At first glance, Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" might appear to deal with the homosexuality between Dorian and his two admirers, Basil and Henry. After all, when the book was first published in 1890, it was both popularized and criticized by the public for dealing with one of the “tabooed” values of the Victorian era. Although there are no direct references to homosexuality in the book, quotes such as “…saw Dorian Gray for the first time… our eyes met…I grew pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me” and the homosexual preference of the author himself bring a synergy effect; emerging together, they-the evidences- seem enough to refer to the theme “homosexuality”. However, as Oscar Wilde was often quoted “All art is quite useless,” he did not “use” his novel to portray real-life, personal traits; thus, it is more accurate to see his literary works with no accordance with his sexual preference. Accordingly, the relationship between Basil and Dorian cannot be proven to be something more than an artist’s attraction for his masterpiece. Therefore, it is perhaps more accurate to assume that the atmosphere of the novel is not based on a sexual affection of males, but an instant interest or platonic attraction among companions. In this sense, homosexuality, one of the major themes of “the Picture of Dorian Gray”, should rather be accepted as a “shaky” idea built upon lack of evidence and not a solid statement.
An interesting claim, and very debatable. Ultimately I think you are more right with your "first glance" stuff than within the claim you go on to make. However, it is a question of degree, not presence. How "gay" is the book? That is debatable. You seem to think it is lightly.
답글삭제Grammatically, not as polished as I would like, and some of the sentences get a bit long and heavy and a semicolon isn't quite enough to maintain clarity. All in all, very unique claim and it is refreshing to see one not focused on aestheticism.