Characters
This character idolizes Dorian's beauty and innocence.
Who is Basil?
Dorian's beautiful external appearance represents this.
What is innocence and internal beauty?
A philosophy advocating a life solely seeking pleasure.
What is hedonism?
This character seeks to influence Dorian into living a life of hedonism.
Who is Lord Henry?
The portrait is a symbol of this.
An aesthetic theory that values art for art's sake, with no didactic meaning.
What is Aestheticism?
This lower-class character is unwittingly injured by Dorian's descent into aestheticism
Who is Sybil Vane?
What is intellectual corruption/decadence?
Victorian literature often focused on this goal.
What is advocating for the poor?
What is referring to his body as a "thing," indicating moral detachment.
Dorian's initial response to the painting.
What is horror and fear of being found out?
Oscar Wilde spent the end of his life here.
Where is prison?
Dorian's hedonism leads him to this.
What is paranoia?
What is that it has been restored to its original innocence and beauty?
The Picture of Dorian Gray takes this position towards Aestheticism.