“The Picture of Dorian Gray” is a timeless classic. Every page of the book is laden with Oscar Wilde’s philosophical ideas, some of which are shocking for the time period. The book contains homosexual tension between the main characters’ relationships, and the book was first written in 1890 when homosexuality was abhorrent for most individuals.
The book was actually used as evidence against Wilde in a court case where he was sentenced to two years of hard labor in punishment for sodomy. Wilde’s book has also been criticized for lack of general moral compass. It was banned nearly instantaneously after publication in almost every English speaking country. In spite of the controversy, Wilde’s cynical outlook on society, morals, and beauty provides a rich opportunity to reflect on many aspects of life that people do not often consider. Here is a list of seven thought provoking quotes.
1. “We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless” (preface).
This quote comments mostly on the purpose of art. Wilde believes art has no other purpose than to be admired. This quote also comments on the attitude people should have towards useful inventions. This quote occurs in the preface, so Wilde is explaining how he would like people to consume his book.
2. “Being natural is simply a pose, and the most irritating pose I know,” (4).
This is the opposite of what most people would think, which is why it is so thought-provoking. When people try to act natural in public, it is still a pose because we always have some filter up to protect our intimacy. No one would do everything in public that they do in private. This quote expresses Wilde’s distaste for people’s hypocrisy.
3. We have lost the abstract sense of beauty” (8).
Beauty is subjective, but cultures always form beauty standards. As we all know, beauty standards are impossible to perfectly achieve and they are not universally accessible; people need to be born with certain characteristics to even consider the possibility of attaining cultural standards. Wilde is claiming that beauty has become standardized and universally defined.
4. “Philanthropic people lose all sense of humanity. It is their distinguishing characteristic” (26).
This is another one of Wilde’s seemingly illogical quotes. He is claiming that people in public service become burnt out and accomplish the opposite of their goal. Unfortunately, many public servants are stretched too thin, but his generalization is too cynical.
5. “My dear boy, the people who love only once in their lives are really the shallow people. What they call their loyalty, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination. Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the life of the intellect - simply a confession of failure” (36).
This quote is the opposite of what most people are raised to think. This quote may be used to justify Wilde’s alternate life choices, but it also reflects many modern young adults’ growing sentiment towards marriage. An increasing number of people consider marriage to be irrelevant or they believe in waiting until they are much older to be married. Once again, Wilde has a dramatic and cynical interpretation, but the quote remains surprisingly relevant.
6. “It often happened that when we thought we were experimenting on others we were really experimenting on ourselves” (43).
This quote can take on multiple meanings. First, we need opposition to create meaning. You cannot fathom the meaning of “up” until you experience up relative to down. We need other people in our lives to enable us to form opinions of ourselves. Second, when we are interacting with other people, we can test our behavioral standards. For instance, someone may not lie on a regular basis, but that person could consider lying to a specific individual.
7. “The basis of optimism is sheer terror” (54).
This is a cynical view of optimism. Wilde seems to feel that optimism is not a realistic view of the world, so only cowardly people will deny the truth. Wilde is exaggerating to make his point, but denial is often used as a defense mechanism.
