Influence in it's many forms is responsible for Dorian's corruption - to what extent do you agree with this view of the novel?
by
ohmars (student)
“Influence in its many forms, is responsible for Dorian’s corruption”
To what extent do you agree with this view of the novel?
The picture of Dorian Gray takes place in London, where Dorian, young and eager to explore the world, adopts a cruel attitude and a sinful routine in life. Influence is what corrupts him, with Lord Henry Wotton being the largest influential character in the novel, who in chapter 2, tells Dorian that “the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it”. Throughout the novel it can be seen that Dorian picks up on Henry’s attitudes towards life and even his manner of speech, however there are other forms of influence that take effect on Dorian, such as the society he grew up in; upper class and protected, the Yellow Book that Henry gives him; which “Dorian Gray could not free himself” and the idea of appearance vs. reality which is expressed through characters such as Sibyl and the painting itself. All these forms of influence lead to Dorian’s corruption, and later on, death.
Some people say that Dorian does not respond to good influence, thus only absorbed bad influence from people such as Henry. However this point can be argued against as well, with the point that Dorian was already a ‘stained trumpet’ when he met Henry, and that Henry stirred ‘impulses’ that were already there. Moreover, Henry was absent during Dorian’s ‘worst crimes’ throughout chapters 9 to 14, portraying Dorian as corrupted without the influence of others around him. He killed Basil solely down to his own interests, with “an uncontrollable feeling of hatred” causing him to murder Hallward simply because he blamed him for his corruption via the painting, but as stated in the preface – “it is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors”. Dorian himself developed sinful ideas and perceptions of others; it was Dorian who called Sibyl’s death ‘romantic’ before Henry did so himself. Overall it can be stated that some of Dorian’s actions were based on his own initiative, with no forms of influence acting on his behalf.
