ENGLISH HOMEWORK

Simpson 1

Olivia Simpson

Professor Harrison

QS 115

14 November 2014

The Price of Pleasure

“The love that dare not speak his name”, was Oscar Wilde’s poetic defense while he stood trial for sodomy. The late 1800s was an incredibly homophobic time and even created the Criminal Law Amendment Act, making it illegal for men to perform acts of indecency, with other men, whether it was in public or in private (Homosexuality…). What made the nature of Wilde’s affair even more socially unacceptable was that it was with a younger man. His obsession with youth and pleasure can also be seen in his only novel. The Picture of Dorian Gray, takes place in London, England so that reader can experience some of the struggles that his characters, as well as himself, faced because of their sexuality. Even though this novel seems to glorify Hedonism, Wilde uses Dorian Gray’s relationships, with Basil Hallward and Alan Campbell, to emphasize how passion, in the form of sexuality, was not tolerated by the Victorian era.

Basil Hallward is the first character that is forced to hide his sexual identity for fear of Victorian societal disapproval. While explaining to Lord Henry why he cannot display his masterpiece to the public, Basil admits his feelings for Dorian and swears that, “[Dorian] shall never know anything about it. But the world might guess it, and I will not bare my soul to their shallow prying eyes. My heart shall never be put under their microscope” (Wilde 14-15). From the first moment that they meet, Dorian casts a spell over Basal with his youthful beauty and charm. Basil’s obsession with Dorian, however, is a double-edged sword because even though his art flourishes he knows that through paint is the only way he can express his passion. He is aware that the Victorian socialites would never accept his love since it does not adhere to their strict standards of what constitutes as a “proper” relationship.

Despite this truth, deeper into the novel Basil decides he can no longer suppress his emotions and that he must commit social suicide to cleanse his soul. Wilde further proves social disapproval toward homosexuality, when after Basil admits his true feelings, Dorian responds by saying, “My dear Basil, what you have told me? Simply that you felt that you admired me too much. That is not even a compliment” (16). Before this confession Dorian would allow Basil to shower him with compliments, but now he looks down upon Basil for openly discussing his sexuality. During the Victorian era, the upper classes would refrain from discussing sexual topics because the nature of its intimacy was believed to be too inappropriate for polite conversation (Sex & Sexuality…). Basil’s truthfulness places Dorian in an awkward situation because he knows that if this information where to become public, then he would also be ruined for not refusing Basil’s sentiment. Wilde uses the relationship between Basil and Dorian to make the reader understand how the Victorian era would shun anyone who willingly revealed their sexual passions, even if they where not realities.

Unlike Dorian’s verbal relationship with Basil, his physical affair with Alan Campbell leads to more serious consequences. After killing Basil in a fit of rage Dorian threatens Alan that, “If you don’t help me, I will send [this letter]. You know what the result will be. But you are going to help me. It is impossible for you to refuse me now” (169). Dorian knows that the only way he can convince Alan, to dispose of Basil’s body, is by blackmailing him. Since Alan is trying to make a name for himself in the scientific community this information would not only ruin his chances as a respected scientist but also send him to prison for sodomy. Alan fears the Victorian society so much that he becomes an accomplice to murder in order to protect his reputation from being soiled. We later discover that, “ Alan Campbell had shot himself one night in his laboratory, but had not revealed the secret that he had been forced to know” (218). Instead of living with the guilt of two crimes, Alan commits suicide because his conscious could not bear the burden of his illegal and immoral actions. Dorian, however, is immune to these feelings because even though he is the most corrupt character, his portrait carries his sins leaving him looking pure and innocent to Victorian society.

Dorian’s Adonis-like physique may protect him from social suspicion, but his hedonistic life style is what leads to his self-destruction. While looking back on his life, Dorian realizes that, “He loathed his own beauty that had ruined him, his beauty and the youth that he had prayed for. But for those two things, his life might have been free from stain. Youth had spoiled him” (218). Dorian spent his youth abiding to the whims of pleasure because his beauty allowed him to have anything or do anything he wanted. He had prayed for his portrait to take on his sins so that he could remain the ideal symbol of hedonism. Basil tries to convince Dorian to give up his life of pleasure by pleading, “You have a wonderful influence. Let it be for good, not for evil. They say that you corrupt everyone with whom you become intimate, and that it is quite sufficient for you to enter a house for shame of some kind to follow you” (151). Had Dorian lived a responsible life filled with meaningful relationships, rather than taking advantage of others, like Basil and Alan, his looks would have been a reflection of his character. But all he had to do, to hide his sins from Victorian eyes, was lock a door.

He knew that the upper class would never be convinced of the rumors against him because they valued the rich and good looking, of which he was both. Even if he did not openly admit to sodomy or murder, the portrait displayed how hideous Dorian’s soul really was. Dorian saw the portrait as his chance to live his life strictly for pleasure and never have to worry about how he would be affected. The painting was the bear the burden of his many pleasurable sins. Hedonism turned an innocent youth into a hideous monster obsessed with the preservation of external beauty. Thus causing him to inadvertently stab himself to try and prevent anyone from discovering what he actually looked like. Had Dorian not killed himself first, he would have suffered the same fate of his creator, Oscar Wilde.

Parallel to the characters in this novel, Wilde’s obsession with beautiful young men led to his social suicide. Once his relationship with, the much younger, Lord Alfred Douglas was brought into the public eye, Wilde was placed on trial for being a sodomite. To add insult-to-injury, the trial was made public so that everyone could witness his social ruin and make an example of what would happen to anyone who violated the Victorian laws and moral codes. Wilde willingly denied the affair and objected to the evidence of his homosexuality, expressed by his literary works like The Picture of Dorian Gray. London jurors saw past his façade and sentenced Wilde to two years in prison, with hard labor. After being released, Wilde knew that he could not return to England and exiled himself to Paris so that he could live freely of Victorian prejudice (Oscar Wilde-Bibliography). Like Wilde, Dorian’s dedication to living for pleasure and being apart of the Victorian, high society is what caused him to ruin not only his life, but also the lives of Basil and Alan.

In one of Wilde’s last letters to Lord Alfred, he writes, “Having made your own of my genius, my will-power, and my fortune, you required, in the blindness of an inexhaustible greed, my entire existence. You took it” (Norton, Rictor). Wilde’s infatuation with youthful beauty is heavily expressed by the relationships of Dorian Gray with Basil Hallward and Alan Campbell. Basil knew that by honestly telling Dorian about his affections that he would open himself to ridicule from the man he loved and the society they belonged to. If Alan’s affair with Dorian were to become known he would be sentenced to jail and rejected by the scientific community. Preservation of social status was why none of the characters wanted their sexuality to be discovered. Secrecy played a crucial element to all of their relationships, be it merely longing for or physical contact. Like Basil and Alan, Wilde was unable to control his desires making him a social outcast. Dorian symbolizes how beauty has the ability to capture men and corrupt them. However, Dorian’s beauty is only skin deep because his true form is soiled by his sins. Wilde’s novel builds up the importance of hedonism even though it is what caused Dorian’s innocence to become stained by lust and selfishness. Oscar Wilde uses these different types of fictional relationships to illustrate the harsh reality that homosexuals faced during the Victorian era.

Word Count: 1497

Works Cited

Houston, Larry. "The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885." Homosexuality in History. N.p., 11 May 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Norton, Rictor. "An Ill-Fated Friendship." Gay History and Literature. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

"Oscar Wilde - Biography." Oscar Wilde. The European Graduate School, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

"Sex & Sexuality in the 19th Century." Victoria and Albert Museum:The World’s Greatest Museum of Art and Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Selected Stories. New York: Signet Classic, 1995. Print.