Dorian Gray Symbolism

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Lust for Our True Character

The struggle to seem perfect on the outside is ever so present in today’s society. The desire to project an unrealistic version of ourselves, striving to mask our insecurities with layers of falsehood. The Victorian era is known for its beautiful women, art and architecture. Beneath the surface it is all false portrayals full of pretend actions and untruthful ideas in order to uphold their aestheticism. Victorian authors used the idea of “destructive doppelgangers”, showing parallels in contemporary cultures of the falsity. In Oscar Wilde’s, The Picture of Dorian Gray, the symbolism of the portrait illustrates the conflict between outer appearance and inner immorality.

Dickson’s,""In a mirror that mirrors the soul": Masks and Mirrors in Dorian Gray”, analyzes the structural device of mirrors throughout the novel as “the notion of mirror images that reflect the masks of the characters —in the foreground, we can begin to appreciate that the novel 's aesthetic design is far more subtle than having the plot”. Relating back to the preface it states that “it is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.” another way of saying “beauty (art) is in the eye of the beholder”. Art is reflected in one 's personal interpretation, mirroring what they believe it represents. In The Picture of Dorian Gray Dorian’s portrait functions as a mirror, reflecting Dorian’s sins. When Dorian first notices the difference on the outer appearance of the portrait, “The quivering, ardent sunlight showed him the lines of cruelty round the mouth as clearly as if he had been looking into a mirror after he had done some dreadful

In a society that glorifies beauty in preference to the goodness of a person’s heart, Dorian is accepted despite his multiple debaucheries by the London elite. Most connect beauty to goodness signifying the attractiveness of one individual equates their personal “purity”. In the novel during an elegant dinner party, Lady Narborough’s remark connects the two, “Lord Henry is very wicked, and I sometimes wish that I had been; but you are made to be good – you look so good” (131). Going back to the central question, does the facade people portray representative of their true intentions? And does it ever receive punishment?

Punishment could be argued to have been dealt to Dorian in the form of madness. Vera B. Profit touches on Dorian’s “incessant efforts to deceive others about the state of his soul in the hopes of maintaining a positive self-image vis-à-vis society”. His mental state decomposes and “the supposed master evolves into the slave”, therein lying the true punishment of deceit. Rather than a simple battle of good vs. evil, Dorian endures a conflict of “warring psychological faculties” further complicating the relationship between Dorian and his