time is never time at all.
UM EPIPHANY AT 4:45AM.
TL;DR VERSION: HAHA HEDONISM DOES RULE.
The message Oscar Wilde seems to convey with the tragic life of Dorian Gray is that succumbing to hedonism invariably leads to corruption and decay - but he himself lived most of his life as a self-proclaimed hedonist (before, uh, Catholicism set in). And Lord Henry Wotton, who showed Dorian Gray what it meant to be a hedonist, is perfectly unscathed.
Behind all the poetry and wit, Wilde has a gift for precision; each symbol, motif, and plot twist is carefully thought out to its end. Why, then, is Lord Henry’s hedonism acceptable and Dorian Gray’s unacceptable? Does he mean to condemn all corruption, or just extreme corruption? In order to discern his motives, it is necessary to examine the fundamental difference between Henry and Dorian.
Lord Henry seems to be the only character who escapes criticism. The narration does not portray him as flawed in any way. Everyone, even blameless characters like Basil Hallward and Sybil Vane, are portrayed as soft, vapid, and silly. Only Lord Henry seems ostensibly in charge of his facilities. He is practical, but speaks grandly, and is blessed with grand social graces. He is always his own master, while Dorian is mastered by his greed and corruption, Sybil is mastered by her love for Dorian, and Basil is mastered by his own innocent nature and affections.
Lord Henry does not particularly care for his wife, and routinely makes fun of the company he keeps - but he is content enough in his life not to pursue grand shows of pleasure-seeking. It is his complacency that saves him. Dorian Gray, however, is overcome by his quest for pleasure - he is a womanizer who sees nothing wrong about prostitution, he does drugs, and he loses focus of everything except for pure pleasure. Dorian says, “’I have never searched for happiness. Who wants happiness? I have searched for pleasure.’” (pg. 227)
Dorian falls straight into the traps that Henry has able to avoid.
Indeed, Wilde’s true message is this: “Success was given to the strong, failure thrust upon the weak. That was all.” (pg. 229) In order to prolong a pleasurable life, Lord Henry knows never to succumb to the kind of blindly destructive behavior Dorian becomes consumed by.
SO, DUDES. Instead of being a cautionary tale against hedonism, The Picture of Dorian Gray is hedonism’s ultimate testament, its final proof. I should be having way more one night stands.
TL;DR VERSION: HAHA HEDONISM DOES RULE.
The message Oscar Wilde seems to convey with the tragic life of Dorian Gray is that succumbing to hedonism invariably leads to corruption and decay - but he himself lived most of his life as a self-proclaimed hedonist (before, uh, Catholicism set in). And Lord Henry Wotton, who showed Dorian Gray what it meant to be a hedonist, is perfectly unscathed.
Behind all the poetry and wit, Wilde has a gift for precision; each symbol, motif, and plot twist is carefully thought out to its end. Why, then, is Lord Henry’s hedonism acceptable and Dorian Gray’s unacceptable? Does he mean to condemn all corruption, or just extreme corruption? In order to discern his motives, it is necessary to examine the fundamental difference between Henry and Dorian.
Lord Henry seems to be the only character who escapes criticism. The narration does not portray him as flawed in any way. Everyone, even blameless characters like Basil Hallward and Sybil Vane, are portrayed as soft, vapid, and silly. Only Lord Henry seems ostensibly in charge of his facilities. He is practical, but speaks grandly, and is blessed with grand social graces. He is always his own master, while Dorian is mastered by his greed and corruption, Sybil is mastered by her love for Dorian, and Basil is mastered by his own innocent nature and affections.
Lord Henry does not particularly care for his wife, and routinely makes fun of the company he keeps - but he is content enough in his life not to pursue grand shows of pleasure-seeking. It is his complacency that saves him. Dorian Gray, however, is overcome by his quest for pleasure - he is a womanizer who sees nothing wrong about prostitution, he does drugs, and he loses focus of everything except for pure pleasure. Dorian says, “’I have never searched for happiness. Who wants happiness? I have searched for pleasure.’” (pg. 227)
Dorian falls straight into the traps that Henry has able to avoid.
Indeed, Wilde’s true message is this: “Success was given to the strong, failure thrust upon the weak. That was all.” (pg. 229) In order to prolong a pleasurable life, Lord Henry knows never to succumb to the kind of blindly destructive behavior Dorian becomes consumed by.
SO, DUDES. Instead of being a cautionary tale against hedonism, The Picture of Dorian Gray is hedonism’s ultimate testament, its final proof. I should be having way more one night stands.