Beauty is accepting and embracing someone unique interior and exterior characteristics. For some people, beauty makes them feel special among their peers. In this case, it is an excellent surprise that Dorian looks are more than he could ever imagine or wish for, and they make him look somehow unique. This feeling brings forth self-selection, which is part of human nature, the same as the feeling of wanting to belong, of being all-knowing about everything, and being willing to fit in amongst friends (Cenk 169). Evident by the people with unique looks, they find it challenging to engage freely in ordinary human life. This feeling leads to exclusion from all forms of socialization and social ethics, for they are led by an aspect of doing either good or immorality in most cases.
In the novel, the theme of salad days is the epicenter of all scenes as witnessed, cutting through all characters, main and minor. Through the beauty of Dorian, the character of Henry is displayed as a give and take or leave it type. He gives out a self-destruction statement to Dorian Gray without offering much guidance and letting him choose his path despite being aware of the route he might take. This statement is evident when he says that he just briefed Dorian about his beauty, and it is upon him to decide what to do with it. Peer pressure takes a path leading him to self-destruction without much ado. However, feeling unique and rare, he would walk head high, seeking a way to fulfill his desire. It is in the bounds of the story where the great saying, “the most beautiful flower is the rarest,” is witnessed. And in this case, the rarest thing takes the wrong turn, for nobody expects it to run off its kindness.
In the novel, the looks of the young Dorian Gray seem to be both strengths and weaknesses of his mentor in art, Basil Hallward. Basil likes the beauty of Dorian’s face, even painting it in a portrait. (Bowser 70) He admires Dorian to the extent of confessing that he cannot work or let a day pass without seeing the beautiful face, or the day will not be a day anymore. It is here when Lord Henry notices Basil’s idol in Dorian’s outstanding beauty and wishes for more of it even if he did it as a secret admirer by not having to play all his cards at a look. Every man has a weak point in his most robust joint, and this is Basil’s weakness. His acceptance is met when he seems to be derailing Lord Henry from getting to close terms with the beautiful prince. But finally, there they are, and Henry tells the young man how handsome he is to pull strings, unleashing the subject of aesthetic beauty and self-destruction. Being moved by his words, Dorian looks at the imposter picture of his looks on Basil’s art, and his face is so pleased to see the most attractive person in his life.
Suddenly, the face of Dorian becomes grey, and his heart is filled with the aggression of regrets that make him feel inadequate to the point of even crying. Despite being happy with his beauty, he was gloomy, for it was just but a passing cloud. Thus, youth and beauty are just like beauty and the beast. They are nothing much but illusion clout clinging to a passing cloud. Lord Henry, therefore slowly tosses his poison into the mind of Dorian, making him hardly find peace and be ruled by youths indulging in sinful thoughts. He has to enjoy his moment before torments commence at an old age, when his face’s slackening, bony jaws, and growing ugly will be the theme in those days (Fry 180). Led by Lord Henry’s advice, the young man lets go of his conscience, and beauty becomes his walking stick.
Over a series of scenarios, youth, beauty, and death are intertwined throughout the novel when the young vulnerable Dorian falls deep in love with one beautiful Sybil on sight (Leonard 123). Sybil is an actress at one of the shows when Dorian sets eyes on her and falls in love with her. After witnessing her martyrdom death while performing her art, and later she miraculously resurrects backstage, Dorian sees her as an immortal. Living forever young and maintaining his cute face has always been his wish. Nevertheless, the worst and most tragic thing was when Sybil took her life days after staging the presentation. Most people think differently about it, but Dorian, obsessed with beauty, thinks that it is the best thing that has ever happened to Sybil. He thinks it is absurd that she is dead, but also, it is one of the best things to ever happen to her. Sybil will forever maintain her beauty in this life and the next.
Sooner after the Sybil incident, Dorian escapes the verge of aging up through the supernatural transformation of the beautiful portrait by Basil. The portrait seems to take his wish that it ages up and he is younger daily. This time his appearance is beyond mortality and filled with happiness without measure. The new hobby of the boy destroyed friendships and got in between lovers (Fry196). After a long time of guilty doings, he starts admiring being ugly and preserving his innocence, something he lost long ago when he took his beauty for a walking stick.
Youth is just but a rose flower in its blossom stage of age. Similar incidences in the modern world are seen when the hottest chicks around make sure that people notice their presence the same as the cute men in the beauty rhyme mix. They all seem to know everything when they jiggle around like walking trophies. Creating a room of temptation for their peers is what they all do as they pile up in a mad competition of who will get the desire they acquire. Nevertheless, the questions of who will be the queen of the famous game of body counts and breaking up love birds’ hearts without mercy start to flow. Killing ever-existing friendships is their drill as they walk themselves down the aisle of Dorian Gray while living a lie, a life Alice in Wonderland, and the tales of Monalisa while painting the picture in tint. They all get wasted with words of regret guiding them down the mysterious hall of fame—the eternal tame of tortured souls with no one to blame.
Most people view beauty as the appealing part of an individual face or even body shape. One can be ugly in the looks of men, yet so beautiful. The beauty that comes from the inside guides us to the light and gives us what we desire. Henry says that the very phrase is meant to build or destroy Dorian Gray in the novel. The expression is clear, so is his path bare to give him less danger to face, for he will always be aware and wear his protective gear. The saying overrules him that he will never get another chance in his life to enjoy his youth and so are the most beautiful people.
Work Cited
Bowser, Rachel A. “Suggesting a Surface: The Picture of Dorian Gray and Suspicious Reading.” Studies in the Novel, vol. 54, no. 1, 2022, pp. 65–79, 10.1353/sdn.2022.0003.
Fry, Katie. “Extrahuman Transcendence in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Fictional Worlds and Philosophical Reflection. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2022. 175-197.
Cenk, T. A. N. “A Hegelian Dialectic Reading of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Trakya Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi 12.23: 169-187.