İNSAN DOĞASI VE GOTİK: DORIAN GRAY’İN PORTRESİ’Nİ KARAKTERLER BAĞLAMINDA ELE ALMAK

Abstract

This article examines the Gothic aspect of Oscar Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. By using Gothic’s theoretical framework by Robert Hume, this article presents a thorough analysis of the Gothic setting and elements in line with the narrative’s main characters. The paper argues that Wilde uses Gothic elements and setting as significant tools to shed light on human nature and criticize Victorian society’s way of life. The article first discusses London’s double-sided and hypocritical nature in the book, followed by an analysis of the portrait’s supernatural aspect and the conflict between good and evil as part of the settings chapter. The second chapter involves a detailed discussion of the narrative’s Gothic elements, including horror and terror, homoeroticism, and an obsession with youth and beauty. It is asserted that Wilde purposefully created figures in a Gothic style to convey the evil in Victorian society by giving his characters distinctively corrupted looks within that normative structure. Basil Hallward’s homoerotic remarks turn him into a corrupted character, whilst Lord Henry Wotton’s fixation with beauty makes him a foul character. Under the influence of these two personalities, Dorian represents all the tainted elements of Victorian society. In conclusion, the paper explores how Wilde uses the three major characters to highlight the inherent flaws in Victorian society’s social structure. Dorian Gray’s capacity for adaptation and Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton’s debased personas are the two main aspects of human nature that Wilde denounce throughout the novel.