24 Hedonism, Aestheticism, and Homoeroticism in The Picture of Dorian Gra – Athena Yasbeck

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray has been interpreted as homoerotic by many readers since its publication in 1891, but without any sort of explicitly homoerotic content, this is a subtextual understanding. Hedonism and aestheticism, two other major elements of the novel, contribute to the subtext employed by Wilde to evoke homoerotic connotations in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Utilizing the work of Joseph Carroll and Luljeta Muriqi, this paper will substantiate the interpretation of the novel as homoerotic and argue that the themes of hedonism, aestheticism, and homoeroticism in The Picture of Dorian Gray inform each other in an inextricable manner, to the extent that hedonism and aestheticism become a shorthand for homoeroticism under Wilde.

During the titular Dorian Gray’s first meeting with Lord Henry Wotton, he describes being stirred by Lord Henry’s words, “entirely fresh influences… at work within him” that really came from within Dorian himself; this could mean something that he perhaps already knew, but was not cognizant of until meeting Lord Henry (Wilde 21). Continuing what seems to be a kind of extended metaphor for Dorian’s attraction to Lord Henry and realization of his own homosexuality, the narrator states that Lord Henry’s words “had touched some secret chord that had never been touched before, but that [Dorian] felt was now vibrating and throbbing to curious pulses” (Wilde 21). The usage of these specific words to depict Lord Henry’s effect on Dorian evokes the discovery and intimacy of a sexual awakening. It is extended further as a metaphor as Dorian realizes that he now understands some things that he did not know how to interpret as a child (Wilde 22). He also realizes that he had been “walking in fire” without knowing it, which could allude to someone being in danger without knowing it, such as the danger that gay men faced as marginalized and oppressed members of Victorian society (Wilde 22). Fire could also refer to sexual attraction or desire, as life has also become “fiery-coloured” to Dorian now, suggesting that he could have been “walking in” the path of latent desire his whole life, but now, his eyes have been opened to it (Wilde 22). This is one example of subtext that contributes to many readers’ interpretation of The Picture of Dorian Gray and the relationships between its male characters as homoerotic.

In the essay, “Aestheticism, Homoeroticism, and Christian Guilt in The Picture of Dorian Gray: A Darwinian Critique” by Joseph Carroll, Walter Pater is referenced as one main influence of Wilde’s work in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The major perpetuator of Pater’s ideology throughout the novel is the character Lord Henry, a friend of Basil Hallward’s who takes an interest in Dorian Gray. Lord Henry’s personal ideology is first introduced in part in Chapter I; according to the omniscient narrator, other people’s emotions are much more delightful to Lord Henry than their ideas (Wilde 15). Throughout the novel, it is clear that he values anything that is “delightful” to him over intelligence, kindness, honesty, etc., along with everything else. Here, Lord Henry does not see the validity in being passionate about helping feed the poor, for example, and suggests that other such topics expected to be discussed at his aunt’s luncheon would be equally empty of meaning; as the narrator states, “The rich would have spoken on the value of thrift, and the idle grown eloquent over the dignity of labour” (Wilde 16). Although it may seem that he is simply wholly uninterested in helping others, as a byproduct of the ideology of hedonism, Lord Henry seems frustrated on some level with the self-righteousness and hypocrisy of unqualified people speaking on topics about which they know nothing. This resentment that he feels towards this hypocrisy reflects the views about homosexuality at the time the novel was written, in that those speaking about whether homosexuality was acceptable behavior and labeling it as perverted or deviant at the time did not have the perspective necessary to develop valuable insight into this matter. One who has not dealt with homosexuality personally or who lacks the capacity to consider the matter with empathy will typically have less valuable wisdom regarding how homosexuality should be treated within a given community, and as such, resembles the qualities of a rich man attempting to educate others on the importance of living a modest and frugal life. This could be one area from which Lord Henry’s cynicism stems.

In Chapter II, Lord Henry tells Dorian that Dorian only has “a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully” and urges him to take advantage of these years to “[b]e always searching for new sensations… afraid of nothing” (Wilde 25). This advice, along with the sexual immorality exemplified by Dorian later in the novel, mirrors the reality of the homosexual lifestyle in times before homosexuality, and eventually same-sex marriage, started to become legal. Even many years after the publication of The Picture of Dorian Gray, many gay men, among others, lost their lives in the 1980s and 1990s after being exposed to AIDS many times due to unsafe sex practices that were common because, due to the stigma surrounding homosexuality, monogamous gay relationships were viewed as a less viable option than sexual encounters with many different people. This is just one example that illustrates the danger present in homoerotic behavior, which Lord Henry advises Dorian to ignore—and he later does, partaking in numerous sexual encounters with numerous people in a way that reflects the sexual lifestyle that has been viewed as common for gay men throughout history. As Carroll highlights, Lord Henry’s explanation of the purpose of life as being to “realize one’s nature perfectly” closely follows Walter Pater’s concept of hedonism (Carroll 8). This definition of the purpose of life, which is specifically applied to Lord Henry and Dorian’s lives, suggests that they are realizing their nature perfectly through excessive sexual immorality and never maintaining a lasting romantic relationship with anyone else or participating in the institution of marriage. Carroll makes reference to Donald Symons, who concludes that “male homosexual behavior is characterized by promiscuous, impersonal sex” (Carroll 9). Hedonism, as portrayed in the novel is, in this way, shorthand for the outdated idea that gay men are bound by some inherent inability to be able to commit to a monogamous relationship.

Another facet of this part of Lord Henry’s hedonistic way of thinking is the rejection of monogamy and the institution of marriage. After Dorian rejects his former lover, Sybil Vane, and she commits suicide, Lord Henry tells Dorian that he is relieved that Dorian is no longer in a relationship with Sybil and seeking to marry her, because it would have been “an absolute failure” (Wilde 97). Lord Henry’s disdain for marriage is an allusion to the uselessness of marriage for gay men in this time period—he views attempting married life as an abject failure because for him or for Dorian, as gay men, it is futile. Similarly, Lord Henry views forming a romantic relationship with a woman as futile, reasoning that any woman will bore Dorian to the point that he will no longer have a zeal for life, and makes it sound inevitable that any woman Dorian might become involved with would eventually realize that he had no real interest in her (Wilde 97). Here, the hedonistic view that devoting too much time to one person is wasting life’s potential to keep on exploring new sensations also aligns with Symons’s aforementioned characterization of male homosexual behavior.

Luljeta Muriqi suggests in the essay “Homoerotic Codes in The Picture of Dorian Gray” that the value of the beauty of objects promoted by aestheticism translates to Wilde’s novel as the male characters viewing each other as objects of beauty (Muriqi 4). Aestheticism is closely associated with homoeroticism throughout the entirety of the novel, as Dorian’s physical beauty illustrates, being the quality that invited and sustained Basil and Lord Henry’s fixation on him. Lord Henry refers to Dorian as “some brainless, beautiful creature, who should always be here in winter when we have no flowers to look at” when speaking with Basil, which serves as a summation of the extent to which he views Dorian as an object to keep around only to admire and delight in its beauty (Wilde 7). This is a major element of aestheticism, which values beauty above all else.

Throughout Basil’s discussion with Lord Henry in Chapter I, he seems to use the appreciation of beauty—in this case, his fascination with Dorian Gray as a beautiful subject for his paintings—as a means to disguise and/or justify his attraction to Dorian. Muriqi asserts that it is Wilde himself “trying to explain away Basil’s feelings for Dorian in terms of aestheticism” (6) and also makes the observation that homoeroticism is closely connected with “[s]hallowness and superficiality” (5). We can see superficiality in Basil’s obsession with Dorian as a subject for painting and Lord Henry’s coveting of Dorian as an object of extreme beauty and his disregard for love, devotion, or altruism. Lord Henry also makes it clear when he urges Dorian to make the most of his youth that he would no longer see any value in Dorian after he ages and begins to lose his youthful beauty, showing us that he does not value him as a person, but an object (Wilde 24-25). Each of these expressions of superficiality are facilitated by the observance of Dorian Gray’s beauty by his two male friends. He is described by them throughout the novel in terms that carry an air of sensuality, and in some cases, a subtextual sexual or romantic attraction.

The Picture of Dorian Gray communicates a subtextual story of homoerotic experiences that are unique to gay people. These experiences are connected to the themes of hedonism and aestheticism that are also woven into Wilde’s writing. Lord Henry echoes Walter Pater’s principles of hedonism, which Wilde uses to reflect the concept of homosexuality as an inherent desire for promiscuity and lack of emotional attachment. Lord Henry’s thoughts about marriage also likely reflect the attitude of many gay men in the Victorian era who could not get married or who married women but were ultimately unsatisfied in the arrangement. In these ways, the elements of hedonism in the novel signal homoerotic subtext. Aestheticism is also a powerful theme repeated in assessments of Dorian Gray made by Lord Henry and Basil that objectify him, only valuing his beauty and basing their value of him on their level of attraction to him. Aestheticism also signals homoerotic subtext many times in the novel.

Works Cited

Carroll, Joseph A. “Aestheticism, Homoeroticism, and Christian Guilt in The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Philosophy and Literature 29, 2005.

Muriqi, Luljeta. “Homoerotic Codes in The Picture of Dorian Gray.” Lund University, 2007.

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Penguin Books, 2003.