Dorian gray – the symbol of sin and redemption in the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde

Among diverse subjects of research in literature, the novel “The picture of Dorian Gray” with the study subject entitled “Dorian Gray the Symbol of Sin and Redemption” is chosen by the researcher for this thesis. The love for the classic novel and the interest in the theme of sin and redemption symbolized by Dorian Gray have adequately accounted for the researcher’s choice. Firstly, “The picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde is a thoughtprovoking novel that leaves worldwide readers, particularly the researcher, a distinct and favorable impression from its very first story lines. The novel, in spite of undergoing harsh criticism for the socalled abusive and immoral book right after its first appearance in 1890, still lives through time to capture literaturelovers’ hearts after more than 120 years. Oscar Wilde’s only novel also receives broad support and appreciation from a number of famous authors over time. W. B. Yeats, the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923, called the novel a wonderful book in the United Ireland of September 26, 1891. Besides, Arthur Conan Doyle, James Joyce and Joyce Carol Oates are among those writers who are supportive of the novel and its author. Nowadays, after more than a century since its first publication, “The picture of Dorian Gray” is “recognized as one of the classics of English literature, a masterpiece of findesiècle Aestheticism and in many respects a harbinger of the Modernist movement” (Allen 2011). With such great honors, the novel proves itself worthy of the study subject. Secondly, among primary themes addressed in the novel, that of sin and redemption deals with the moral value as well as the ethical issue that remains burning in the modern times. Each character in the novel has to pay a particular price for the sins they have committed. Painter Basil Hallward, who commits an “artistic sin” of overstepping the boundary of art to express too much of himself in his work the portrait of Dorian Gray, has to pay his life for that. Other people whose sins are letting themselves negatively influenced and manipulated by Dorian also pay an expensive price, i.e. their tarnished reputations, ruined careers and even tragic ends. Especially, Dorian Gray, the protagonist of the novel who commits numerous sins of murdering and corrupting other people, has to redeem himself by the torment, restlessness and obsession with his horrible sins during his double life, and eventually by his agonizing death. Dorian, with sins after sins and redemption after redemption, has become the symbol of sin and redemption reflected in the novel. Through this main character, readers could see most clearly the tragedy and the tragic end of a sinner; and they could absorb more the valuable lesson of life: a sinner will have to be punished for his sins, sooner or later. In this regard, the researcher deems it meaningful and important to investigate the sin and redemption symbolized by Dorian in details. To sum up, the special interest in the great novel of Oscar Wilde and in the theme of sin and redemption reflected mainly through the protagonist of this novel has motivated the researcher to work on the thesis entitled “Dorian Gray the Symbol of Sin and Redemption in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde”. This thesis research is carried out with the belief and the hope that it would benefit readers at least by arousing their awareness of the lesson of sin and redemption.

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Among diverse subjects of research in literature, the novel “The picture of Dorian Gray” with the study subject entitled “Dorian Gray - the Symbol of Sin and Redemption” is chosen by the researcher for this thesis The love for the classic novel

and the interest in the theme of sin and redemption symbolized by Dorian Gray haveadequately accounted for the researcher’s choice

Firstly, “The picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde is a thought-provoking

novel that leaves world-wide readers, particularly the researcher, a distinct andfavorable impression from its very first story lines The novel, in spite of undergoingharsh criticism for the so-called abusive and immoral book right after its firstappearance in 1890, still lives through time to capture literature-lovers’ hearts aftermore than 120 years Oscar Wilde’s only novel also receives broad support andappreciation from a number of famous authors over time W B Yeats, the winner of

the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923, called the novel a "wonderful book" in the United Ireland of September 26, 1891 Besides, Arthur Conan Doyle, James Joyce and Joyce

Carol Oates are among those writers who are supportive of the novel and its author

Nowadays, after more than a century since its first publication, “The picture of Dorian Gray” is “recognized as one of the classics of English literature, a masterpiece of fin- de-siècle Aestheticism and in many respects a harbinger of the Modernist movement”

(Allen 2011) With such great honors, the novel proves itself worthy of the studysubject

Secondly, among primary themes addressed in the novel, that of sin andredemption deals with the moral value as well as the ethical issue that remains burning

in the modern times Each character in the novel has to pay a particular price for the

sins they have committed Painter Basil Hallward, who commits an “artistic sin” of

overstepping the boundary of art to express too much of himself in his work- theportrait of Dorian Gray, has to pay his life for that Other people whose sins are letting

themselves negatively influenced and manipulated by Dorian also pay an expensiveprice, i.e their tarnished reputations, ruined careers and even tragic ends Especially,Dorian Gray, the protagonist of the novel who commits numerous sins of murderingand corrupting other people, has to redeem himself by the torment, restlessness andobsession with his horrible sins during his double life, and eventually by his agonizingdeath Dorian, with sins after sins and redemption after redemption, has become thesymbol of sin and redemption reflected in the novel Through this main character,readers could see most clearly the tragedy and the tragic end of a sinner; and theycould absorb more the valuable lesson of life: a sinner will have to be punished for hissins, sooner or later In this regard, the researcher deems it meaningful and important

to investigate the sin and redemption symbolized by Dorian in details

To sum up, the special interest in the great novel of Oscar Wilde and in thetheme of sin and redemption reflected mainly through the protagonist of this novel has

motivated the researcher to work on the thesis entitled “Dorian Gray- the Symbol of Sin and Redemption in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde” This thesis

research is carried out with the belief and the hope that it would benefit readers at least

by arousing their awareness of the lesson of sin and redemption

2 Aims and objectives

This graduation paper aims to give a close and careful investigation into a small

aspect of sin and redemption, the basic theme in the novel “The picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde More specifically, this research is restricted to the sin and

redemption symbolized by the leading character Dorian Gray with two majorobjectives as follow:

 To critically analyze the sins Dorian commits in his double life in comparisonwith other characters’ sins to show that Dorian is the symbol of sin the novel

 To carefully examine Dorian’s redemption for his endless list of sins incomparison with other characters’ redemption to demonstrate that Dorian isalso the symbol of redemption in the novel

3 Significance of the study

The thesis works on the 19th-century classic novel of English literature “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, which a lot of Vietnamese readers may not have had the

opportunity to taste Moreover, the study subject of sin and redemption symbolized byDorian Gray in the novel is quite interesting and meaningful for readers to explore andcontemplate Besides, the researcher’s choice of subject in this thesis is probably thenew one among those studies on literature in Vietnam

For these reasons, it is believed by the researcher that the thesis would serve as

an useful reference material for those who have read and loved “The picture of Dorian Gray”, as a recommendation and motivation for those who have not gotten access to

Oscar Wilde’s only novel to read and enjoy it, and as an available source for futurerelated studies

4 Scope of the study

As a classic and thought-provoking novel, “The picture of Dorian Gray”

deserves to be the satisfactory subject of numerous studies Appearently, any carefuland thorough investigation into any aspect of the novel is worthwhile and valuable.Each reader may be struck by each different character, theme and aspect successfullydeveloped in the novel One may want to explore Lord Henry with his personalinfluence and manipulation Others may desire to study the dual nature in DorianGray As for the researcher, the theme of sin and redemption that runs through thenovel is interesting and meaningful enough to be investigated Restricted in agraduation paper within the time constraint, this study only focuses on the sins andredemption symbolized by the protagonist Dorian Gray What the researcher is trying

to explore and analyse in the thesis is expected to focuse on this single aspect of thenovel

5 Research methodology

The qualitative approach is employed by the researcher as the key researchmethodology for this study Qualitative research is defined as a type of scientific

research that “is concerned with developing explanations of social phenomena”

(Hancook 1998) Advantages of qualitative research are acknowledged in the

“Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide”:

The strength of qualitative research is its ability to provide complex textual descriptions of how people experience a given research issue It provides information about the “human” side of an issue – that is, the often contradictory behaviors, beliefs, opinions, emotions, and relationships of individuals Qualitative methods are also effective in identifying intangible factors, such as social norms, socioeconomic status, gender roles, ethnicity, and religion, whose role in the research issue may not be readily apparent When used along with quantitative methods, qualitative research can help us to interpret and better understand the complex reality of a given situation and the implications of quantitative data

With the qualitative approach applied, the research is conducted through athree-phase procedure as follow:

 Phase 1: Collecting qualitative data

The novel “The picture of Dorian Gray” and a number of critical reviews on

the chosen research subject were retrieved from reliable sources on the internet Othernecessary reference materials were also found in the library of English department

 Phase 2: Handling qualitative data

First of all, the researcher thoroughly and carefully examined the novel to findout all of the sins that Dorian commits and the redemption he has to take up for each ofhis sin Besides, the research highlighted the important quotes in the novel to provideevidences for the analysis

Next, the researcher investigated all collected materials and reviews on thestudy subject to form ideas for the research paper Valuable opinions of other authorswere also quoted and noted to serve as supporting ideas for the analysis

 Phase 3: Analyzing and presenting qualitative data

Dorian’s sins and redemption were grouped and analyzed in comparison withother characters’ to demonstrate that Dorian is the symbol of sin and redemption in thenovel

PART 2:DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE THEORY 1.1 Literature

Rushdie, literature is where the author goes “to explore the highest and lowest places

in human society and in the human spirit”, where he hopes “to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart” In the imagination of Colombian journalist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, “ultimately, literature is nothing but carpentry With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood” More literally difined, “literature is a performance in words” (Robert Frost ) It may

be anything written, either in sense of any writing or in sense of a verbal work of art

that mirrors life in every aspect of its “Literature is a picture, more or less true, more

or less inspiring, of actual life” (Naeem 2010).

1.1.2 Functions of literature

As a multifunctional phenomenon, literature performs four major functions,namely raising awareness function, educational function, aesthetic function, andcommunicative function

1.1.2.1 Raising awareness function

The raising awareness function of literature is the ability of literature to respond

to human need for knowing about the world Literature provides humans with theencyclopedic knowledge of life The reality is faithfully reflected in literary workswith the vast knowledge of geography, history, customs, culture, etc of a people or anera Notably, behind those paintings of nature, tradition and history underly humanspiritual life and destiny Besides, literature helps readers recognize the general in the

particular, the novelty of the familiar Last but not least, literature helps readers to beintensely aware of the true value of their life and things around them, to strive forhappiness, to live a meaningful life and cherish their life.

of heroic characters in such famous books as “The Gadfly”, “How the Steel Was Tempered”, “War and Peace” to live resiliently through fierce challenges of war

On the whole, literature, with moral lessons inculcated in people’s mind, upliftsthem, helps them to live more positive and meaningful

1.1.2.3 Aesthetic function

Literature satisfies readers’ need for the aestheticism and the beauty It brings tothem pleasure and happiness when being touched by a literary work It gives them achance to commune with the beauty of life crystallized in a work of art Literature canalso satisfy people’s aesthetic pleasure with vibrant images, interesting storylines, andspecial characters Readers’ aesthetic pleasure is also evoked by the reality, whetherbeing pleasant or harsh, transferred from real life into literature Aesthetic function isperformed when readers’ dreams are realized and fulfilled through literature, whenreaders are aware of the aesthetic value of literature reflected through the language,the symbol used in the literary work, and through the moral and humane messages orlessons that it conveys

1.1.2.4 Communicative function

With the communicative function, literature helps people understand each otherand bridge the gap among them In literary works, there exists two-way interactionbetween writers and readers Therefore, reading a literary work, any reader, though hasnever met or talked with the writer before, can feel what the writer feels as if they werebosom friends Literature helps to bring the voice of one nation to others so that they

can know each other better Through the novel “How Steel Was Tempered” by Nikolai

A Ostrovsky, people around the world can know the intense fighting spirit, theunshakable belief, the desire to dedicate, to burn a full life for the fatherland, therevolution of the Russian (Lê Lưu Oanh – Phạm Đăng Dư 2008)

1.2 Novel

1.2.1 Definition of novel

The word “novel” comes from the Italian word “novella” which means a little new thing, and is related to a French word that gave us “news” (Barnet, Berman, Berto

and Cain, 1997) Deriving from this sense, a novel in literature, is defined by Abel

Chevalley as “a fiction in prose of a certain extent” of over 50, 000 words ( as cited in

Forster, 1954)

1.2.2 Features of a novel

A novel is known as a pocket theater in a sense that the language of the novelcreates the scene and action in the reader's mind In other words, the novel can bringreaders into the vivid world of characters It tells detailed stories of characters;

however, it is quite distinguished from a short story “The short story, too, is detailed, but commonly it reveals only a single character at a moment of crisis, whereas the novel commonly traces the development of an individual, a group of people, a world ”

(eds Barnet, Berman, Berto and Cain, 1997, p.498) With a lot of characters andsubplots, a novel is also longer than a story Furthermore, there is more time in a novel

to tell stories of each character and finally string them together into a unified one Onemore feature of a novel is its placing more emphasis on characters than on plot Last

but not least, a novel includes the factor of realism It tells story of real life and can beregarded as a full and authentic report of human life

1.2.3 Elements of a novel

A novel is made up of a number of fundamental elements, namely plot,character, setting, theme and symbol

1.2.3.1 Plot

Plot is the arrangement of events and actions, normally in causal or thematic

connection, in a story to reflect a theme It serves as “the skeleton along which the story moves” (Verma n.d.) Therefore, it contains the most significant things, events of

a story

A plot normally includes the beginning, the middle, and the end; the end may or

may not be included

1.2.3.2 Character

Characters in a novel are normally human beings They help to shape thecontext and plot of the novel and function as novelists’ means of exploring andconveying the value of human experiences

Typically in a novel, one or two main characters (also known as majorcharacters/ round characters/ protagonists) are developed with relationship with othersubordinate characters (also known as secondary/ minor/ flat characters) Main

characters are those “whose being is central to the action”; they often undergo conflict

and are changed by it Subordinate characters, on the contrary, do not experience

considerable change or growth in the story They are just builded to “provide some sort of contest” for the main characters.

In “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, main characters are Basil Hallward, Lord

Henry Wotten, Dorian Gray, Sibyl Vane whereas subordinate characters include JamesVane, Alan Campbell, Victor, Adrian Singleton, Geoffrey Clouston, Hetty

“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is set in London, England in 1890s.

1.2.3.4 Theme

“Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work” (SparkNotes Editors 2002) Different from moral messages which are purposed

by the author to impact the reader, theme is more about what a story is about In other

words, it can be “a statement, or series of related observations about some aspect of the human condition, interpreted from the unique view point of the author”.

(American novelist Dean Koontz)

The theme of a novel may be made explicit with the exposition or conclusionfrom the author or one of his characters; nevertheless, theme is normally implicit or

indirectly reflected As a result, it does not embrace the outer but the inner part or “the deeper layer of meaning running beneath the story’s surface” It is the very underlying

message, lesson or conclusion drawn from the novel (Chapman n.d.)

“The picture of Dorian Gray” reflects a wide variety of themes, including the

Faust legend, the balance of body and soul, man’s dual nature, self-discovery,narcissism, friendship, man’s downfall, sin and redemption, and the dangers ofpersonal influence or manipulation (Baldwin n.d.) The theme of sin and redemption,

restricted to Dorian Gray’s sin and redemption, would be discussed in detail in thisthesis.

1.2.3.5 Symbol

Symbol is loosely defined as something that stands for something else It can be

an objects, a characters, a figure, or color used to represent an abstract idea or concept

in the novel (SparkNotes Editors 2002) In other words, a symbol serves to combinethe literal and the abstract in the novel

Symbol is classified as traditional symbol, original symbol, and private symbol.Traditional symbol is associated with common things of a society or a culture Thistype of symbol is publicly recognized Original symbol is associated with the context

of the work in which it is used Private symbol is the product of its own peculiar oridiosyncratic system of philosophy or belief

The portrait, the yellow book, the theater run by Mr Isaacs, the white narcissus,the opera where the singer Patti sings, the Daly’s opium den, and Dorian Gray himself

are examples of primary symbols in the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Especially, the protagonist Dorian as a symbol of sin and redemption would be deeplyinvestigated in this thesis

1.3 Oscar Wilde and “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

1.3.1 Aesthetic Movement (1870-1900)

Aesthetic movement is “a loosely defined movement in literature, fine art, furniture, metalwork, ceramics, stained glass, textiles, and wallpapers in later nineteenth-century Britain” (Lachiusa n.d.)

The movement has its philosophical foundations set in the eighteenth century

by Immanuel Kant, a famous German philosopher With the aesthetic motto “l'art pour l'art” which was first used in French in 1804, aesthetic movement advocates art

for art’s sake, for its own essence and beauty In other words, art is not somethingsupposed to promote social, moral, or political awareness, and not something supposed

to care about this “Art never expresses anything but itself It has an independent life

[ ] and develops purely on its own lines” (Becker- Leckrone 2002) “At the heart of the aesthetic movement was the belief that art should not have any purpose other than

to be beautiful” (Havok 2009).

According to aesthetic movement’s claims, the artist’s matter of concern is notthe moral, sentimental or educational message conveyed in a literary work but theindividual, the self Regarding this, the movement contrasts sharply with Victorianconvention in which arts were assumed to be spiritually uplifting and instructive, andartists must be those who carry out such mission of art

Aesthetic movement was embraced by a number of aesthetes, or its followers,such as: Victor Cousin, J W von Goethe, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Thomas Carlyle,Théophile Gautier, Charles-Pierre Baudelaire, Walter Pater, Dante Gabriel Rossettiand James McNeill Whistler and Oscar Wilde Notably, as a leading aesthete inBritain, Oscar Wilde was one of the most prominent personalities of his day As anardent follower of the movement, he advocated freedom from moral restraint and thelimitations of society, and placed emphasis on the importance of the artist’s life overhis work Although Wilde was not the inventor of the movement, he was a dramaticleader in promoting it in the late nineteenth century The author not only taughtAesthetic values in London from 1879, but he also delivered a series of lectures onaesthetics across the United State from 1881 in nearly a year, with over 140 lecturesgiven in 260 days

Beyond question, aestheticism was heavily marked in Wilde’s works, for instance

“Intentions”, “The picture of Dorian Gray”, “The Soul of Man Under Socialism”.

With his substantial contribution to the movement, Wilde’s death in 1900 wasseen as marking the end of the Aesthetic Movement

3.2 Oscar Wilde’s life and career

Oscar Wilde, or Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, was born on October 16,

1854, in Dublin, Ireland in a family of some renown His father, William Robert WillsWilde, was an eminent ear and eye surgeon and an author as well His mother, Jane

Francesca Elgee Wilde, was a novelist and poet who adopted the pseudonym

“Speranza” Oscar has a brother, William Robert Kingsbury Wills Wilde ("Willie"),

who was two years older than him, and a younger sister, Isola Francesca Emily Wilde,who died of a fever and sudden effusion on the brain after her 10th birthday in 1867

Owing to his supportive family, Wilde received a well-rounded education andalso performed brilliantly at his studying He entered the Portora Royal School atEnniskillen, where his aptitudes was displayed He excelled at studying the classics,took top prize in his last two years, and also earned a second prize in drawing In 1871,

he was awarded the Royal School Scholarship to attend Trinity College in Dublin.Here, he continued to shine in classical courses In 1872, he got the first place inexamination and won Foundation Scholarship- the highest honor for an undergraduate

In 1874, he was awared the college's Berkeley Gold Medal for Greek and a Demyshipscholarship to Magdalen College in Oxford He once again proved excellent with the

Newdigate prize for his poem, “Ravenna” He earned a rare “double first” in Literae

Humaniores; and in November of 1878, Wilde was awarded the Bachelor of Artsdegree During the years at university, he also devoted himself to Aestheticism

After graduation, Wilde lived in London with his friend Frank Miles, a popularhigh society portrait painter In 1881, he published his first collection of poetry Beingdedicated to aesthetic movement, in December of the same year, he travelled acrossthe United States to deliver a series of lectures on aesthetics during nearly a year, withover 140 lectures given in 260 days Then he set off on a lecture tour of Britain andIreland

On May 29, 1884, Oscar Wilde got married to Constance Lloyd, the daughter of

a prominent barrister, with two sons, Cyril in 1885 and Vyvyan in 1886 Between

1887 and 1889, he worked for the Woman's World magazine

The six next years witnessed Wilde’s glittering literary career with his two

collections of children's stories, “The Happy Prince and Other Tales” (1888), and

“The House of Pomegranates” (1892) His first and only novel, “The Picture of

Dorian Gray” (1890 ), and a series of successful plays, i.e “Lady Windermere's Fan” (February 1892), “A Woman of No Importance” (1893), “An Ideal Husband” (1895), “The importance of Being Earnest” (1895), were also produced in this period.

However, disaster struck while the author’s talent was blooming In April

1895, as a result of his homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred 'Bosie' Douglas, thethird son of the Marquis of Queensberry, Wilde was arrested and sentenced to twoyears hard labor, for such relationship was regarded the gross indecency in Victorianera The trials and the prison turned him into a broken man and ruined his career His

his last literary work, namely “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” was published in three

years later as a response to the agony he suffered in prison

In despair, Wilde spent the last three and a half years of his life wandering inEurope, living under the assumed name of Sebastian Melmoth The author diedbankrupt in a Paris cheap hotel on November 30, 1900, at the age of forty-six

3.3 “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

3.3.1 General introduction

The first version of the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was published in July 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine However, it was initially bitterly criticized as an immoral and “poisonous book” with the so-called "prosy rigmaroles" of the story "Why go grubbing in muck-heaps?" was the mocking question for the novel raised by The Scots Observer of July Those were among numerous negative, if not

abusive responses to the book that forced Oscar Wilde to edit the book by adding apreface and some new chapters as well as softening the homosexual referencesincluded in it

The edited version in 1891 faced less criticism and welcomed such first

compliment as a “wonderful book” Over time, the novel won more and more approval; and it is now “considered to be at least a pivotal work, if not a classic”

(Baldwin n.d.)

3.3.2 Summary

“The picture of Dorian Gray” tells the story of the downfall and tragic life of

the young man Dorian Gray under the bad influence of his mentor Lord Henry and theyellow book sent by Henry

Dorian Gray first appears in the novel as an innocent and extraordinarilyhandsome man, who is the sitter for the artist Basil Hallward Basil, adoring andtreasuring Dorian’s exquisite beauty and boyish charm, sees the young man as a source

of inspiration for his art By all passionate love for his fellow, the artist has painted aportrait of Dorian, which is truly a masterpiece Dorian, however, under the negativeand immediate influence of Lord Henry, a cynical aristocrat who is a friend of Basil,absurdly feels hatred for the portrait of himself and utters a prayer for him to remainyoung forever and for the portrait to age in his stead Basil does not dare to exhibit thepicture for fear that his idolatry for Dorian would be realized by the world Therefore,the painter lets Dorian keep the portrait

After a few weeks befriending Lord Henry, Dorian absorbs Lord Henry’spoisonous theories and becomes dedicated to the “new Hedonism” and the pursuit ofpleasure Dorian idolizes a young beautiful actress named Sibyl Vane for her excellentperformance on stage and gets engaged to the girl However, actually, Dorian onlyloves Sibyl’s talent and the heroines played by her Therefore, when Sibyl fails onstage one night because Dorian helps her realize love in reality, Dorian heartlesslydismisses her Sibyl, in infinite misery, commits suicide on that very night After briefregretfulness of his cruelty to Sibyl, Dorian blames the incident on Sibyl and quicklyforgets it To his surprise, he realizes after that the changes of the portrait with themark of cruelty around the mouth Knowing that his prayer once in Basil’s studio hasbeen answered, he hides the portrait in the attic room of his house where he has theonly key so that no one can discover his dark secret

Lord Henry sends Dorian the yellow book, which serves as the blueprint forDorian’s hedonistic life Eighteen years goes by, and Dorian, poisoned by the book,

devotes himself to pleasure-seeking, regardless of his numerous scandals and badreputation of corrupting his intimates’ lives However, his peers still trust him because

of the purity of his face

On one night, Basil, before leaving for Paris, comes to question Dorian aboutbad rumors about him After a quarrel between them, Dorian shows the painter thehideously altered portrait which is the visible image of his decayed soul Basil asksDorian to repent of his sins; however, Dorian refuses, claiming it is too late, and killsBasil To cover up the murder, Dorian blackmails Alan Campbell, who used to be hisclose friend, forcing him to dispose of Basil’s corpse, which drives Alan to shoothimself later The canvas keeps changing loathsomely after Dorian’s sins

Dorian, on going to the opium den, is almost killed by James Vanes, Sibyl’sbrother who for years has sought to harm Dorian for wronging his sister After that,Dorian lives in the horror, obsession and imagination of his up-coming death Then, hedecides to reform his life, beginning by his sincere love for Hetty, a countryside girl.However, the portrait still looks more and more disgusting Dorian, in despair, fails toseek for forgiveness Deeming the portrait is the only evidence against him, hedestroys it with the knife he uses to murder Basil, and kills himself Dorian, in the end

of the novel, is found aging and withering with a knife flung on his chest while theportrait of his becomes as beautiful and unstained as the young innocent Dorian when

alive

CHAPTER 2: DORIAN GRAY – THE SYMBOL OF SIN

In “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, almost all characters commit a certain kind

of sin However, no one can outrank Dorian with reference to the diverse andmonstrous nature of sins Dorian’s sins, as reflected in the novel, are not onlymultifarious in types but also complicated from many different angles His sins rangefrom ruining his associates to murdering his intimates His sins are not as obvious tojudge as directly killing others, but they are more veiled and mysterious, since he isalso an indirect murderer

2.1 Corrupting others’ lives

There are many young men and innocent women who has fallen from graceunder Dorian’s powerful and destructive influence It is Dorian that has corruptedthem and brought tragedy to their lives

Holding boyish charm, “beautiful voice” and “passionate purity”, Dorian can

capture heartfelt emotion of anyone who knows him No one can restrain themselvesunder his manipulation As an ardent follower of Lord Henry’s hedonism and theyellow book, Dorian yields to temptation In turn, not a single person in whom Dorianseeks for pleasure can resist his temptation In this way, Dorian has exerted suchdestructive influence on almost all of his friends and acquaintances that their lives areeventually ruined at his hands Most of Dorian’s friendship has ended catastrophically.His relationship with others brings shame, horror and ruin on them, costs them their

honor, social standing, their career and even their lives “There was that wretched boy

in the Guards who committed suicide” There was Lord Gloucester’s wife who “was dying alone in her villa”, leaving her husband a letter in which Dorian’s name “was implicated in the most terrible confession” “There was Sir Henry Ashton, who had to leave England, with a tarnished name” There was Adrian Singleton with his dreadful end, and Lord Kent’s only son with “shame and sorrow” at his ruined career There

was the young Duke of Perth whom would be befriended by no gentlemen There was

Lord Henry’s sister, lady Gwendolen, whom “not a breath of scandal had ever touched” before she met Dorian, and then neither “a single decent woman in London”

nor her children accompany her There was also Alan Campbell who was onceseemingly involved in such a terrible deed under Dorian’s influence that he had toobey Dorian’s evil wills and committed suicide afterwards The list goes on and goes

on Three of them have committed suicide, and no one assure that the others will notend their lives some day when such a miserable life becomes too huge a burden forthem to bear

Dorian has destroyed his intimates’ career, reputation, dignity and happiness;

however, when being chastised by Basil for these scandals, he “responds with contempt He is interested only in the scandals of others; he own so-called scandals lack “the charm of novelty” He answers that he is not responsible for the flaws of his acquaintance” (Baldwin n.d.) After all, Dorian disclaims his responsibility for those

whose lives he has damaged He is too selfish to take care of their collapse; he is tooself-absorbed to take responsibility for his wrong-doings He is only interested inhimself

Given these points, Dorian has committed the sin of ruining lives of many ofhis associates As a person whose soul has been corrupted and rotten to the core,Dorian is a kind of toxic to those around him Anyone that only touches him can bepoisoned and corrupted accordingly

2.2 Indirectly murdering others

2.2.1 Indirectly murdering those who are under his influence

Among Dorian’s victims, as has been indicated, the boy in the Guards, LordGloucester’s wife, and Alan Campbell are those who have paid a life cost for theircorruption under Dorian’s manipulation They all choose for themselves the death asthe liberation from the inner torture they have to suffer

The case of Alan Campbell represents most evidently the death of a victim withunbearable suffering Alan Campbell is a knowledgeable scientist about chemistry

Being Dorian’s once intimate and “inseparable” friend five years ago, Alan used to idolize Dorian as “the type of everything that is wonderful and fascinating in life”.

However, something happens, making him suddenly disgusted at Dorian and neverwant to see Dorian again The scientist shoots himself after grudgingly obey Dorian'swants to dispose of Basil’s corpse

Dorian is the very culprit causing Alan’s death: he abuses Alan to death withwords Being the tool that Dorian is seeking for to conceal his murder of Basil, Alan isblackmailed to help Dorian dispose of Basil’s body He initially steadfastly refuses to

be Dorian’s accomplice It is not until Dorian mentions “a matter of life and death” that Alan reluctantly comes to Dorian house The utterance “a matter of life and death” implies that if Alan is not at Dorian’s command to come, he will face death What helps Dorian be able to decide Alan’s “matter of life and death” is a dark secret

that Dorian holds over the scientist Being threatened something dreadful involving the

secret by Dorian, Alan felt dizzy: “his face became ghastly pale, and he fell back in his chair A horrible sense of sickness came over him He felt as if his heart was beating itself to death in some empty hollow” The threat must involve such a sordid

past of Alan that it can provoke such a strong and nervous reaction of him The secret

Dorian uses to control Alan must be such horrible things “that the scientist did years ago while under Dorian's influence” that it gives Alan no choice but to obey Dorian’s

will Alan is sent into the depths of despair:

A groan broke from Campbell’s lips, and he shivered all over The ticking of the clock on the mantel-piece seemed to him to be dividing time into separate atoms of agony each of which was too terrible to be borne He felt as if an iron ring was being slowly tightened round his forehead and as if the disgrace with which he was threatened had already come upon him The hand upon his shoulder weighed like a hand of lead It was intolerable It seemed to crush him

The secret at risk of being unveiled can cause Alan such deep anguish, let alonethe unveiled secret However, disposing of Basil’s body as Dorian orders means doinganother horrid thing, registering another dark secret, for the action is a serious crime in

itself It also means that one more guilty secret of Alan will be learned by Dorian.There is no assurance that Dorian will not blackmail Alan again to force him to doother immoral things Therefore, Alan woud have to endure those mental sufferings aslong as he is still alive He can never ease or eliminate them; he can never be free fromthem As a result, the scientist shoots himself in his own laboratory

Obviously, Dorian is the only reason for Alan’s tragic end His blackmailing

Alan is the very fatal weapon that kills Alan “In any case, Dorian is fully aware that blackmailing Campbell into helping him is dreadful, but he doesn't hesitate for a moment to do so” (Baldwin n.d.) He even finds pleasure in his domination over Alan:

“Yes, it is my turn to dictate terms, Alan You know what they are The thing is quite simple Come, don’t work yourself into this fever The thing has to be done Face it, and do it” He does not care about Alan’s sick feeling at all The only thing he cares

about is to cover up his murder

It also becomes evident that the death of Lord Gloucester’s wife and the boy inthe Guards are also attributed to Dorian Both of them have close relationships withhim and only kill themselves, in wretchedness and loneliness, after getting involvedwith him

Dorian, however, appears irresponsible to tragic ends of them all When beingqueried by Basil Hallward about the death of the boy and the woman, he shrugs his

shoulder indifferently About Alan’s death, he shakes off his responsibility: “As for Alan Campbell, his suicide had been his own act He had chosen to do it It was nothing of him” In all cases, Dorian takes the view of an onlooker.

Given these points, Dorian is the obvious culprit causing all deaths of AlanCampbell, Lord Gloucester’s wife and the boy in the Guards Their lives have beenspoilt and eventually lost at the hands of Dorian

2.2.2 Indirectly mudering Sibyl Vane

Sibyl Vane is a pretty and talented actress with all the pure innocence of a

young girl She is like an angel “with a little flower-like face, a small Greek head with

plaited coils of dark-brown hair, eyes that were violet wells of passion, lips that were like the petals of a rose” Her beauty and genius capture Dorian’s heart from the very

first time Dorian watches her performance on stage Sibyl, in turn, adores Dorian as

her own “Charming Prince” Being engaged to Dorian, she devotes all her love to him

as an ardent lover Her love for Dorian is so sincere and great that after realizing hertrue love with him in real life, she cannot act on the stage which represents the paintedworld any longer However, a happy ending does not come to her Sibyl’s passionatelove is ultimately not returned As a result, poor Sibyl kills herself after being refusedand abandoned by Dorian

It is Dorian Gray who indirectly leads to the death of Sibyl He does not killSibyl with any weapons; however, his cruel words and indifference to her are the verymurder weapon- the invisible sharp knife that pierces through her soft heart to death

Dorian is not a true lover He actually loves Sibyl’s genius and talent for stage,not her true self When Sibyl’s talent shines, he idolizes her, fills her heart with his

passion; he tells about her with such “winged” words as “she is every thing to me in

my life”, “the whole world is nothing to me compared to her” making her the

happiest lover to believe that he loves her sincerely, that she is the most treasured thing

to him, “the loveliest creature” in his life and all the meaning of his life However,

when Sibyl fails on the stage, he soon tramples on her, over her tender heart He hasstolen her first kiss, captured her heart, her soul, and even got engaged to her, then he

abruptly shakes her off as shaking off a type of rubbish only because her “bad art” on

stage disappoints him

Innocent Sibyl is happy to realize her true love with Dorian in real life That shecan no longer act as brilliantly as she did does not bother her at all Why being

bothered when from now on she can live the dream, the passion, the love of her true

self with her true love - Dorian, not the life of any heroines, any Rosalind, any Imogen

or Juliet in any plays any more However, it turns out to be something that only

happens in Sibyl’s dream and imagination, since what Dorian loves is not Sibyl’s true

self but the aptitude of a “born artist” in her; who Dorian loves is not a real Sibyl with her own characteristics but the heroines that Sibyl plays : “One evening she is Rosalind, and the next evening she is Imogen” To him, she is never Sibyl Vane What

Dorian calls love is only that in fancy Therefore, when Sibyl fails to transport him tothe fantasy world of these unreal characters, he refuses and deserts her without anyhesitation

Dorian, from a seemingly “dedicated lover”, has become a “disgusted critic” and a “heartless deserters” (Baldwin) He is really ruthless and cold-blooded towards

Sibyl and her love He pitilessly throws cruel words at the innocent, sensitive soul ofSibyl:

You used to stir my imagination, now you don’t even stir my curiosity [ ] I love you because you are wonderful, because you had genius and intellect, because you realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art [ ] what are you without your art Nothing [ ] what are you now? A third- rate actress with a pretty face.

As the terrible insult, each of Dorian’s word is like each sharp needle stingingSibyl’s soft heart, choking her, sparing her tremendous sorrow Being nothing in

others’ eyes is miserable enough for one; being meaningless in her lover’s eyes is hundreds of thousands of times more miserable Just not feeling her lover’s concern

and love for her is heartbroken enough; witnessing his coldness and hearing his insults

to her is hundreds of thousands of times more broken-hearted Poor Sibyl has toendure all these griefs Her lover neglects her explanation, her sobbing, pleading and

begging for forgiveness He heartlessly snubs her, deserts her: “He turned on his heel, and left the room In a few moments, he was out of the theatre” Sibyl, the poor little

soul, is left behind in infinite misery of her love being rejected Dorian is hereverything; he is the whole world to her Therefore, being rejected by him means beingrejected by the world; being nothing to him means being nothing to the world Finding

no reason to keep living, young Sibyl commits suicide on the very fateful night whenshe is deserted

Regarding the situation, Dorian is the very culprit of Sibyl’s death; he is everyreason for Sibyl’s tragic fate

However, Dorian takes the indifferent and irresponsible attitude to the incident

He blames the situation on Sibyl He accuses Sibyl of making him endure with disgust

at her “bad art” during the three terrible hours Therefore, it is not his fault to snub her

but her own fault to disappoint him He even defends himself with the sophistry that

Sibyl has no right to kill herself Thus, it is not his selfishness but "it was selfish of her”

to do so

Dorian regards the situation as if he were a bystander Feeling himself

indifferent, he wonders: “Why is it that I cannot feel this tragedy as much as I want to? I don’t think I am heartless [ ] I must admit that this thing that has happened does not affect me as it should” He himself knows that he should have fallen into

despair over Sibyl’ death Nevertheless, he still maintains the callous attitude; he views

the tragic death of Sibyl as “a wonderful ending to a wonderful play":

It is one of the great romantic tragedies of the age [ ] she acted badly because she had known the reality of love When she knew its unreality, she died, as Juliet might have died She passed again into the sphere of art.

Even if he mentions his involvement, the involvement is just the one in the

fantasy world of a drama: “It has all the terrible beauty of a great tragedy, a tragedy

in which I took part, but by which I have not been wounded”.

There are moments when he is “briefly a contrite sinner” to realize the

degradation of his soul and the mark of his sin reflected on the canvas However, it isnot because he really feels sorry or responsible for what he has done to Sibyl, but

because he fears the sin he commits may hurt himself and the portrait: “A sense of infinite pity, not for himself, but for the painted image of himself, came over him It had altered already, and would alter more”

Dorian is selfish by all means and eventually decides not to repent of the sin he

has gotten, for he has had the portrait bear the burden of his degeneration “If the

picture was to alter, it was to alter [ ] he would be safe That was everything”.

Therefore, he enjoys calmly the Opera with Lord Henry and Lady Gwrendolen on the

very day he hears of Sibyl’s death Everything about poor Sibyl becomes “horried subjects” to him and goes out of his mind the next day He argues with Basil by the sophistry that: “It is only shallow people who require years to get rid of an emotion A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure”

In short, despite indirectly killing Sibyl, Dorian becomes quite indifferent andirresponsible for the incident that he should have been responsible for This signifiesthat he has been absorbed and will be totally absorbed in Lord Henry’s immoral

theories “Sibyl’s death compels Dorian to make the conscious decision to embrace Lord Henry’s philosophy of selfishness and hedonism wholeheartedly” (Baldwin n.d.).

2.3 Directly murdering Basil Hallward

Corrupting and indirectly killing his intimates are not all sins of Dorian Hereaches the highest and cruelest level of a sinner: killing Basil Hallward directly,deliberately, and savagely

Basil Hallward is Dorian’s only true friend who paints the portrait that carriesthe burden of age and sin in Dorian’s stead Basil absolutely adores Dorian who

“makes life absolutely lovely” to him, and gives to his art “whatever wonder or charm

it possesses” However, just like Alan Campbell and others who are involved in

Dorian, the painter dies in pain He is stabbed to death with a knife after knowingDorian’s terrible secret, namely the hideously changed portrait of Dorian

If in the cases of Sibyl Vane, Alan Campbell and his many other intimates,Dorian just unexpectedly drive them to death, then in Basil’s case, Dorian is a realmurderer who deliberately and savagely kills the painter His motive for the murderlies in the fact that Basil has learned his secret - the portrait The portrait of Dorian,

which is “a wonderful work of art, and a wonderful likeness”, records and changes

hideously after all the sins and degradation of Dorian It reflects Dorian’s decayed andevil soul and becomes the obsession during his life The picture becomes his life’s the