Art or Human? The Inner Struggle of Dorian Gray

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" explores the relationship between art, beauty, and morality through the character of Dorian Gray. This analysis delves into how Dorian transforms throughout the novel.

A relationship between art and life is seen in the novel. The art is Dorian himself. He is a symbol of youth, beauty and art but as the novel progresses, his appearance doesn't change and his soul becomes corrupt.

The Writer, Oscar Wilde, suggests that the book should not be judged morally but appreciated for its beauty. In this sense, Dorian himself becomes a living work of art.

Dorian has two creators:

The moral side is Basil Hallward, he is the artist who paints Dorian's portrait. He worries about Dorian’s morality, and he is a decent man. His deep connection affected Basil's life and work.

The other one is Lord Henry Wotton. He has a big influence on Dorian. He is an amoral character. He is antireligious, has anti-Victorian morality and anti-Victorian hypocrisy. He recognizes the beauty in Dorian. 

The battle is going on between Basil and Henry for Dorian. When Lord Henry wants to meet with Dorian, Basil gets jealous because he thinks that Henry can corrupt him. Henry takes Dorian away from Basil. Basil doesn’t have any influence on Dorian while Lord Henry affects Dorian in every way. Basil tries to get rid of Henry, but Henry easily manipulates the situation and Dorian has already been influenced by him, so it is too late.

Dorian hurts people and he doesn’t care. He goes with Henry and leaves Basil. Also, Henry awakens something in Dorian that Dorian has already thought of before. Henry says Dorian should look up to experience and live the moment. He should live like a piece of art. Dorian’s life has become a work of art. When he looks at the picture of himself, Dorian falls in love with this work of art. He is a narcissist. He recognizes the beauty in the portrait and realizes youth doesn’t last forever but the painting does. As he gets older, painting stays youthful. So, Dorian himself is a work of art but beauty doesn’t mean that he is a good person. He is under the spell of Lord Henry. 

The scandalous event takes place in the book. Dorian has a relationship with Sibyl who is a talented actress, and she is a work of art like Dorian. This relationship represents Dorian's superficial love for beauty and art. Sibyl falls completely in love with him. When they go to the theatre to watch Sibyl, Dorian thinks he is in love with her. We see the good side of Dorian because of love but Dorian’s love is superficial, he only sees art, not Sibyl's character. Sibyl acts badly this time because she is now interested in real life instead of art life because of her love for Dorian. The acting was the only reality in Sibyl’s life before. Now she is rejecting art for love and love is associated with real life. Dorian talks horribly to Sibyl and causes her tragic suicide, but he doesn’t feel like he caused it, he doesn’t feel anything. Art does not feel, human beings feel. Dorian isn’t feeling well because he is a work of art created by Henry.