Discovering Wilde in the picture of Dorian Gray The image of Dorian Gray can be defined as a symbolic representation of a dialectic between two aspects of Wilde's personality. Dorian is an archetypal image by which both aspects are fascinated. This suggests that his behavior symbolizes Wilde's unconscious (i.e. unacknowledged) attitudes. Dorian is characterized by his evasiveness and his obsession with art objects. For example, when Basil comes to console him over Sibyl's death, he is unwilling to discuss the matter. He doesn't want to admit the possibility that his behavior was reprehensible. He tells his friend, "If you don't talk about a thing, it never happened. It's simply expression, as Harry says, that gives things reality" (107). Later, after killing Basil, he again tries to avoid acknowledging what he has done: “He felt that the secret of the whole thing was not realizing the situation” (159). Dorian escapes from any unpleasant realization by turning his attention to other things. Unwilling to admit that his actions have moral implications, he seeks refuge in art. Having learned of Sibilla's death, he accepts the invitation to go to the opera that same evening. Learn to see life only from an aesthetic perspective. He reflects: Form is absolutely essential to this. It should have the dignity of a ceremony, as well as its unreality, and it should combine the false character of a romantic work with the wit and beauty which make such works delightful to us. (142)The consequence of this attitude is that he increasingly finds himself "coming out" of his experiences to observe them from a distance. Instead of living his experiences more intensely, he finds himself...... middle of paper...... It is worth noting that Wilde wrote about the characters in his only novel: "Basil Hallward is what I think I am : Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian what I would be - in other ages, perhaps" (Letters, 352). Dorian personifies a conflict between Dionysian and Apollonian elements that was particularly fascinating to his creator. He has a passion for "color, beauty, the joy of living" (40), but avoids getting involved in any experience for fear that it will bring him possible pain. Basil and Lord Henry's fascination with him represents Wilde's obsession with a young dandy whose evasiveness and pseudo-aestheticism symbolize his unconscious fears. Works CitedWilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Isobel Murray. London: Oxford University Press, 1974. Wilde, Oscar. The letters of Oscar Wilde. Ed. R. Hart-Davis. London: Hart-Davis, 1962.