20th Century Literature: Society through literature: Oscar Wilde: The Picture Of Dorian Gray

Each society of different epochs plays a fundamental part in the lives of people; it determines their characters and their way of life. The picture of Dorian Gray was written during the Victorian society, around the ninetieth century, when only a 5 percent of European population controlled between 30 and 40 percent of the wealth while the middle class were exploited workers such as lawyers, engineers, chemists, accountants, traders, etc. The members of the middle class liked to preach their worldview both to their children and to the upper and lower classes as well as they were concerned with the right way of doing things, which gave rise to best selling manners and etiquette books “The Habits of Good Society”. Likewise, women were mainly defined however this changed with the by family and household roles movement for women’s rights in the late ninetieth century like the Women’s Social and Political Union founded in 1903.

The Picture of Dorian Gray represents Wilde’s stylish and shallow attitude, the rebel who tries to escape from moral responsibility and natural order, the elegant and trendy clothes of characters and the one who puts beauty above all. Some important similarities among the book and the strong critic toward society are the following: “Nothing is serious nowadays. At least nothing should be (Wilde, Oscar, 2005, pp140).” On this quote see that the Victorian Society was based on superfluous ideas. Everything you said was really not what you really meant. Their thoughts were not very deep in thought. They only cared for the outside things such as money and clothes. Nowadays we may see that kind of thought in some groups of society, but I believe that our society is deeper in thought; we are always searching for that go beyond our explanation.

Another quote that reflects the importance of youth and beauty is “Modern morality consists in accepting the standard of one’s age. I consider that for any man of culture to accept the standard of his age is a form of the grossest immorality (Wilde, Oscar, 2005, pp. 76).” We can see that ageing has always been a big issue for society. This said by Lord Henry reflects the unacceptable of getting old, he even conceders it to be immoral. In that time the way you looked and the attention you got was the most important thing, who you hanged out with, you age, among other things. Hence getting old was considered to be something to be rejected. Because of this, superficial values were on top of everything and there was a loss of self-reflection. Today is the same way that it used to be in that time because people may go to get plastic surgery so that society sees they are not as old as they are and so people try to pretend something they are not.

Similarly, “Every gentleman is interested in his good name. You don't want people to talk of you as something vile and degraded. Of course, you have your position, and your wealth, and all that kind of thing. But position and wealth are not everything. Mind you, I don't believe these rumors at all. At least, I can't believe them when I see you. Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face. It cannot be concealed. People talk sometimes of secret vices. There are no such things. If a wretched man has a vice, it shows itself in the lines of his mouth, the droop of his eyelids, the moulding of his hands even (Wilde, Oscar, 2005, pp141).” What Basil says is very important because at that time your good name meant everything in your life and it is still today a very important part in our lives. Your good name matters more than the material things since you may lose all of them and what is left is the good reputation because they are the ones to help you if something goes wrong with you, and if you have a bad reputation they will not. This has been something important at all epochs, because without your good reputation you are nothing. Another thing the quote mentions is the way you live your life shows off in your face. This is very true due to the fact that your vices mark you for life for example if people know you as a drunkard they may not trust you anymore or accept you. When you have more vices, then this will be seen in your appearance, and people will know about them, plus you may appear to be a lot older than what you truly are. Comparing this to the book we may see that Dorian does not age in his face but the portrait is full of wrinkles and frowns, because he leads a bad life full of vices. Grey has also made a bad reputation among his society and he only counts with just a couple of “loyal” friends like Henry. As we may see reputation is essential for this book because society´s view of Dorian Grey changes throughout the book.

On the other hand, the role of women was considered inferior to men because of their lack of independence. In this quote, said by Lord Henry: "My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mid, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals. (Wilde, Oscar, 2005,pp.47)” Reflects that women were put aside by men, they were only there to have children, be wives and entertain men. It was a very “macho” society, men thought that women were not smart and could not do the same things. In the book, we may see that Lord Henry´s wife was something of little importance, Henry even got annoyed with her, and she submitted herself; because this was how society worked at that time. This way of thought did not change until the late twentieth century, and still today for some societies it has not changed.

The middle classes air their moral prejudices over their gross dinner tables and whisper about what they call the profligacies of their betters in order to try and pretend that they are in smart society, and on intimate terms with the people they slander. In this country it is enough for a man to have distinction and brains for every common tongue to wag against him. And what sort of lives does these people, who pose as behind moral, lead themselves? My dear fellow, you forget that we are in the native land of the hypocrite (Wilde, Oscar, 2005, pp.143).” Dorian says this to Basil; he is trying to explain that the Victorian society is something where the social groups are very important. The lower class or middle class looks up to the upper class. People also try to be someone they are not and they should know how to bluff in the society because it is a hypocrite one. An example is when Grey acts as a good person but in the inside is exactly the opposite.

In contrast to other works like Animal Farm, both are strong critics and tried to make fun of the society at that time. They demonstrate what really is going on with their country, England and Russia, but what is significant is how Napoleon and Dorian Gray are the protagonists that make false impressions in order to obtain power or stay as beautiful and youthful as possible. Whereas Walt Whitman’s A Song of Myself the body is represented as a gateway to the soul but Dorian Gray oppress and infect his soul with dangerous vices and there isn’t a natural order in the body’s ageing. Lastly, a similitude can be seen in Waiting for Godot because in both there is a lack of rationality and a sense of logic when Dorian sells his souls to the devil and the scene repeating itself each day.

In conclusion, Oscar Wilde shows through The Picture of Dorian Gray that literature is a fundamental way and tool of expressing what’s happening around and within a society. It definitely opens the eyes of the readers and gives a better understanding of the hypocrisy, the centered ego, the stratified class and the loss of ethical values or putting God aside. Literature allows us to identify the different phases of human evolution and thinking since the man that connects every little detail of nature in Song of Myself to the totalitarian and ruthless people that sacrifice everything in their search for authority. As said before, Wilde’s work truly reveals that many times man can cross the limits of pleasure or bad habits and this lead to the corruption of one’s soul. Material things are overestimated and that’s when we miss the meaning of friendship, family, love and we don’t accept ourselves with our defects and mistakes.