Loose Ends

A few loose ends for Dorian Gray.As is the case in many of the classic books this work is readable on different levels. In this case there a four themes.

#1) The Purpose of Art.
Oscar Wild believed Art had no purpose. This contradicts the Victorian view that art could be used for social education and enlightenment.Being in the Aestheticism movement he tried to free art from those standards.This work tries to jolt the middle class, attempting to convince them that art had no purpose other than being beautiful.

#2 The Supremacy of Youth And Beauty.
Although Youth and beauty are present throughout the entire story line, a main point is, there is a price to pay,mainly Dorain's Soul

#3The Superficial Nature of Society
I is important to most of the the characters of the book that a man is handsome . As Dorian descends into moral depravity he is never rejected because of his pure face.

#4 The Negative Consequences of Influence
The Painting , the character of Lord Henery (and the yellow book he suggests ) have an enormous influence on Dorian eventually leading to his downfall and death.

I will leave the motifs for another time as all of this is making me tired!