Concetti Chiave
- Lord Henry Watton, a dandy focused on beauty and pleasure, tries to convince Dorian Gray that beauty is the most important aspect of life.
- Dorian Gray is profoundly affected by Lord Henry's words, leading him to wish for eternal youth and beauty, akin to a 'Faustian pact'.
- Lord Henry uses eloquent and paradoxical language to persuade Dorian to prioritize youth and beauty over moral responsibility.
- The characters belong to the upper middle class, and the narrative style features a third-person narrator adopting perspectives of Lord Henry and Dorian.
- The main theme of the text explores the relationship between beauty and morality, highlighting the pursuit of eternal youth.
This passage is taken from chapter 2 of the novel. There are three characters, i.e., Lord Henry Watton, the painter Basil Hallward and Dorian Gray. The painter has just finished painting Dorian's portrait and Henry Watton is speaking to the young man.
The Speech of Lord Henry
Lord Henry is a typical dandy who has devoted his life to the search for beauty and pleasure and is now trying to convince Dorian that beauty matters more than anything else in life, it is a form of genius which makes you unique. It is a gift but it will leave Dorian soon. He implores Dorian to enjoy it while he can and he suggests that he should not give his life to 'the ignorant, the common and the vulgur'. According to Lord Henry Watton's words, Dorian could become the symbol of a new form of hedonism, that is the pursuit of pleasure as the greatest goal in life (see lines 24-25).
The Effect on Dorian
Lord Henry's words affects Dorian deeply and, looking at his portrait, he realizes that he is as beautiful as Lord Henry has told him. He 'falls in love'with his portrait and starts feeling anxious about what will happen to him in the future. So, he expresses the wish the rules of time might be reversed; he wishes he would forever be young and beautiful and the portrait could show the signs of time and old age. His wish reminds us of a 'Faustian pact', it is a pact with the devil. Dorian sells his soul in exchange for eternal beauty and youth. By doing that, he goes against the laws of God and nature.
What is The Art of Persuasion?
Lord Henry is very skilled at convincing people through the power of words. He succeeds in dominating Dorian and making him choose to live his life for art and forget moral responsibility. He uses a lot of words and expressions relating to youth, beauty and old age and they convey the idea that youth is beautiful and divine while old age stands for physical and mental decay. What only matters in life is being young and beautiful.
Social Class and Language
All characters belong to the upper middle class and Lord Henry's speech is eloquent and refined. He makes use of 'paradox', a statement which seems untrue and contradictory, but reveals a deeper truth. In lines 11 and 12, he says that 'the true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible'. Although at first this statement sounds non-sensical, after second thought it may reveal some truth about Victorian people's hypocrisy.
Narrator and Point of View
The story is told by a third-person narrator who is unobtrusive,since he never intervenes in the narration and never addresses the reader directly. The point of view adopted is Lord Henry's in the first part and Dorian's in the second part of the extract.
The main theme of the text is the relationship between beauty and morality.
Domande da interrogazione
- What is Lord Henry's perspective on beauty and its significance in life?
Lord Henry believes that beauty is the most important aspect of life, equating it to a form of genius that makes one unique. He urges Dorian to cherish his beauty while he can, suggesting that it is a fleeting gift that should be prioritized over everything else.
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