19th century England was entrenched in the idea that art could be used as not only a method of expression, but also one of social advancement. With this idea at its forefront, art suddenly inundated places where art was never previously found, such as social education and morality. In contrast, Oscar Wilde was a key advocate of an idea known aestheticism, a concept that relied on art simply being art. Oscar Wilde played a major role in Victorian England, having a major influence through his writing. At its peak “the movement had a disdain for any traditional, natural, political, or moral ideals; rather, the importance of nonconformist form and subject matter were fore grounded” (Majer). Wilde suggested that art should hold no purpose in society and merely exist for its beauty. He argued, as any aesthete would, that by giving art a value greater than its beauty, society is in turn ruining it. He also added that art must be looked at as a whole, and only those who can see the complete “picture” can truly understand the meaning behind art, while also seeing into the artist’s soul. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde portrays aestheticism in many ways, mainly through art and the human soul. Wilde, comparable to a puppeteer, manipulates each character in order to ultimately depict the ideas behind aestheticism; he plays upon each characters eternal search for contentment, their connections with their inner souls, and their various ties with art. With each character’s actions, Wilde reinforces the overarching theme upon the true purpose of art, but at the same time warns the reader against aestheticism in its purest form.Each character in the novel searches for the elusive goal of happiness, but is never able to a…
…, Sarah. “decadence.” In Maunder, Andrew. Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007.Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.Sanyal, Arundhati. “Taboo in The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Quoted as “Taboo in The Picture of Dorian Gray” in Bloom, Harold, ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2010. Bloom’s Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.Shuman, R. Baird. Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition, January 2009, p1-2. (Work Analysis)Wainwright, Michael, “Oscar Wilde, the Science of Heredity, and “The Picture of Dorian Gray.'” ()AUTHOR. English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920, 2011, Vol. 54 Issue 4, p494-522, 29p. (Literary Criticism)Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. A Norton Critical Edition. Ed. Michael Patrick Gillespie. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007.
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