Oscar Wilde: life, works and the pursuit of beauty

Oscar Wilde's early life

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. He studied at Trinity College but then moved to Oxford where he gained his degree in Classics. He distinguished himself for his eccentric manners, he was a dandy (elegant dresses, he pursued the aesthetic). He became a disciple of Walter Pater. He started traveling around the world. He considered Aestheticism as a search for the beautiful. Once he returned to Europe he got married and had two children. He started writing many short stories, published on the best known magazines. His first novel, The picture of Dorian Gray, was published in 1891 and immediately gained a lot of success. He was severely criticized as he was considered immoral and obscene. His years of triumph ended when, in 1891, his intimate association with Lord Alfred Douglas, Bosie, led to his trial on charges of homosexuality. He was sentenced to two years of hard labor. Once he was released he emigrated to France, where he lived until his death. He died in 1900, alone.

Aestheticism and its influence

Art should be appreciated for its beauty and not used for moral instruction (art for art’s sake). Aestheticism was a lifestyle. They looked for pleasure. The figure of the dandy emerge. The Aesthetes searched for pure sensations, beauty and the exotic. They presented a cynical attitude against the decadent society. Most of them weren’t interested in mass acceptance and they enjoyed being different. The art and poetry of the Pre Raphaelites and the critical writing of John Ruskin influenced the movement. The Pre Raphaelites rejected all forms of art after Raphael, as they thought the medieval art was natural and so pure. The main goal was to reach pleasure through art, escaping from the society.

• The Importance of being Ernest (1895)
• De Profundus
• The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)

The picture of Dorian Gray

The setting is in London at the end of the 19th century. Dorian Gray is a young rich man who fascinates the painter Basil, who decides to paint his portrait. Under the influence of Lord Henry, he throws himself into a life of pleasure. Dorian ends up making a pact with the devil in exchange for eternal beauty and youth. All the signs of age and experience appear, therefore, on the portrait. When the painter notices it, Dorian kills him. Later on he wants to free himself from the painting and stabs it, but, doing this, he kills himself, too.

Characters and themes in Dorian Gray

• Dorian Gray: represents the ideal of youth, beauty and innocence. At the beginning he is presented as a pure boy.
  

  Basil Hallward, the painter: represents the example of how good artists could be destroyed in a sacrifice for art. He falls in love with Dorian but he is eventually killed.

• Lord Henry: represents the hedonism. He brings Oscar to look for a life of pleasure and sensation. He is a brilliant talker, sharp in his criticism of institutions. He is a pleasure seeking dandy.

Narrative style and allegory

Oscar Wilde uses the third person narrator with internal perspective of his characters. This allows a process of identification between reader and narrator. The story reminds to the Faust. It has an allegorical meaning: the painting represents the dark side of Dorian’s personality, his double.

Every excess must be punished and there is no escape from reality. At the end of the novel the picture restored to its original beauty. Art survives people, art is eternal.