Table of Contents
What does Basil represent in Dorian Gray?
12) of life, and as the friend who reminds others of those better selves they could be, Basil is the embodiment of longing, while Lord Henry and Dorian end with their desires burnt out.
What does Basil claim that art should do?
In other words, what does Basil the painter claim that art should be or do, and why does he appear to consider Dorian a threat to this claim? Basil says that he has put too much of himself into the portrait of Dorian Gray because he is infatuated with Dorian in every way possible.
How does Basil feel about art?
To Basil, good artists must not let any of themselves show in their art. He even seems to regret his artistic talent, as greatness of any kind can have fatal consequences. Basil’s words reveal that he has no desire for power or fame, but cares only for his friends and his art.
What does Basil Hallward symbolize?
The character Basil Hallward represents Oscar Wilde’s own homosexual alter ego. the part of his personality that admires and is attracted to beautiful men. Basil also represents the artist in Wilde and conveys his opinions on beauty and this aesthetic movement in art.
Does basil like Dorian Gray?
Basil Hallward is a talented, though somewhat conventionally minded, painter. His love for Dorian Gray changes the way he sees art; indeed, it defines a new school of expression for him. Basil’s portrait of Dorian marks a new phase of his career.
What is Basil Hallward’s fate?
However, we don’t ever get to find out, since Dorian decides rashly to kill Basil rather than pray for forgiveness. Unfortunately, Basil, the pure artist and worshiper of beauty, isn’t cut out for this world of evil men, and he loses in the end.
Is Dorian Gray in love with Lord Henry?
Men do have relationships with women in the novel—Dorian falls in love with Sibyl and Lord Henry himself is married—but the novel’s heterosexual relationships prove to be rather superficial and short-lived. If the novel is homoerotic, it is also misogynistic.
How would you consider Basil Hallward as an artist?
Typically, for Gothic literature, there is no scientific explanation given why the portrait comes to life. Only Basil once seems eager to suggest that the changes must be a result of some chemical processes (DG 150). The portrait can be considered Dorian’s doppelgaenger.
Why was The Picture of Dorian Gray banned?
Wilde used The Picture of Dorian Gray as his autobiography claiming, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be- in other ages perhaps.” Not only was this book banned because of the sexual undertones, it eventually helped send Wilde to a couple of years of May 1, 2008.
What Basil says about youth and beauty?
Youth and beauty are the finest of all treasures, and they should be cherished and guarded because they so quickly fade. In fact, he asserts, “There is absolutely nothing in the world but youth.”.
What was Dorian Gray’s secret?
Dorian Gray is a wealthy gentleman who has gained immortality by having his soul trapped within a painting.
How does Lord Henry manipulate Dorian?
Lord Henry reflects on what it feels like spending time with Dorian Gray. He thinks of hearing his own ideas echoed in Dorian’s voice, which shows how easily he manipulates young Dorian. Lord Henry compares this feeling to playing music, with complete control of what comes out of the instrument.
Why didn’t Basil Hallward exhibit the portrait?
Because Basil worries that the public will detect his personal and artistic idolatry of Gray, he will not exhibit the portrait. Before entering the studio where Dorian is waiting, Basil asks Lord Henry not to influence or take away the person who inspires him as an artist.
How is Basil Hallward moral?
Basil is the moral figure in the novel because he is the artist. He has the power to create that which is not only picturesque or beautiful, but sublime (beyond beauty). As Wilde says in the Introduction: Basil not only creates the portrait, but he refuses to sell it.
How can we describe the influence that Dorian has over Basil Hallward?
At first, Basil is influenced by his model Dorian. On a personal level, he is confused and changed by his romantic feelings, but Dorian’s influence is also more far-reaching, actually seeming to change Basil’s ability for painting, and to change the painting itself in an almost supernatural way.
Was Oscar Wilde married?
Constance Lloydm. 1884–1898.
Who was in love with Dorian Gray?
Dorian’s love for Sibyl is a turning point in the novel; here, he has to choose between real life (marriage with Sibyl, the person) and art (infatuation with Sibyl, the art object). Obviously, he chooses art over life, and thus throws away the one other person he truly loved (albeit briefly).
What did Basil put too much of into the picture?
Moreover, when Basil confesses that he has “too much of himself” in the picture, he is admitting to the homoerotic admiration that has led him to display Dorian in such a flamboyant and exact fashion.
What does Dorian do after he stabs Basil?
Glancing at his picture, Dorian feels hatred welling up within him. He seizes a knife and stabs Basil repeatedly. He then opens the door and listens for the sound of anyone stirring. When he is satisfied that no one has heard the murder, he locks the room and returns to the library.
What is Sibyl vanes occupation?
A young actress, from a poor family, who performs Shakespeare’s heroines every evening at a low class theater.
Why does Basil try to destroy the canvas?
Why does Basil try to destroy the canvas? He does not want the painting to ruin the relationship between the three of them. He says the painting is now a part of himself.
Why is Dorian so in love with Sibyl Vane?
when she speaks for other women as she plays her roles” (19). Her Page 6 acting, or her art, is what attracts him to her. Meyers also confirms that Dorian is “attracted to Sibyl partly because she is an illusion who is idealized and distanced from him by the stage” (372).
Who is Campbell in Dorian Gray?
Alan Campbell was an acquaintance of Dorian Gray’s while Dorian was first living in Mayfair and spending time with Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward. After Dorian murders Basil in a fit of spiteful rage he blackmails Alan into destroying Basil’s body using his skills as a chemist.
