The Pessimistic View of Victorian Life in "Dorian Gray"
Summary:
The upper class in the Victorian Era is depicted as decadant, shallow and unhappy in the novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. The title character lives a lavish life that consists of secrets and burdens including his murder of Basil Hallward, his situation with the painting, and his eventual opium addiction.
The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, describes the lives of numerous upper class citizens of Victorian England through incorporating highly detailed accounts of their beliefs and actions into the text. Such members of the upper class include the title character Dorian Gray, Lord Henry, Lady Narborough, and Gladys the Duchess of Monmouth, all of who fully explain the upper classes standing in the Victorian society. Through his use of countless aphorisms, Lord Henry proves to be the glue that keeps the remaining members of the upper class held together and the voice of Wilde within the text. The members of the upper class appear to live lavishly on the surface through partaking in gatherings; however, their lives are characterized by hidden trouble and desire. Oscar Wilde proves to be critical towards the lives of upper class men though Dorian Gray's struggle to hide his problems, and women through Lady Narborough and Gladys's false love for Dorian.
Some may argue that the lavish lifestyle that Dorian Gray lives is not affected by his secrets or the other members of the upper class including women. Others may contend that the author, Oscar Wilde, shows sympathy for Dorian regardless of these secrets. However, Dorian lives a lavish life that consists of secrets and burdens including him murdering Basil Hallward, his situation with the painting, and his eventual opium addiction. These many secrets burden him while he interacts with other upper class citizens while at gatherings with Lady Narborough and Gladys. Dorian is forced to put on an act while attending these gatherings, as he states himself, "Perhaps one never seems so much at one's ease as when one has to play a part" (128). It is because Dorian chooses to live a double life of fear and luxury, that he is being criticized by Wilde. Lord Henry constantly acts as Dorian's mentor through giving him extreme amounts of advice and knowledge. One such instance occurs when he states, "Women love us [men] for our defects" (131). Through this quote, Lord Henry exclaims that in order for a man to be truly loved by a woman, he must possess some sort of defect. Dorian has obvious mental defects, but he keeps them securely hidden from the public's eye. Although he has these mental defects, he does not have any physical defects because of the painting. No woman can love Dorian because he in fact does not have any noticeable defects, which makes him different than other men in the upper class. While he is criticized by Wilde by containing his many problems, he is also the subject of this criticism because of his outlook on life.
Dorian believes that life is a great disappointment because he can not find happiness. Wilde openly criticizes Dorian through presenting him with this view on life. Lady Narborough seeks to change his life into happiness when she exclaims that she will find him a suitable wife. Lord Henry states, "A man can be happy with any women, as long as he does not love her" (132). This quote clearly reveals that upper class marriages are expected to be shallow and based on the improvement of the status of those to be married. Problems presented to the upper class are expected to be solved easily, as shown through Dorian's opium addiction. The burden of an opium addiction, along with his other problems, hinder him from living in bliss. The hunting activity with Geoffrey Clouston, Gladys's brother, proves to make Dorian a happier person. Since shooting is a common activity that upper class members regularly perform, Dorian becomes more enthused by the upper class. Upper class members do not enjoy being jaded, as shown when Lord Henry states, "The only horrible thing in the world is boredom" (149). This boredom is satisfied through gatherings and chatting of topics such as a mysterious man being shot by Geoffrey Clouston. Although Dorian finds happiness, it proves to be temporary because his problems and sins continue to eat away at his mind. Dorian is further criticized by Wilde through the indirect confession of his sins to Lord Henry when he states, "Good heavens! don't you see a man moving behind the trees there, watching me, waiting for me" (150)? Through this quote, Dorian points out that the upper class tends to be naïve and unaware of obvious actions or problems that occur right in front of their eyes. Wilde mocks Dorian by rendering him unable to fall in love by robbing his abilities to have passion and desire. It becomes evident that Wilde believes Dorian has become a self-centered character when Dorian wishes to run from his many problems. By incorporating Dorian's desire to run from his problems, Wilde also shows that members of the upper class can be extremely self-centered and unable to deal with problems. While the character of Dorian Gray is heavily criticized by Wilde, so are the women who are members of the upper class.
By including the female characters of Lady Narborough and Gladys in the novel, Wilde makes it clear that he is critical of the way that upper class citizens live their lives. By including the initial descriptions Wilde provides for these women, they are presented as respectable members of their society who live overall lavish lives. Lady Narborough is described as a very clever woman by Lord Henry because, "She had proved an excellent wife to one of our most tedious ambassadors" (128). Gladys is also described as clever, but in addition she is said to lack the, "charm of weakness" (133). Through this quote, Henry states that women are traditionally weak and inferior to men of the upper class, however, Gladys is believed to lack this trait. The thought of Gladys lacking weakness is dismissed, however, when Henry further explains his stance on the matter when he states, "Success was given to the strong, failure thrust upon the weak" (147). Gladys and Lady Narborough's chief weakness is exposed through their desire to be with Dorian. "You have a rival...Lady Narborough...she perfectly adores him" (145), is how Lord Henry explains to Gladys that she is not the only one who believes they are in love with Dorian. Gladys and Lady Narborough, along with other upper class women have a tendency to hold outer appearances in unnaturally high esteem. Although they believe that they are in love with Dorian, it is quite impossible, according to both Lord Henry and Wilde, for them to be because he has no physical defects. Wilde greatly criticizes these women's lives by making them appear to be highly regarded by their peers. Their appearance to others and false love for Dorian also proves that in all reality they are susceptible subjects of criticism from Wilde.
The author, Oscar Wilde, successfully describes the life of the upper class members in the Victorian society through the characters Dorian Gray, Lord Henry, Lady Narborough, and Gladys the Duchess of Monmouth. Wilde delineates the upper class during the Victorian Age in such a way as to criticize their fanciful way of life. He does this by demonstrating Dorian Gray's inner conflict and his struggle to mask it, and also through Lady Narborough and Gladys's superficial infatuation with Dorian Gray's perfect physical appearance. By utilizing Lord Henry's character, Wilde conveys innumerable aphorisms and epigrams that express both his view on society and shrewd cynicism. At length, Wilde creates a large amount of conflicts and tensions between the upper class characters to criticize their lavish lives. When all is said and done, The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel that exposes the many hidden vices of the upper class in Victorian England.
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