The Picture of Dorian Gray - Compare a Character with a Person from Wilde's life

Choose a character from the book and develop an essay comparing that character with any real person from Oscar's life.

  Most of the characters in the novel are aristocrats. As aristocrats, these characters are used to consuming art. Lord Henry’s hedonistic lifestyle of ‘enjoying’ everything available in life best illustrates this feature. Oscar Wilde, for most of his life, lived with similar people. During his childhood, he met with the Dublin upper class that enjoyed his mother’s salons. After he moved to England, he became friends with Oxford alumnus representing the high-bred youngsters from all around Britain. Still later in his life, he mingled with the noblemen and rich bourgeoisie of London that read his articles and became patrons of his plays. However, Wilde himself was an artist before he was an aristocrat. Surrounded by normal people who did not share his fervor for and hardships at writing, he would have developed a unique sense of identity as a creator of art. As such, to compare and contrast Wilde with one of his characters that he arranged to live in a similar environment would be an interesting approach to digesting [The Picture of Dorian Gray].   

Basil is certainly not a replica of Wilde. Basil is described as an honest man who values people’s genuineness of heart. These features are portrayed in Basil’s reaction to Dorian Gray’s affair with Sybil Vane and the tragedy that follows. On the other hand, Wilde seems to be a person who valued artistic values over simple happiness in people’s everyday life. Wilde’s near-abandonment of his faithful wife is characteristic of Lord Henry rather than Basil.

Another conflicting characteristic is shown in their approach to their work. Basil is very hesitant at publicizing the portrait of Dorian Gray—his supposed best work. Not displaying the portrait can be interpreted as a precaution from his work becoming a subject of gossip by people. He seems to be afraid that the portrait—such a sacred thing—will be interpreted in a lowly, philistine manner by the critiques. This is reminiscent of a famous anecdote on Newton, in which he confessed that his groundbreaking book, Principia, was intentionally loaded with jargon. Newton explained that he did not want his ideas to be understood by un-intellectual people since such people would only misinterpret—even adulterate—his ideas. Such an attitude is in stark contrast to Oscar Wilde, who rather enjoyed playing with socially-scandalous ideas and daunting the public by expressing such ideas in his works.       

Yet, the deeper the reader delves into the relationship between the two, the reader comes to appreciate the similarities. Basil Hallward and Oscar Wilde are both creators of art that rely on the recognition and support of the wealthy upper class to make a living. At the same time, they themselves come from an aristocratic background and enjoy the work of other artists. Basil is described as attending operas with Lord Henry and Dorian Gray. In a movie attributed to him, Wilde is seen visiting an art gallery. This duality of identity separates Basil from other artists in the novel. Other artists are actors that perform for and rely on the generosity of aristocrats like Lord Henry and his friends. Also, actors are limited by the boundaries that playwrights set for each role whereas a painter is free to orchestrate his/her work. Such apparent contrast between Basil and other characters arouse speculation that Wilde intentionally reflected himself in Basil.

Basil’s affinity with Dorian Gray is representative of Wilde’s relation with Robbie. Basil’s almost obsessive proclivity towards Dorian Gray borders on the homosexual relationship Wilde was condemned for. What is interesting here is that Wilde published the novel before he endorsed himself in homosexual love. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that Wilde’s conception of himself included the seeds of homosexuality. Considering that Wilde was attracted to Robbie and his other lovers due to their fresh beauty and the inspirations such beauty stirred up in Wilde, Basil’s affection for Dorian Gray might be interpreted as a reflection of Wilde’s conception on the relation between an artist and his/her muse. To illustrate, Basil would preserve Dorian Gray’s original state of mind at the risk of his own work of art. In the same line, Wilde risked his career for his love for Robbie. 

Argentinian Beef

Because cows are so abundant in Argentina...
Stakes of great thickness costs only about 2~4000 won..!
Maybe I should do a comparative research on the history of beef products in the country...