Dorian Gray context Flashcards
The ‘Hellenistic ideal’
The Ancient greek appreciation of beauty and its connection to morality
Narcissus
two stories - either he fell in love with his reflection and died OR his identical twin sister died
Marxist theory
Henry implies that the bourgeoise give back to the poor not out of goodwill, but to increase their status as a wealthy person and display how much power they have over the proletariat
Yellow book
Contextually, based on French novel meaning ‘against nature’
Setting
Explores divides within Victorian society through contrast between wealthy Mayfair housing and the crowded poverty of London’s East End
dandyism
During 1800s; style of dress for men and a lifestyle that celebrated elegance and refinement; straight posture, well-fitting clothes, and accessories (top hats, tailcoats, white gloves)
Aestheticism
reverence for beauty; movement that held beautiful form is to be valued more than instructive content
London
Victorian fears about mass urbanisation
hedonism
pursuit of pleasure, especially of the senses
The Uncanny
uncomfortably familiar- Dorian’s face
Almost normal but not quite, such as Dorian and his immortality
The unheimlich
Step mum theory
Oscar Wilde
- homosexual- served two years of hard labour for gross indecency
- keen aesthetic
- Had to revise book after it was deemed ‘immoral’ which he addresses in the preface
Victorian class
Victorian class anxiety about immigration and social structure. Rigid class and social system - very ‘proper’ society.
Victorian anxieties
Were concerned with degeneracy and transgression, and disliked moral transgression (sin). Anxieties about moral transgression extended to homosexuality - Wilde was imprisoned for it. Darwinian theory of regression was the idea that society would go backwards.
Gothic Tropes- Fin de siecle
Gothic novels take place in significant or clashing time periods. Dorian Gray takes place at the fin de siecle (end of the century). It implies the end of the old order and the adoption of new radical ideas, and was applied often to the 1890s Aesthetic and Decadent movements. At the fin de siecle there was a focus on the human body as a sight for Gothic tropes and exploration.
Dr Faustus
Idea of the ‘faustian pact’ used heavily in Dorian Gray - Dorian effectively trades his soul for immortality. The consequences of Faustus and Dorian are similar - they both die for their actions.
Gothic Tropes- the revenant
Return of the unwanted or repressed. A figure come to seek retribution (James Vane).
Freud
Id, Ego, and Superego. Mind structured like an iceberg - we only ever reveal 10% of ourselves. Id is Lord Henry, he embraces and is driven by desires (impulsive). Ego is Dorian, he is concerned with what the world thinks of him and his appearance. Superego is Basil, rational thought and concerned with morality and culture. Dorian represents Basil’s transgressive desires (his id).
Seven Deadly Sins
- ENVY/JEALOUSY - Dorian is jealous of the painting and Henry is jealous of Dorian’s beauty and youth.
- GLUTTONY - excess consumption, the rich are always having opium and dinner parties.
- SLOTH - upper classes never have anything to do, everyone does everything for them, so they’re always bored.
- LUST - homosexual lust and lust for the life Henry describes and for eternal youth.
- WRATH - Dorian takes his anger out on Basil and ends up killing him.
- GREED - Dorian wants to stay young forever.
- PRIDE - Dorian and Henry are both prideful.
Achilles
‘flinging the mirror on the floor crushed it into silver splinters with his heel.’ Reference to Achilles in scene 9 ‘When they reached the Achilles fountain’. Achilles heel= downfall, Dorian beauty= downfall
