on the matter when it is stated that ‘Basil could have saved him. But it was too late now’ –p.96 Indeed, what could poor love-struck Basil ever have done? Dorian was, I believe, doomed from his first meeting with Lord Henry and perhaps even from birth; not everyone is so easily corrupted, nor so easily becomes a corrupter. Lord Henry’s influence over (but I believe by no means corruption of) Dorian is an interesting topic. On page 18, Lord Henry says that “There is no such thing as a good influence, Mr Gray. All influence is immoral – immoral from a scientific point of view. Because to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul… His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed”. From this, one is led to question whether Lord Henry even believes he has the ability to truly corrupt Dorian. His influence, I believe, is limited as Dorian easily outstrips Lord Henry’s depths of deprivation. His experiences are also more limited, something evident when he tells Dorian, “Someone has killed themselves for love of you. I wish that I had ever had such an experience.” –p.82. Lord Henry is simply words, while Dorian takes the sentiments in the words all the way to actions. Lord Henry could perhaps be seen as a trigger,  as for example ‘that curiosity which Lord Henry had first stirred in [Dorian]…” –p.103. Ultimately, however, this trigger could have been anything – Dorian’s beauty and eventual obsession with maintaining it, would always have caught him in the end.

One thing which struck me in the reading of this novel is the possibility that it may have been intended to be satirical. On the one hand, Wilde stated in his trial that a novel cannot exactly have an angle, but he also sought to remove himself from his work, making any opinions he held almost irrelevant. Thus, he is of little use to us! Throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray, the protagonist finds numerous ways to distance himself from his wrong-doings, most obviously in his relationship with his portrait, but also in other ways. He blames others for his behaviour and corruption, even going so far as to implicitly blame Basil. Even after events with Sybil, he somehow finds ways to distance himself from any blame. I read that Wilde believed Lord Henry to be what the public believed Wilde himself to be. From here I think it is possible to infer that the entire concept of one person corrupting anybody else, let along someone so emotionally damaged as Dorian (with regards to his relationship with his Grandfather), is entirely absurd.

Perhaps my reading of The Picture of Dorian Gray is a little unusual – it is certainly flawed. I found it a somewhat difficult novel, as though I couldn’t quite get to the ‘truth’ of it. I enjoyed it, I think, and there is definitely a lot to say about it but it was also challenging.

I have noticed in my stats that I have a very wide variety of readers (I have a surprisingly high number of readers in Israel!). I would just like to thank you all for reading, and encourage you to e-mail me, or leave a comment, especially if you have any constructive criticism.

The next post will be written based on notes I have made in the past, starting with a gender-based exploration of themes in Macbeth by William Shakespeare. It’ll be my first foray into writing about Shakespeare since school, so feel free to take a look!

Anyway, as always thank you for reading!

-      K