The Picture of Dorian Gray 2

Passage: "Dorian Gray stepped up on the dais, with the air of a young Greek martyr, and made a little moue of discontent to Lord Henry, to whom he had rather taken a fancy. He was so unlike Basil. They made a delightful contrast. And he had such a beautiful voice."

The juxtaposition of Basil Hallward and Lord Henry echoes the motif of intellect against beauty, which is emphasized by Dorian Gray. In Chapter 1, Basil says "the personality of Dorian Gray will dominate me", which is contrasted by Lord Henry's statement about Dorian Gray: "I am bound to the state that she never told me he was good-looking" (making it seem as though beauty is the only thing anyone should be paying attention to. This is ironic because Basil, the artist and "intellectual" finds obsession in Dorian Gray's "personality", whereas Lord Henry, the heidonist, finds obsession in Dorian Gray's good looks. The juxtaposition of the obessions they have of Dorian Gray is, ironically, acknowledged by Dorian Gray in the above passage "delightful contrast". Lord Henry, then says "Genius lasts longer than Beauty." The statement is foreshadwoing the plot, through the beauty and genius motif: Dorian Gray is obsessed with his beauty, and through genius (art; Basil) his beauty will last. The concept of Homosociality, theororized by Eve Sedgwick, is evident in the relationshup between the three men. Despite their ambiguous sexualities, all three discuss looks of other men. "With the air of a young Greek martyr", is reference to Dorian's Greek like beauty. Greek culture and society is associated with homosociality, and also the visual image of Greek sculptures: overaccentuated male muscles make the asociation with Dorian Gray appropriate.

Dorian Gray is characterized as youthful through childish diction. Earlier in the chapter, when Basil tells Lord Henry to leave the scene, Dorian, childishly, fights Basil's wishes by saying "Oh, please don't, Lord Henry. I see that Basil is in one of his sulky moods; and I can't bear him when he sulks. Besides, I want you to tell me why I should not go in for philanthropy." He then tries to keep Lord Henry by expressing an interest in what he has to say "I want you to tell me why". By begging, "Oh, please don't", and following with a complaint about Basil, Dorian Gray has portrayed hisself to be, not only youthful, but immature. The syntax of the first sentence "Dorian Gray stepped on the dais", sets up the paragraph to have Dorian Gray above the setting, which contributes to the imagery of Dorian Gray, being put, literally, on a pedastal.



** I find many allusions to The Wasteland, however, I, painfully, discovered that The Wasteland was written after The Picture of Dorian Gray. When describing the relationship Lord Henry has with his wife, he says "I never know where my wife is, and my wife never knows what I am doing. When we meet- we do meet occasionally,". The noncallant meetings, and relationship he has with his wife echoes the relationshups being described in The Wasteland. Then, "After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch. 'I am afriad i must be going Basil,' he murmured". The time reference is similar to the allusion made in The Great Gatsby, when Gatsby almost breaks the clock- in reference to the part of The Wasteland "HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME" (Line 141). I find it also relevant in that The Great Gatsby also had the homosociality motif.