hedonism in dorian gray

 Dorian Gray : A radiantly handsome, impressionable, and wealthy young gentleman, whose portrait the artist Basil Hallward paints.. The pair are admiring a painting recently of ‘a youn

THE TRUE HEDONISM IN DORIAN GRAY

THE TRUE HEDONISM IN DORIAN GRAY

There is a different vision of Hedonism in Lord Henry’s perspective of pleasure than in Dorian’s one While the former practices a rational Hedonism in which he never gets compromised himself in a libertine practice, the latter, so influenced by him, practices a different Hedonism that doesn’t find any limit and carries Dorian into his tragic ending.

THESIS

 Epicurus believed that the greatest good was to seek modest pleasures in order to attain a state

of tranquility and freedom from fear (ATARAXIA) as well as absence of bodily pain (APONIA) through knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of our desires

 The Cyrenaics taught that the only intrinsic good is pleasure, which meant not just the

absence of pain, but positively enjoyable sensations Of these, momentary pleasures, especially physical ones, are stronger than those of anticipation or memory

HEDONISM

 In the Epicurean view, the highest pleasure (tranquility and freedom from fear) was obtained by knowledge, friendship and living a virtuous and temperate life He lauded the enjoyment of simple pleasures, by which he meant abstaining from bodily desires, such as sex and appetites, verging on ASCETICISM He argued that when eating, one should not eat too richly, for it could lead to dissatisfaction later, such as the grim

realization that one could not afford such delicacies in the future Likewise, sex could lead to increased lust and dissatisfaction with the sexual partner Epicurus did not articulate a broad system of social ethics that has survived.

HEDONISM

 Dorian Gray :

A radiantly handsome, impressionable, and wealthy young gentleman, whose portrait the artist Basil Hallward paints Under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian becomes extremely concerned with the transience of his beauty and begins to pursue his own pleasure above all else He devotes himself to having as many experiences as possible, whether moral or immoral, elegant or sordid

 Lord Henry Wotton:

A nobleman and a close friend of Basil Hallward Urbane and witty, Lord Henry is perpetually armed and ready with well-phrased epigrams criticizing the moralism and hypocrisy of Victorian society His pleasure-seeking philosophy of “new Hedonism,” which espouses garnering experiences that stimulate the senses without regard for conventional morality, plays a vital role in Dorian’s

development

 INTRODUCTION: The novel opens with Henry Wotton and his friend, Basil Hallward The

pair are admiring a painting recently of ‘a young man of extraordinary personal beauty.’ (Wilde,

1992, pg.5) The young man in question is Dorian Gray

One evening, Dorian realizes that his beauty will soon wither and fade, and makes a deal with the devil to retain his youth: ‘If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old!’(Wilde, 1992, pg.24)

 DORIAN AND SYBIL: Dorian meets a young actress, Sybil Vane and spends his evenings

watching her perform at a local theatre He woos her for a short time and soon proposes

marriage, which she accepts Sybil’s brother James vows that ‘if this man wrongs my sister, I will find out who he is, track him down and kill him like a dog.’ (Wilde, 1992, pg.58)

PLOT

Dorian breaks off his engagement to Sybil, declaring that he cannot ever love her Upon

returning home Dorian realizes that the facial expression of his portrait has altered to reflect his cruel treatment of Sybil Dorian decides that the proper thing to do is to go back to Sybil and reaffirm his love for her; however, the next day Dorian hears the news that the young actress has killed herself in the night

 THE ALTERED PORTRAIT: After this incident and over the following years Dorian leads a life

of debauchery: the portrait alters each time a sin is committed Dorian’s debauchery is heavily influenced by an unnamed book given to him as a gift by Henry

Many years later Basil goes to visit Dorian with the intention of confronting him about the sinful life he has been living Dorian does not deny the things he has done and takes Basil to see the portrait that has always remained hidden

PLOT

 MURDER: On seeing the altered portrait, Basil begs Dorian to repent his sins Dorian, in a fit

of madness and resentment stabs Basil to death He seeks out Alan Campbell, an acquaintance, and blackmails him into destroying Basil’s corpse

Following this incident, James Vane inadvertently catches Dorian leaving an Opium den but releases him, believing him too young to have been the man involved with his deceased sister A passing woman reveals to James that he is indeed the man in question The following week, Dorian spots James on the grounds; but the next day James is accidentally killed while Dorian and his friends are out hunting

PLOT

 DORIAN’S FINAL ACT: Dorian finally realizes the error of his ways and reaffirms his desire to

be good, hoping that the portrait will change to reflect his new life When he inspects the painting he finds that there is no real change except that the painting has ‘a look of cunning, and in the mouth the curved wrinkle of the hypocrite.’ (Wilde, 1992, pg.176)

In a fit of rage, Dorian seizes the knife he used to kill Basil and stabs the portrait with it His servants hear a scream and call for the police When they arrive they find the portrait as it originally was and a corpse aged horribly and unidentifiable: ‘it was only when they examined the rings that they recognized who it was.’ (Wilde, 1992, pg.177)

PLOT

Wilde, O., 1992,  ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’  Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited

http://img201.imageshack.us/i/doriangrayafmuk9.jpg/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonism

Synopsis of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray.': A Summary of the Plot of Oscar Wilde's Only Novel  

http://www.suite101.com/content/synopsis-of-the-picture-of-dorian-gray-a89684#ixzz14qGaUv7B

http://www.google.com.co/imgres?imgurl=http://www.neomanox.com/manoxfilms/images/DorianGray01.jpg&imgrefurl=htt

p://www.neomanox.com/manoxfilms/2008/page/7/&usg= RSAtxLoYDcHiiSrC0CV5UCPRxjI=&c&vpx=571&vpy=164&dur=1046&hovh

=298&hovw=169&tx=113&ty=190&ei=GwTaTLjlNsO78gbKt8DhCQ&oei=wgPaTIiEE4P98AaR1tGbCQ&esq=20&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:4 29,r:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/doriangray/characters.html

REFERENCES