One of the overarching themes of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is beauty, not only as an aesthetic sense but also as a social position still present in today’s society. Dorian Gray transforms into an embodiment of debauchery and corruption throughout the years, casting his guilt and crimes upon the portrait that contains his soul. However, I feel that one of the reasons the portrait takes on the appearance of the sins committed is not only because it contains part of Dorian, but of the artist Basil Hallward himself. He even claimed that he put too much of himself into the painting, and in with his death marked the turning of the tides. However, Dorian gets away with all of these horrific acts, including the death of Sybil Vane, because of his beauty.
Dorian Gray’s story, and by that I mean his actual life and not the timeline of the book, even begins with beauty. His mother was remembered as a beautiful young aristocrat who became the victim of unsavory attitudes and manipulation after marrying a man of a lower class, a “Belgian brute” (Wilde 35). Lord Henry talks with Lord Fermor of Dorian’s life, and when the latter asks what kind of boy he is Lord Henry simply replied “He is very good-looking” (Wilde 35). This implies that one should not have to question his character and morals, for beautiful people must be inherently good (an unfortunate assumption that has dominated our culture for millennia). There is also a divide in beauty, for while his mother, Margaret Devereux, was an exceptionally beautiful woman, she is met with pity and disdain for her choice to marry below her class. Dorian’s actions are excused because he is a man belonging to an upper class, and the deeds are even forgotten quickly because of his beauty and charm.
The culmination and exoneration of Dorian Gray primarily happens at the end of the novel. With the death of Sybil Vane and her misfortunes it is unfortunately cast aside as a sort of foolish act due to the influence of Lord Henry. However it is resurrected in chapter XVI when Dorian encounters her brother James Vane. Determined to kill Dorian and take his revenge (Which is an interesting mix of rightful vengeance and the incredibly masculine stereotype of the over protective brother driven to violence in order to preserve the virtue of his sister) James recounts the wrongs of his sister’s doomed love. In this Dorian finds his means of escape, which is the third time he seeks to be absolved of crime (the first two being the news of Sybil’s suicide and his murdering of Basil Hallward), explaining that he couldn’t possibly be the culprit because her death was eighteen years ago and he is but a young man in his early twenties. James sees him in a brighter light and realizes this (for how could a beautiful young man have been responsible?). However he soon learns that Dorian has tricked him and sets out for revenge.
Dorian is not completely free of Sybill’s death until James is accidentally shot and killed during a shooting party with Sir Geoffrey. However, he later confronts Lord Henry about his crimes, asking what would happen if he were to have committed them. Henry tells him that he would be trying to pose as a character that does not suit him. “All crime is vulgar…crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders” (Wilde 203). Thus Dorian is trapped. He is absolved of the actions of the crimes but left with the guilt (which some would argue is a much more terrible fate). His beauty is the curse through which our society still operates. We even have an obsession with “sexy” criminals and fell better for them, painting an image of wrong doers as people as grotesque as the portrait of Dorian Gray. However we are starting to recognize this and can hopefully move towards a time where character and class are not tied to our physical appear
Here is a link to the latest “sexy criminal” taking the internet by storm:
Especially after reading The Island of Dr. Moreau, I’m starting to think that the exoneration of sin based on appearance is closely tied to racialized ideas. As a body, the Western world assumes that appearance is the clue to inner nature: phrenology, cosmetics, plastic surgery, innate and immediate judgements of character based on how someone looks – they’re related to race, as if beautiful people are somehow a different race, a higher order of people. It’s a frightening idea, but based on the enormous followings of Hollywood stars and the enormous value placed on a certain physical appearance in the Western world, it’s a pervasive one.