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Hedonism In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is written in the Victorian era and follows the journey of three men. Dorian Gray is described as a beautiful young man, whom everyone wants to be like. Dorian meets Basil at Lady Brandon’s party and this results in Basil painting a picture of Dorian that captures his youth and beauty. When it is mentioned that Dorian will not always look like he does now, he wishes that he will forever look like the painting and that the painting will portray the damage of his soul. Whe. His wish is fulfilled, Dorian no longer has to worry about the consequences of his actions. Dorian’s actions are influenced by Lord Henry, Basil, and the painting. Lord Henry is an influential character who speaks in epigrams and is a person of hedonism. It is foreshadowed at the beginning of the book the Lord Henry will have a bad influence over Dorian, “Don’t spoil him. Don’t try to influence him. Your influence would be bad” (Wilde 17). Basil knows that if Lord Henry and Dorian become friends, Lord Henry will ruin everything good in Dorian. Lord Henry is a character that is used to ridicule the Victorian society and his beliefs are often conceited. …show more content…

The painting changes with every decision that Dorian makes. The painting reveals what Dorian is supposed to look like and shows is soul. Therefore, Dorian has no sense of the consequences of his actions. A main concern of Dorian, and others at the time, were his looks. Dorian feared a life in which he did not look young and beautiful. Dorian now does not have to worry about the what effect his actions will have on him. This allows Dorian to make decisions without having to give a thought on whether or not it is the right thing. Dorian, under the influence of Lord Henry, becomes of the hedonism nature and is only concerned with himself. Thus, with the painting taking on all consequences of Dorina’s actions, he no longer has to worry about

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