THE CONFLICT BETWEEN AESTHETICISM AND MORALITY IN OSCAR
WILDE’S THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
Nargiz Babashova
Qafqaz University
nbabashova@std.qu.edu.az
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel of aesthetic pursuing and moral regression which shows how
social compulsion can kill an individual. The Picture of Dorian Gray had been written in the Victorian Period in which the
Aesthetic Movement was widely spread. In pursuing aestheticism the pursuer may come out uglier than ever before. With
writing this novel Oscar Wilde intended to describe the portrayal of the Aesthetic Movement, its adverse consequences and
to promote aestheticism in his contemporary society. Aestheticism too often fastens itself with immorality. It results in an
insecure philosophy that must be practiced on purpose. The Picture of Dorian Gray is often read as a stated and clearly
proclamation of the worthiness of real life in agreement with aesthetic values. This is brought about by the successful
Aesthetic Movement of Victorian England during the novel’s publication, as well as Oscar Wilde’s association with the
movement itself. There is a juxtaposition of Oscar Wilde’s support for Aesthetic Movement with Dorian’s demise which
provides a competition between morality and immorality. Oscar Wilde prefaces his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray with a
conversation between the artist Basil Hallward and his friend Lord Henry about art and sense of beauty. After cautious
investigation, he concludes: “All art is quite useless”. In this one sentence, Oscar Wilde generalizes the whole principles of
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