Although the most noticeable motifs of The Picture of Dorian Gray tend to be sin and corruption, Oscar Wilde also addresses the motif of Love vs. Obsession. This concept is actually quite central to the novel as the main character’s relationships with others tend to have an unsettling quality far from selfless love. One might infer that such a lack of healthy relationships contributes to Dorian’s demise; even Sibyl and Basil, the two most positive influences in his life, seem to worship him as perfection rather than treat him as a friend and equal… perhaps it’s not so unforeseeable that Psychology Today would diagnose Wilde’s character with Narcissistic personality disorder over a hundred years after the novel’s publication.
From the beginning of the novel to the alarming exeunt of the character, Basil seems obsessed with the beautiful youth. The artist is perhaps less obsessed with Dorian’s true character than his perception of Dorian Gray, an illusion he himself created in which Dorian became a demigod whom Basil describes as “‘some one whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself'” (Wilde 8). From my perspective, there are very few people who would warrant such unadulterated admiration, and the initial impression Dorian achieves is not especially impressive. In truth, I was disappointed by the first scene with Dorian until Lord Henry prompts him to become interesting… before opening his eyes to the truths of Henry and suffering an existential crisis, Dorian seems little more than a dumb dandy with a pleasant disposition. As the novel progresses, Basil is finally forced to confess his obsession to Dorian, stating, “‘Dorian, from the moment I met you, your personality had the most extraordinary influence over me… I worshiped you'” (Wilde 109). While the beginning of his statement resembles a declaration of love, Basil goes on to describe feelings closer to obsession, “‘I grew jealous of every one to whom you spoke. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I was with you… I grew more and more absorbed in you'” (Wilde 109). The affects Basil describes are unhealthy and border toxicity as he became both possessive and dependent on what one might label his crush. Wilde uses this Shakespearean admission and Basil’s tragic end to illustrate the perils one exposes oneself to by hyper-inflating the ego of the subject of worship. As the story unfolds, the artist later feels compelled to assess the validity of the rumors surrounding Dorian and restore his illusion of the lad’s perfection, thus inciting his own murder in a violent turn of events. Thus, Wilde is able to convey the dangers present on both sides once your potential lover “‘[becomes] the visible incarnation of that unseen ideal whose memory haunts [you] like an exquisite dream'” (109). Fostering such an imbalance of power rather than a partnership of equals inevitably leads to damage on both sides.
The glamorous, youthful Sibyl Vane is also used to explore the motif of Love vs. Obsession. Her character is much less complex and worldly than Basil (further demonstrating the depth to which Basil is willing to deceive himself) and thus reveals unique aspects of Dorian’s character. While the relationship between Dorian and Sibyl is another imbalance of power (she has little wealth or influence while Dorian is affluent and cultivated), this relationship is a two-sided obsession. Sibyl is caught up in a fairy tale romance, addressing Dorian Gray as “‘Prince Charming… If only you saw him, you would think him the most wonderful person in the world'” (Wilde 64). Meanwhile, her Prince Charming is enraptured by the goddess who causes him to “‘[become] hungry for her presence; and when [he thinks] of the wonderful soul that is hidden away in that little ivory body, [he] is filled with awe'” (Wilde 52). In his eyes, ‘”[s]he is all the great heroines of the world in one'” (Wilde 52). Pretty romantic stuff, right? Shakespeare probably rolled around in his grave as Wilde wrote those lines, not only for their sentimental beauty and charm, but because they imply the same consequences as the cautionary tale of Romeo and Juliet.
Their secret engagement, combined with their youth and unbridled passion, inevitably ferments into tragedy. Dorian brings his companions to one of her performances so they might encounter the “genius” he is so deeply enraptured by only to be disappointed by her bland enactment of Juliet “delivered with the painful precision of a schoolgirl who has been taught to recite by some second-rate professor of elocution” (Wilde 80). Following the fiasco and the departure of his companions, the incensed and disillusioned Dorian confronts Sibyl, who “transfigured with joy” declares that before she knew him, she “‘thought that [theatre] was all true'” but upon Dorian enabling her to experience romance in real life feels that “‘it would be profanation… to play at being in love'” (Wilde 83-84). Without the talent she displayed before, Dorian spurns her by saying,'”How little you can know of love, if you say it mars your art!… What are you now? A third-rate actress with a pretty face'” (Wilde 84). Indeed, Sibyl truly knows very little of love, at least not enough to understand that lovers often say things they do not mean in the heat of an argument and are capable of reconciling with one another. Dorian realizes the cruelty of his words too late, and Sibyl acts too rashly, her knowledge of love purely Shakespearean. By the next morning, Dorian finds out that Sibyl has killed herself and his character spirals into darkness.
Despite the positive influences they exert on Dorian, Basil and Sibyl catalyze his moral decline. In exchange, obsession leads to their demise. Perhaps if they all had loved with greater prudence and less fixation and channeled a more tempered love, the fates would have smiled for them. Unfortunately for Dorian Gray, the road of romance ends in a pit of death.
Works Cited
Beckson, Karl. “Oscar Wilde.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 5 Feb. 2019, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Wilde.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Aestheticism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 26 Oct. 2018, http://www.britannica.com/art/Aestheticism.
Burton, Neel. “The Two Types of Psychopath.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, http://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/hide-and-seek/201901/the-two-types-psychopath.
Person. “15 Pieces Of Style Advice From Oscar Wilde.” ShortList, ShortList, 5 May 2014, http://www.shortlist.com/style/15-pieces-of-style-advice-from-oscar-wilde/32919.
Romantic Circles, Romantic Circles, http://www.rc.umd.edu/sites/default/RCOldSite/www/rchs/reader/tabbey.html.
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. 1890. Barnes & Noble, Inc., 2015.
Wordsworth, William. “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798 by William Wordsworth.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45527/lines-composed-a-few-miles-above-tintern-abbey-on-revisiting-the-banks-of-the-wye-during-a-tour-july-13-1798.
The Picture of Dorian Gray 