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Art in Dorian Gray - Themes

Wilde divides the three main aspects of art within his main three characters:

Basil: We get the absorbed view of the creator in Basil Hallward.

Lord Henry: The detached spectatorial view of Lord Henry.

Dorian Gray: immersion into the philosophy of living life as art forms (the backbone of the novel's narrative.)

Arts role on this particular character is to create a life that is beautiful in a world that is ultimately full of fault due to its moralized society. as "finely-In doing this Dorian Gray can escape the fate of becoming art and vanquishing realism. Dorian Gray is introduced as Lord Henry‟s blank canvas – an object which Lord Henry intends to shape according to his fancies. That is not to say that Dorian is lifeless and without form prior to Lord Henry‟s influence but rather an unfinished painting which Lord Henry designs using his own ideas.

For example in chapter two Dorian is described as having "curved scarlet lips, his frank blue eyes, his crisp gold hair.” Here Wilde establishes the superficial qualities of the boy

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