Oscar Wilde’s Aestheticism In The Picture Of Dorian Gray

This thesis aims to study Wilde’s aestheticism as reflected in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Moreover, by placing Wilde against the theoretical framework of the aesthetic movement in the late nineteenth century, it tries to find out how Wilde inherits and enriches aesthetic thoughts of the previous aesthetes. It gives a general description of the aesthetic movement in France and Victorian Britain, and explores into the aesthetic theories of Wilde, Pater and other aesthetes. The research sources include aesthetic theories by previous aesthetic scholars, Wilde’s criticism in Intentions, biographic studies about Wilde and other scholars’criticism.Through the analysis, the authoress finds that Wilde’s aestheticism in The Picture mainly involves five aspects. The first is the autonomy of art with the prerequisite of form as the essence. Wilde inherits previous aesthetes’ views that beauty is the sole purpose of art. Wilde contends for art’s independence from morality, so it is necessary to separate Victorian conventional morality from Wilde’s aesthetic morality. Furthermore, Wilde states that art is independent from life, emphasizing on imagination in artistic creation and the superiority of art over life. Furthermore, he innovatively suggests that life imitates art. Moreover, he claims that a certain distance from aesthetic subject is required, and people should refrain emotional interference in aesthetics. Wilde’s New Hedonism is also reflected in this novel. Inheriting Pater’s ideas, Wilde encourages the pursuit of senses and momentary experience. However, Wilde’s views on New Hedonism are morally self-contradictory. Thirdly, the novel dramatizes Wilde’s idea of individualism, in which Wilde supports the diversity of individual personality and holds that personal freedom is essential to art. Furthermore, art and individualism are mutually dependent. The fourth point involves another innovative theory of Wilde-his rearrangement of the relationship between art, artist and critic. He claims that art is independent from artist, caused by changes of art’s spectator and critic’s deterministic force on the art. Wilde regards criticism as review-as-revision, which is an inheritance from Whistler and Pater. Taking a Paterian perspective, Wilde’s aestheticism regards criticism as superior to creation. Lastly, succeeding Rossetti’s and Ruskin’s views on the integration of body and soul, Wilde supports the union of body and soul, which is also fully represented in the novel.By examining both Wilde’s theoretic writings and the novel, the thesis reveals the main aesthetic ideas contained in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Aesthetic predecessors have great influence on Wilde meanwhile he puts forward his own aesthetic theories. Wilde not only inherits but deepens previous aestheticism. Through the study, the thesis offers a relatively more comprehensive and profound analysis of both the novel and Wilde’s aesthetic theories.