Bloom's Literary Themes - ymerleksi - home

The Picture of Dorian Gray 153
Dorian until he has seen his soul (274). It is fitting that Dorian leads
Basil to his painting for this purpose of revealing his soul, the same
painting that Basil himself had refused to exhibit because it would
reveal too much of the artist’s soul. In acknowledging Dorian’s guilt,
Basil accepts his own as well when he sees the disfigured painting:
“I worshipped you too much. I am punished for it. You worshipped
yourself too much. We are both punished” (277). Basil’s complicity in
Dorian’s own painted confession as well as Basil’s acknowledgement
of guilt in helping to give birth to Dorian’s narcissistic double-life lead
to his death. Overtaken by murderous “loathing,” Dorian kills Basil.
The novel reveals Dorian’s degeneration to be irreversible. In
his downward spiral, Dorian leaves Henry, who is unable to fathom
the debauched depths to which his protégé has fallen, far behind.
Eventually, the portrait degenerates murderously, killing the actual
Dorian as he attempts to annihilate the image of his moral corruption.
Dorian dies, but the painting takes on the youthful and pristine
physical characteristics again. In revealing the hero’s irreversible and
unrelenting end, the narrative becomes an ironic reminder of the
moralistic conception of art that Oscar Wilde opposed throughout
his creative life.
NOTES
1. Sheldon W. Liebman in his essay “Character Design in The
Picture of Dorian Gray” points out how Basil and Henry
represent two separate and opposed world views that are
brought to Dorian’s attention. In his words, “Basil believes
that the universe is a moral order in which God (or at least
fate) punishes evil and rewards good; that the self is (or can
be) unitary and autonomous; and that art—as well as human
conduct in general—can (and should) be guided by a moral
code in which sympathy and compassion are primary values. . . .
Henry’s beliefs are based on the assumption that there is no
moral order (the universe is purposeless and indifferent to
human needs); that the self is not only multiple, but at war
with itself and driven by forces beyond its control; and that
morality is arbitrary and relative. This moral position leads
to a withdrawal from human engagement, the pursuit of
pleasure (both sensual and intellectual) as a distraction from