Cheat Sheet

Themes / Concepts

Aestheticism: surround self with beautiful objects

Hedonism: search for new sensations, individualism

(DG, H and B are all aesthetes. Only D is a hedonist)

Victorian Morality: repression, Christian, conservative, utilitarianism - Basil

Struggle for Dorian’s attention is a battle between traditional Victorian Morality and modern values of hedonism

Portrait as a mirror which reflects his hideous soul, beautiful appearance as a mask which conceals his corruption

Appearance vs Reality Victorian belief that morality is reflected in appearance. Comes from notion that poor, scruffy, dirty people are bad people. Dorian is able to bamboozle people because he’s hot. The worse things he does the uglier the portrait becomes.

Terms

Epigram / aphorism: “To cure the soul with the senses and the senses with the soul” (LH tells Dorian to encourage him to live a life of hedonism. Dorian only lives by the first half of the aphorism.

A lesson in balance, duality. Necessary to satisfy your soul through the senses - not repress self as was the norm of traditional Victorian morality, however, also necessary to moderate your desires / passions through conscience / morality / even social norm.

Faustian Bargain: he does not actually make a deal with the devil

Common questions:

Place the novel in context (3)

-       Three NB incidents that have happened shortly before the extract

Aristocratic society’s preoccupation with beauty / aestheticism: materialistic, superficial.

Class structure of Victorian society

Moral degeneration / loss of innocence / corruption / influence

Dorian’s changing relationship with the novel:

1) Jealous of it, fuels narcissism and part of the reason he makes the Faustian Bargain.

2) Horrified by its cruel smirk, so hides it.

3) Enjoys the double life it allows him to lead.

4) Perverse pleasure in observing the changes as well as  paranoia it’ll be discovered.

(Note his ambivalent emotions in points 3 and 4)

5) Repulsed by the portrait after Basil’s death.

6) Attempts to undo ugliness on portrait by saving Hetty- fails.

7) Stabs the portrait in anger and consequences of his actions catch up with him as he dies.

It becomes a mirror which reflects the evil of his soul, which is masked by his beautiful appearance.