Lord Henry summarizes the self-revolved cycle of thought humans often fall into when he states, “If one puts forward an idea to a true Englishman– always a rash thing to do– he never dreams of considering whether the idea is right or wrong. The only thing he considers of any importance is whether one believes it oneself” (Wilde 10).
The Victorian era, like all times in society, contained innumerable sects of differing beliefs on nearly every subject, especially those of religion and the purpose of society. We mirror a diverse cabinet of human thought in today’s society, only now we have globalized it. Anyone with access to the internet can educate themselves on any manner of thinking, but how does one determine whether or not it is the correct path? Although I and many others would argue that there is one objective truth, the influence of subjective opinions and the manner in which a person is brought up is as relevant as ever. With the popularization of Relativism, the very existence of truth and purpose are made questionable, and the angst many people feel now is voiced in the selfish habits of the 21st century that society has come to accept.
The same internal conflict was wrought during the 19th century did not come with the same tolerance, resulting in the suppression of desires in order to prevent scandal from decimating one’s popularity, “But it appeared to Dorian Gray that the true nature of the senses had never been understood, and that they had remained savage and animal merely because the world had sought to starve them” (Wilde 125). Wilde comments on the difficultly of rejecting one’s inclinations, even if they may be wrong only because society dictates it. Wilde is not only addressing sexuality, it also includes the rules we follow for arbitrary politeness and the pointless idiosyncrasies we adopt because of our socialization. While modern society is binds us to its own toxic expectations, they differ nowadays from Dorian Gray’s setting.
Following the Sexual Revolution, society has become overwhelmingly lenient to the point of encouraging immorality. Dorian Gray would not have been nearly as sensational in the current time period because the media has desensitized us to scandal. The most famous level of society, our celebrities, mirror Wilde’s observation that “Society — civilized society, at least — is never very ready to believe anything to the detriment of those who are both rich and fascinating” ( 136). This mentality society held and has maintained results in a lack of consequences for those affluent and charming enough.
Work Cited
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Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Aestheticism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 26 Oct. 2018, http://www.britannica.com/art/Aestheticism.
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Romantic Circles, Romantic Circles, http://www.rc.umd.edu/sites/default/RCOldSite/www/rchs/reader/tabbey.html.
Seymour, Miranda. “Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde by Franny Moyle – Review.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 June 2011, http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/24/constance-mrs-wilde-franny-moyle-review.
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 