Abstract My thesis aims to discuss the ¡§creation¡¨ issue in Oscar Wilde¡¦s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Depicting how Dorian is made a decadent hedonist, the novel is generally regarded by critics as a story of creation, in which what is created is not only the magical painting but the hero as well. Only through his image mirrored in the painting Basil offers can Dorian come to know himself; the hero is ¡§produced¡¨ as what he is by his friends. Thus, to discuss how this creation of the hero takes place, I will employ Jacques Lacan¡¦s theory of the mirror stage, along with Roland Barthes¡¦ insight of ¡§textuality.¡¨ ¡§Mirror, Text and the Symbolic Matrix.¡¨ By suggesting these three interlocking axes I seek to outline the process of creation that governs the novel. Through his image mirrored in the picture, Dorian comes to know himself. He identifies with the image and grows. However, the painting that reveals Dorian to himself is an artifact produced by Basil. What Dorian identifies with is a ¡§text¡¨ he ¡§reads¡¨ in Basil¡¦s work, an other. Seeing how he changes the portrait, ¡§writing¡¨ it with his ¡§passions and sins,¡¨ Dorian comes to enter the symbolic realm. Yet it is also through such a move that Dorian is ¡§objectified in the dialectic of identification with the other¡¨ as Lacan suggests. He is inserted into the chain of signifiers, in which the ¡§real¡¨ Dorian is ceaselessly replaced. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is through the complex work of texts and the interplay of influences that the hero is created; by analyzing these interactions I would like to disclose the creation issue. In my first chapter I begin by re-examining the relationship between Henry and Dorian, through which I aim at illuminating the characters¡¦ function as ¡§floating signifiers.¡¨ I proceed to throw light on Basil, the creator of Dorian¡¦s image, in chapter two: by which I seek to reveal Basil¡¦s influence over Dorian. In chapter three I would analyze how Dorian¡¦s romance with Sibyl influences him¡Xand what Sibyl signifies to him, while I would also discuss the significance of James Vane (Sibyl¡¦s brother). The fourth chapter is a discussion dedicated to the picture, which functions not only as a Lacanian mirror but becomes the canvas upon which Dorian and Basil compete writing¡Xwhile both are ¡§written¡¨ by the text they produce. To conclude, I would re-examine the nature of text: to which man is both its cause and its effect.

Zugl.: Heidelberg, Pädag. Hochsch., Diss.

This study problematizes the criticism Oscar Wilde received for his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray and aims to explore the aesthetic style he employed when writing the novel. The theoretical approach used in this essay is based on the perspectives of New Historicism; Wilde’s life and how people reasoned during his lifetime are brought into focus and different influences on his work are examined, especially evidence of biographical aspects as well as aesthetic elements in the novel. Wilde himself refuted that he had written an immoral story, insisting that morality was not part of Aestheticism. He also made an effort to clarify his aesthetic objectives in later editions by removing some ambiguous sentences and adding a preface.

Although critics have studied Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray for nearly one hundred years, no one has examined the author's Irish Celtic heritage in relation to such unanswered questions as the source for the supernatural power that grants Dorian's wish to remain young and creates the central conflict, the purpose of the eleventh chapter, or the apparent "overwriting" or "purple patches" of prose.As a result, the novel has remained elusive, yet fascinating, to both critics and readers. This study asserts that the problem with the traditional approaches critics have taken to solve these questions is that Dorian_ Gray does not entirely belong to mainstream British literary tradition. It also belongs in part to Irish Celtic literature.Consequently, the answers to these unresolved "mysteries" become part of a natural, even inevitable culmination of Irish folklore placed in a Victorian London setting. questions lie in Wilde's Irish background. By looking at the mythology and folklore of Wilde's native Ireland, the “mysteries” become part of a natural, even inevitable culmination of Irish folklore placed in a Victorian London setting.This study's approach to Dorian Gray combines both historical and textual study and builds upon the already substantial number of source studies and biographies available. Moreover, this study examines the almost entirely unexplored background of Wilde's Irish past in the novel which relates to Irish literature. In addition to these components, this paper also offers explanations for the source of the supernatural elements, the problems within the eleventh chapter, and the strategy of the overall structure. Finally this study examines the satirical elements that have their origin in Irish folklore. In many ways, this analysis unifies the other, often conflicting, approaches by explaining these previously misunderstood elements. / Department of English

The preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray is often dismissed as merely an addendum to the novel intended to detract hostile readers and absolve the text itself of any accusations of immorality. When coupled with the narrative itself, however, the novel shows both the impossibility of producing the new through traditional notions of revolution, as well as the way in which the Deleuzian conception of judgment inhibits Dorian from ever viewing the portrait as insignificantly amoral, as not symbolic of his sins. Yet the preface, coupled with the various aesthetic objects in the text, is productive of a new form of judgment, one that does not reproduce the same moral order. This takes the form of a "useless" judgment. When Lord Henry claims he wishes to change nothing in England but the "weather," this is the same as the portrait, returned to its original form, hanging over Dorian's body at the novel's end: neither is a judgment with a use, but rather a judgment of a work of art that produces nothing in the work of art. Lord Henry cannot change the weather, and the portrait's changes do not help or affect Dorian in any way. Thus we see the answer to Deleuze's question of what the "refusal of work" would look like. Art is "quite useless" in that it is both extremely removed from any and all spheres concerned with moral order, and also fairly indifferent to this fact and Dorian's concern with maintaining a world organized by useful symbols.

M.A. / The life and work of Oscar Wilde are characterised by ambivalence and paradox. In certain of his works he identifies with the moral codes pertaining to the Victorian era and in others he satirizes, and even rejects, the existing morality. The translator of Wilde’s literary works is confronted with numerous contextual and textual challenges, for example how to translate the moral codes of the Victorian era in a manner that will be relevant to an Afrikaans readership and how to do justice to his specific style of writing. This study aims to identify procedures and strategies to meet these challenges successfully. In the first instance, a translator needs to familiarize herself with the historical and cultural context in which Wilde’s literary works found their origin. This would necessitate a closer look at the Victorian era in order to understand the dynamics and the moral and ethical codes and dominant influences that shaped Wilde’s writings. Finally, the target culture’s attitudes and feelings concerning the moral issues at stake are analysed to determine the impact and relevance of Wilde’s works in a contemporary Afrikaans society. Certain translation strategies, that also prove the timeless appeal of certain of his works, are suggested and demonstrated. The translation of Wilde’s work appears to be justified as it may also enhance and benefit Afrikaans in its struggle for renewed recognition and identity and in so doing will further the cause of the other nine official languages. The ultimate challenge for the translator, however, is to strive to capture the unique essence of Wilde’s works. The timeless appeal of his work can be attributed to the ‘multi-voicedness’ with which he challenged the Victorians. A successful translation in Afrikaans would therefore need to ‘translate’ this ‘multi-voicedness’ so that an Afrikaans reader is challenged in much the same way as his Victorian counterpart.

The purpose of this essay is to perform a comparative psychoanalytic reading of The Great Gatsby (1925) and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) in terms of the titular characters’ narcissistic behavior. My claim is that Jay Gatsby and Dorian Gray can be seen as different depictions of narcissism. Literary critics in previous research characterized Gatsby and Gray as narcissists, but, there has not been a comparison between the two with focus on their narcissism. Gatsby and Gray display crucial differences which suggests that they portray narcissism in different ways. Theodore Millon identified four subtypes of the original narcissistic personality in order to better identify different types of narcissists. My aim is to use his subtypes to identify, and provide the causes and effects of Gatsby’s and Gray’s particular narcissistic behavior. My analysis indicates that Gatsby can be seen as a fictional illustration of the unprincipled and compensatory narcissist while Gray can be viewed as a fictional characterization of the amorous narcissist.

The aim of this essay is to show the significant effect censoring Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray had on the protagonist’s moral standing. I compare the original uncensored version of The Picture of Dorian Gray with the censored version. The uncensored version, published by the Belknap Press and edited by Nicholas Frankel, has only been available to the public for three years. My comparison proves that a great deal has been changed in terms of content between the two versions of the novel. This essay will outline and discusses the changes made in order to make the text acceptable in terms of late Victorian moral conventions. It also illustrates the changes by comparing quotes. The function of the censorship applied to the novel is to make Dorian seem more callous and immoral in the 1891 book version, since only then can Oscar Wilde’s story approach the standards of late Victorian morality. Indeed, a significant change has been effected in the character Dorian Gray’s morality between the two versions of the novel. / Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att visa vilken betydande effekt censureringen av Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray hade på huvudkaraktärens moraliska ståndpunkter. Jag jämför den ocensurerade versionen av The Picture of Dorian Gray med den censurerade versionen. Den ocensurerade versionen som publicerades av Belknap Press och redigeradesav Nicholas Frankel, har bara varit tillgänglig för allmänheten i tre år. Min jämförelse visar att en stor del av innehållet har förändrats mellan de båda versionerna av romanen. Den här uppsatsen visar samt diskuterar förändringarna som har gjorts för att texten ska bli mer acceptabel i förhållande till senviktorianska moraliska konventioner. Uppsatsen illustrerar förändringarna genom att jämföra citat. Poängen med att censurera den här romanen var att få Dorian att verka mer hjärtlös och omoralisk  i bokversionen från 1891. Bara då kunde Oscar Wildes berättelse närma sig den viktorianska moralen. Man kan se en tydlig förändring av karaktären Dorian Grays moral mellan de två versionerna.

The topic of this diploma thesis is the motif of a Double-goer and related elements in Die Elixiere des Teufels by E. T. A. Hoffmann and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. We can divide it into 5 basic parts. The first and the second parts describe the development of the gothic novel, its main motifs and the motif of a Double-goer. The third part analyses these motifs in Die Elixiere des Teufels, whereas the fourth part has the same task in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Then, the related elements and differences in both works are pointed out in the last part.

This essay aims to examine how immortality and immoral behavior are represented in The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. The claim in this essay is that an immortal life is not a desirable life and that it traps you in a paradoxical existence that cannot be desirable. The method used in this essay is close reading of the narrative focusing on the protagonist Dorian Gray examined through two theories, ‘The Makropulos case’ and the subsequent analysis regarding contingent and categorical desires introduced by Bernard Williams as well as a theory focusing on endless frustration by Aaron Smuts that evolved through critiquing Williams’ theory on contingent and categorical desires. By analyzing Dorian Gray’s behavior and comparing his choices to the theories presented by Williams and Smuts the results are unanimous and support the claim that an immortal life is undesirable. Dorian Gray ended up confined to a life without meaning as he left everything that held meaning to him behind in his pursuit of pleasure and youth.