Fairytales In Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Although The Picture of Dorian Gray is considered to be a short novel , it contains some commonly found elements in a fairy tale. In the following essay I am going to present the similitudes that Wilde’s novel shares with fairy tales and give my opinion on whether the novel can be considered a prolonged fairy tale or not.
One thing that needs to be taken into consideration is the fact that in this novel not all the elaments of a fairy tale are present. For example , in Oscar Wilde’s novel the time and the space is defined -the action takes place in England in the nineteenth century-, which is uncharacteristic of the usual fairy tale. But despite the fact that Wilde offers the reader many details regarding the setting where the action takes

But he would not sin. The picture , changed or unchanged , would be to him the visible emblem of conscience. He would resist temptation. He would not see Lord Henry any more- would not , at any rate , listen to those subtle poisonous theories that in Basil Hallward’s garden had first stirred within him the passion for impossible things. (Wilde , 89 ).
His narcissism and his search for morality represent the struggle between good and evil.
The magical element is represented by the portrait painted by Basil. It symbolizes the wickedness and the corruption of Dorian Gray’s soul, his lack of morality.
The last fairy tale element in the novel is the fact that the hero is recognised by his belongings, his rings: “Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognised who it was.” ( Wilde, 224)
In conclusion, there is no doubt that The Picture of Dorian Gray has many fairy tale elements and it also contains most of Vladimir Propp’s functions. In my opinion , just as it is right to say that Oscar Wilde’s only novel is a short novel , it is also right to say that it is an extended fairy