The Creation of Civilization

The Island of Doctor Moreau and Dracula are both overtly concerned with anxieties about colonization and reverse invasion. Prendick stumbles upon a colony of “civilized” animals created by Dr. Moreau. Van Helsing and his friends struggle to ward off a foreign enemy infecting good English people with an age-old curse. It is clear in both novels that the foreign, the other, and the damned are a threat to British security.

The Picture of Dorian Gray doesn’t really seem to fit into this theme of invasion and conquering. However, one passage in Chapter XIX stood out to me. Lord Henry says to Dorian, concerning country life, “There are no temptations there. That is the reason why people who live out of town are so absolutely uncivilized. Civilization is not by any means an easy thing to attain to. There are only two ways by which man can reach it. One is by being cultured, the other by being corrupt” (Wilde 215*).

Lord Henry’s theory of civilization could be applied to Dr. Moreau. If “out of town” can refer to anywhere outside of England (the Island), then the British must spread their “culture” to civilize their colonized people (Moreau’s animals). The way the colonists saw it, they were spreading the right religion, the right government, the right customs and ideas to the unfortunate people who were not born British. Moreau creates his civilization by introducing human aspects into animals. He’s civilizing the animals by introducing them to his culture. (I’m using “culture” here to mean a form of societal structure, not to mean the arts, music, etc. that Lord Henry probably meant. The Beast-People form their own governed society, following strict laws and practically worshipping their creator/ruler. It’s a mini-England.) Montgomery also has a hand in their civilization. He blurs the line between Lord Henry’s culture and corruption by introducing the creatures to alcohol. He says to the beast-people, “Drink and be men!…Moreau forgot this; this is the last touch. Drink, I tell you!” (Wells 84). The last step in making the animals men, civilizing them, is corrupting them, offering them temptation.

Count Dracula invades England to establish himself in a new society. He wants to create a new generation of vampires, starting with Lucy. He’s colonizing England and spreading his culture to the greatest city in the world, London. However, he does this exclusively by corrupting his victims, turning them into blood-sucking monsters. Dracula is also linked with various temptations. His appearance is androgynous and though he only ever preys on women, he is a constant threat to the men. Dracula’s threat is not only that he can corrupt people’s souls, but also that he breaks gender and sexual mores. He tempts the already civilized people of England to a new civilization with different rules.

So what does this say about Dorian Gray? He is definitely “cultured,” being a wealthy white man in London society. But he’s also corrupt––his portrait is evidence of that. Wilde makes it clear that Dorian is not the only rich and corrupted man in London. Lord Henry leads Dorian down this path and then Dorian leads many more young men there. What does it say about the civilization that the wealthy, powerful people are all corrupt? And that they seek to spread their corruption to others? For once the anxiety is not about a foreign culture ruining British culture. What if British culture is inherently corrupt already?

*I have a different edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray so the page number may be off. This quote is right at the beginning of chapter 19.