Brandon Newman
Dr. Williams
Approaches to Film – Novels and Adaptations
5 May 2014
Demonstrating that All Art is Not Quite Useless: Wilde’s Criticism of Aestheticism
Oscar Wilde begins The Picture of Dorian Gray with a preface in which he states that
“those who go beneath the surface [of art] do so at their peril” (Wilde 42). This reflects the
concept of the Aesthetic Movement which emphasized valuing art for its aesthetic values and
artistic appeal rather than the social or political themes that art could convey. Furthermore,
according to Duggan, Wilde’s concluding sentence that “all art is quite useless” (Wilde 42)
“encapsulates the complete principles of the Aesthetic Movement popular in Victorian England”
in which the novel was published (Duggan 61). However, through analysis of The Picture of
Dorian Gray, Duggan, as well as other scholars, arrived at a somewhat unexpected conclusion.
In contrast to the preface, the novel, rather than defending and praising the virtues of
aestheticism, actually criticizes aestheticism and exposes its defects.
Although the notion that The Picture of Dorian Gray conveys a certain message,
especially a message that denounces aestheticism, contradicts the fact that Wilde was viewed as
a leader of the Aesthetic Movement in the late 19th century, “Wilde himself admits, in a letter to
the St. James’s Gazette, that Dorian Gray ‘is a story with a moral’” (Duggan 63). Furthermore,
Wilde stated that the moral is that “all excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own
punishment” (Duggan 63). Of course, aestheticism denounces the renunciation of desires and
thus it initially seems possible that the novel still supports aestheticism. However, upon closer
examination, because of the Aesthetic Movement’s focus on excessively giving into desires, it is
clear that Wilde is basically stating that aestheticism brings its own punishment. Through
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analysis of The Picture of Dorian Gray, specifically the characters of Basil Hallward, Sibyl
Vane, Lord Henry, and Dorian Gray, it is apparent that Wilde presents “a strong case for the
inherent immorality of purely aesthetic lives” (Duggan 62) .
From the very beginning of the novel, it is evident that Wilde is arguing against the idea
that the ideals of the Aesthetic Movement can be obtained, as Basil Hallward fails to “keep the
aesthetic distance” (Khrais 465). Lord Henry compares the portrait of Dorian Gray to Adonis and
Narcissus, which clearly emphasizes Dorian’s beauty. However, this picture does not just
illustrate Dorian’s beauty, as Basil admits that he has “put too much of [himself] into it” (Wilde
44). Hence, Basil did not just paint Dorian’s portrait to admire art for art’s sake, but he also
created the picture as an expression of his feelings for Dorian. Furthermore, Basil violates the
aesthetic notion stated in the preface that “to reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim” (Wilde
41). Clearly, Basil did not conceal himself since he believes that individuals may learn of his
secret homosexuality from looking at the picture of Dorian Gray. In fact, Basil actually did the
complete opposite, as he states that “it is not [the subject of the art] that is revealed by the
painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself” (Wilde 47). If one
believes that Basil resembles Wilde, then it is easy to imagine that Wilde, like Basil, may come
up short while in pursuit of the ideals of the Aesthetic Movement. This is obvious since even if
The Picture of Dorian Gray was an attempt to write in the name of ‘art for art’s sake,’ it did not
turn out like this as evidenced by Wilde’s own admission. Moreover, just like Basil, it is
apparent that Wilde revealed in his work of art “the secret of [his] own soul,” as the novel, and
more specifically its depiction of homosexual relations between older and younger men, was
used as evidence against Wilde in his first trial in which he was accused of having relations with
Lord Alfred and other young men (Wilde 47).
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Additionally, Sibyl Vane is unable to maintain living in a purely artistic world. When
readers are first introduced to Sibyl, she exemplifies the ideals of aestheticism, “acting [being]
the one reality of [her] life” and pursuing happiness through art being her main objective (Wilde
123). Essentially, Sibyl is not living in the real world but instead living in a theatrical world, thus
making “her life [seem] to imitate art” (Dickson 7). The fatalism of this style of living is
evidenced early in the novel, as “when her mother tries to warn her of the dangers of an
assignation with a gentleman, Sibyl drowns out these objections by feasting on impressions of
her Prince Charming” (Dickson 7). Even if she knew the name Dorian Gray, it would not mean
anything to her because Dorian Gray was not part of her acting career in the theatre and thus not
part of her reality. Instead, she knew only of Prince Charming or, as should have been the case
on the night of her ill-fated performance if she had continued to uphold the aesthetic ideals, her
Romeo. However, Sibyl no longer embodied aestheticism because her relationship with Dorian
had “freed [her] soul from prison [and] taught [her] what reality really [was]” (Wilde 123). No
longer was Sibyl living in the “painted scenes” of an artistic world (Wilde 123). Instead, she
moved into living in a world that was more than art and in which “Romeo was hideous, and old,
and painted” (Wilde 123). In the words of Sybil, “[Dorian] had brought [her] something higher,
something of which all art is but a reflection” (Wilde 123). Just like Tennyson’s the Lady of
Shalott, Wilde’s Sibyl sees a glimpse of reality that “destroys [her] ability to maintain the
illusion – however superior that illusion may sometimes be – that constitutes art” (Dickson 8).
Thus, the Aesthetic Movement and living in a world in which art is valued simply for being art is
possible only to the extent that living in a world with no meaning is possible. Once Sibyl went
below the surface of her artistic life and realized that the passion she showed on stage was so
empty compared to the passion “that [burned her] like fire” when she was with Dorian, Sibyl
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could no longer mimic passion on stage because she realized that passion has real meaning in life
besides being something that is contrived for art (Wilde 123). She fell in love and with one kiss
her illusion of living in a world in which art was the only thing valued was broken, and once this
illusion was shattered, it was lost forever and she could not put it back together. Just as Sibyl
failed to maintain the superiority of her artistic illusion to the real world, the superiority of
aestheticism cannot be maintained once an individual experiences the real world with its true
passions and feelings that art can only emptily mimic.
Although it may be easy to see how Basil and Sibyl could be used to denounce
aestheticism, understanding how Lord Henry could be used to criticize aestheticism is more
difficult, especially since “aestheticism advocated whatever behavior was likely to maximize the
beauty and happiness in one’s life, in the tradition of hedonism,” and Lord Henry obviously
speaks highly of hedonism (Duggan 61). However, this is exactly the reason why the criticism
of aestheticism can be seen in Lord Henry. Lord Henry merely speaks about hedonistic
principles, but he never fully acts on them. Sure, he might have a few drinks and smoke
cigarettes, but he never takes his hedonistic pursuit of pleasure to the extreme that he influences
Dorian to do so. Furthermore, the 2009 film Dorian Gray further emphasizes Lord Henry as a
character who is used to denounce aestheticism. In the film, Lord Henry initially concerns
himself with influencing Dorian to give into temptation and live a hedonistic lifestyle, including
making a ‘double-or-nothing’ bet with Dorian that leads to Dorian having a sexual encounter
with Celia and then having another one with Celia’s mother while Celia is under the bed.
Clearly, Lord Henry wanted Dorian to pursue pleasure even if it came at the expense of others.
However, just like in the novel, Lord Henry does not act on his hedonistic statements.
Furthermore, Lord Henry changes his views when his daughter Emily becomes the object of
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Dorian’s pursuit of pleasure, as Lord Henry does not want Dorian to ruin Emily’s life (Parker).
The addition of Emily in the film and the consequent reversal of Lord Henry’s views about
hedonism illustrate the concept that aestheticism may be acceptable if one is isolated, but as soon
as other people are involved then it is not a feasible concept to base one’s life around. Just like
how Sibyl was fine living in a world of art until an outside influence of real love and passion
allowed her to see that her aesthetic life was not fulfilling, Lord Henry thought his hedonistic
views were acceptable until the outside influence of Dorian pursing his daughter caused Lord
Henry to realize that his hedonistic views should not be acted upon. Essentially, once Lord
Henry had to act as a parent, he no longer viewed hedonism positively because caring for other
people, such as children, instead of just caring for one’s self is a requirement to be a good parent
and stands in direct opposition to the principles of hedonism.
Through Basil, Sibyl, and Lord Henry, Wilde denounces aestheticism and the principles
of hedonism that follow from the Aesthetic Movement. However, the device by which Wilde
most clearly criticizes aestheticism is by creating Dorian to be “the visible symbol of new
Hedonism,” and consequently the Aesthetic Movement, and then bringing about his downfall
(McLeod 73). It is evident that Dorian values art, and more specifically art’s beauty, more than
life when, under Lord Henry’s influence that Beauty is of paramount importance, he states to
Basil, “‘I am less to you than your ivory Hermes or your Silver Faun. … When one loses one’s
good looks, whatever they may be, one loses everything” (Wilde 66). Hence, Dorian places his
self-worth on his beauty and believes that he is less important to Basil than works of art because
he will lose his beauty while the works of art maintain their beauty. Of course, this leads Dorian
to make his wish that “it [be] the other way, [and his] picture change, and [he] … be always what
[he is] now” and maintain his beauty (Wilde 66). Furthermore, Dorian does not just want to
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maintain himself as a piece of art, but he also wants to portray his life and his actions as works of
art. He fell in love with Sibyl because she “realized the dreams of great poets and gave shape and
substance to the shadows of art,” and she then became “nothing to [him]” when she was unable
to act with the same passion because she preferred the real passion between Sibyl and Dorian
rather than the aesthetic passion between Juliet and Romeo (Wilde 124). Unlike Sibyl, Dorian
still wanted to live in an artistic world in which he just mimicked the passion of real life instead
of actually being in a relationship with her that involved real passion and love. After this, Dorian
almost comes out of this artistic world when he realizes he should apologize to Sibyl and begin a
real, as opposed to artistic, relationship with her, but Lord Henry then informs him of Sibyl’s
death and influences Dorian to “aestheticize their whole relationship as the terrible beauty of a
Greek tragedy, a tragedy in which [he] took a great part” (McLeod 76). Subsequently, Dorian
retreats back into the artistic world, as evidenced when he refuses to deal with the consequences
of the reality of Sibyl’s suicide and instead attends the Opera, becoming part of another artistic
world. The next morning, Basil, who has already renounced aestheticism by placing too much of
himself into his art, reacts in horror at the fact that Dorian “can talk to [him] of other women
being charming, and of Patti singing divinely before the girl [Dorian] loved has even the quiet of
a grave to sleep in” (Wilde 142-143). Basil is horrified that Dorian, influenced by his aesthetic
views, went to the Opera instead of dealing with the reality of Sibyl’s death. Later in the novel,
Basil speaks to Dorian and states that he cannot believe all the horrible rumors about Dorian
because they belie his beautiful appearance. However, once Basil sees the portrait and sees
Dorian for his true self without his mask of beauty covering up his evil deeds, Basil attempts to
pray so that Dorian can improve his life. Basil can see the reality that Dorian has done horrible
things, but Dorian, stuck in his artistic world, refuses to come to terms with his own wickedness
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and subsequently kills Basil, thus preventing Basil from drawing him out of his artistic world and
into the real world in which he cannot hide behind his mask of beauty but must instead face real
consequences for his actions. Dorian continues his retreat into his artistic world until he reaches
the point at which he wants to “kill [his] monstrous soul-life,” thus killing his past and allowing
himself to be free living with eternal beauty like a work of art (Wilde 250). However, when
Dorian stabs the picture, he actually kills himself because he cannot exist without his soul.
Similarly, art cannot solely exist for art’s sake. There is always some underlying message or
inspiration for why the work of art was created. Dorian attempted “to achieve the aesthetic ideals
of Wilde’s generation,” but he was unable to do so because he was unable to kill his soul while
maintaining his eternal beauty, thus illustrating that art’s message and beauty are interconnected
and not distinct (Dickson 5). Beauty cannot exist without the underlying message. Dorian’s
failure “clearly sounds the death knell of the Aesthetic Movement,” as in the end Dorian’s soul,
which represents the underlying messages and purposes of art, was shown for all to see instead
of his beauty (Dickson 5).
Throughout the novel, Basil, Sibyl, and even Lord Henry are unable to fully achieve the
ideals of the Aesthetic Movement. Additionally, while Dorian chases the idea of living as a piece
of art and having eternal beauty, he is unable to sustain his artistic world and ends up killing
himself as he tries to maintain his life dedicated to the principles of aestheticism and hedonism,
thus proving that aestheticism brings its own punishment. This fits with Wilde’s life, as if he
wrote this novel as art for art’s sake, he would have punished himself for never advocating for
the homosexual lifestyle that he was surreptitiously living. Hence, through The Picture of Dorian
Gray, Wilde denounces aestheticism and illustrates that life and art cannot exist without being
supported by some message or expression that lies beneath its surface.
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Works Cited
Dickson, Donald R. “’In a mirror that mirrors the soul’: Masks and Mirrors in Dorian Gray.”
English Literature in Transition 26.1 (1983): 5-15. Print.
Dorian Gray. Dir. Oliver Parker. Alliance Films, 2007. Film.
Duggan, Patrick. “The Conflict Between Aestheticism and Morality in Oscar Wilde’s The
Picture of Dorian Gray.” Boston University Arts & Sciences Writing Program 1.1 (2009):
60-68. Print.
Khrais, Sura. “Modernity and the Resurrection of the Picture of Dorian Gray.” An - Najah Univ.
J. Res. (Humanities) 25.2 (2011): 445-471. Print.
McLeod, Deborah S. “Beauty, Objectification, and Transcendence: Modernist Aesthetics in The
Picture of Dorian Gray and Pale Fire.” MA thesis. University of South Florida, 2007.
Print.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ontario: Broadview Press Ltd., 1998. Print.