Dorian's Mythical Invulnerability

The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, is an interesting, if at times rather strange, novel.  Oscar Wilde used elements of several Greek myths, such as that of Adonis, as the vehicle for his own personal agenda. He wished to disseminate his beliefs about the intrinsic value of art. He believed that anything that is beautiful has worth, a sentiment that is evident in the value that the Victorian society places on Dorian. Even as all of Dorian’s other attributes became further and further degraded by his immoral living and stories of his terrible acts spread, he was still accepted based solely upon his enduring beauty. However, I don’t believe that Wilde held this aestheticism to be the ultimate truth, because Dorian begins to doubt that his beauty truly endows him with such worth. The guilt that he experienced after brutally murdering Basil begins to eat away at the remains of his conscience, destroying him mentally while his physical beauty remains perfect.

    Dorian is similar to the heroes of several Greek myths, such as those of Adonis and Anchises. Adonis was a man of unsurpassed beauty and power. He “may die not from his self-inflicted wound but by the tusk of the boar…” (The Myth of Creation: The Gods) None of Dorian’s immoral acts had any effect on him, and his demise was not directly self-inflicted, as he was unaware that by cursing his portrait and attacking it he would be killed by the crushing weight of his immoral life. Anchises was another man of godly beauty and youth, and was treated much like Dorian. His beauty was such that it made Aphrodite fall in love with him.

    While the entire book deals with Dorian’s immoral lifestyle and actions, only specific, especially meaningful events are detailed. The remainder of the events is mentioned briefly, but the true focus is the changes that occur in Dorian’s psyche and in the portrait. The first changes are small changes in his expression.  Those small changes buildup, resulting in a visage that becomes ever increasingly horrific to Dorian. Eventually, Dorian comes to comprehend the consequences of his actions, and attempts to pay penance. But he cannot change his true nature, a fact that is made evident when the portrait shows the hypocrisy of that belief.