Journal #2: How is Oscar Wilde is reflected in the novel/ Choose a character from the book and develop an essay comparing that character with any real person from Oscar's life.
Yoonhoo Chang 121111
We, the modern people, commonly mistake Victorian England for the era of beauty and romance. True, there was beauty and indeed there was romance, but two elements are too few to represent Victorian era by themselves. Reading 'The picture of Dorian Gray', and watching the movie 'Wilde', I bitterly admitted that there were dark sides, in fact 'very' dark sides, in the era when Oscar Wilde lived and loved. Love of beauty turned a young man into a devil, and romance killed an innocent young girl. World that once was a place to play and freely love turned into the place of betrayal and depression. Nothing lasted forever, and those who wanted their tales to be everlasting only faced irreverent ends. Wilde, who at the time when he was writing a novel was facing the bright side of the era, prophetically told the end of brightness in the book The picture of Dorian Gray. His thoughts are reflected in the novel, his style, his appearance, his life also are shown by the characters in the novel, and though he resembles one character most closely, readers can find little 'Wilde' in every character.
Wilde always said that if he would like to find a character he most resembles, he would pick Basil, the painter. However, he's excessively similar to Lord Henry. The way actor in the movie portrayed Wilde reminded me of Lord Henry in every aspect, and that sudden reminders surprised me. They have many things in common. Oscar Wilde was, most of the time, polite but cruel to women. He did truly love no woman, but was always polite to his wife. Lord Henry, who simply mocks women when he talks about one of them, respects a wife whom he deliberately calls 'mutual cheater'. "They have wonderfully primitive instincts," said Lord Henry, "They love being dominated.". Harry and Wilde have wits, clever wits. Lord Henry can persuade anyone to believe in certain way by talking. His words are cynical, clever, carefully placed, and make him look erudite. Oscar Wilde also charmed many by his unexpectedly clever words. For example, sentence like "A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feeling unintentionally.".
However, he has some significant similarities with Basil, also. Though his appearance and explicit personality is reflected as Lord Henry in the novel, his life story is somewhat related to Basil. Basil finds Dorian, loves him, portrays him, does whatever to make Dorian pleased. Wilde loved his young Dorian Gray, Lord Alfred Douglas, or Bosie. He always wanted to please him, and his efforts are seen in the letters he wrote to his lover. He wrote as if without the presence of Bosie, he would wither and die. Also, the taste for art and beauty is in both Wilde and Basil. Love of wine, flowers, and beautiful things is in both of them.
Honestly, I think Oscar Wilde is somehow reflected in the main character, Dorian Gray, also. I have to be careful about saying this, since most people believe otherwise, but there are some resembling characteristics. Most of the time I thought Lord Henry resembles Wilde and Dorian Gray resembles Bosie, but reading through, and seeing human aspect of Lord Henry, I turned around and looked at those relationship in different view. Dorian Gray is indeed unstable, and was living a quite normal life before he encountered Lord Henry. He knew less about the dangerous hedonistic life Harry told him, and finally assimilates into the world of forbidden pleasure. Wilde's life also permanently changed when he met Bosie. His true friends stabbed him in the front, and he had nowhere to stand. His life, which once seemed to be so good turned into despair and he couldn't do anything about it. He died, and he died irreverently. As cynical and hidden men-lover, he could have lived a joyous life, but instead like Dorian, who followed Lord Henry, Wilde fall in love with Bosie and lost everything.
When I put Wilde's life into the context of novel, many thing fits. I don't know if he wrote those fitting parts intentionally because lots of things happened after he wrote this novel, and I think if he did or did not, the novel is scarily prophetic. He's called one of the most inspiring writers, who is fantastic at satires. Reading his novel and his quotes-I recently found them very interesting-, I hope I could know him a little better, understand him, and enjoy fully what he really intended to say in the novel.
