道林格雷畫像背后的唯美與殘酷

題目：道林格雷畫像背后的唯美與殘酷摘要《道林?格雷的畫像》是奧斯卡?王爾德的唯一一部長篇小說，他明知這部小說的發(fā)表會引起非議,但仍愿意冒著巨大風險將小說展示給人們。王爾德通過唯美主義的藝術(shù)手法，毫無畏懼地揭露和批判了英國維多利亞時代資產(chǎn)階級上流社會道德的墮落，堪稱是一位反叛資產(chǎn)階級上流社會的斗士。人們能從這部飽受爭議的小說中體會奧斯卡?王爾德眼中別樣的美和殘酷的現(xiàn)實。在借鑒了大量資料的基礎(chǔ)上，此篇論文旨在通過闡述作者的生平經(jīng)歷、人生觀價值觀，以及對小說中人物和情景的分析，來給讀者展現(xiàn)不堪一擊的華美背后血肉模糊的殘酷現(xiàn)實。在論文核心部分，文章闡述了奧斯卡·王爾德與其小說中三大主人公間的緊密聯(lián)系。論文結(jié)尾處，旨在點出文章的中心，即太唯美的事物終會被殘酷的現(xiàn)實打敗。盡管論文中存在局限性，但仍期望通過此篇文章讓讀者從另一個角度來解讀這部小說，對小說作者也做出全新的認識。關(guān)鍵詞：奧斯卡?王爾德;道林格雷;唯美主義;現(xiàn)實ContentsStatement(inChinese)…………………..IAbstract(inEnglish)…………………..…IIAbstract(inChinese)...………………….IIII.Introduction..…………….……..……1II.AboutOscarWilde………………..…………………1A.CommentsonOscarWilde……….……………….1B.WhatIThinkofOscarWilde….……….………….2III.ManbehindMasks……..……..2A.AllMenLivewithMasks……2B.ThreeSidesofOscarWild………….……………..2IV.FragileBeauty…………………3A.ArtHastheHighestValue…………3B.CrueltybehindBeauty3V.Conclusion3Bibliography5Acknowledgements6BeautyandCrueltyBehindThePictureofDorianGrayI.IntroductionThePictureofDorianGraysetinlate19thcenturyofBritain,theso-calledVictorianAge.IttellsastoryaboutayoungmancalledDorianGraywhobelongstotheupperclassofthebourgeoisie.Beingextremelyhandsome,heishighlyadmiredbyhisfriend,apainter,BasilHallwardwhodrawsavividportraitforhim.However,attheinstigationofLordHenry,aglibandsophisticatedmanwhoisafriendofBasil,Doriancomestorealizehisownbeautyandstartsworryingaboutthelossofhisevanescentglamor.SohedecidestomakeadealwiththeGodatthecostofhissoulforimmortalbeauty.HegetssoindulgedinHenry’sprincipleofpursuinginstantsensualpleasuresthathegraduallyloseshispureself,abandoninghimselfinpursuitofallkindsofbeauty,havingnosenseofguilty,andevenmurdershisbestfriendBasilintheend.Allthosehorriblethingshedoescannotmatchhischarmingface.TherealDorianremainsasfreshaseverwhilethemaninthatportraitwhotakesresponsibilityofallthesinhasanincreasinglydistortedface.Eventually,inordertocompletelyruinhisconscience,hedestroysthepicturewiththeveryknifewhichheusedtokillBasil,onlytoputanendtohisownlife.SpeakingofthisonlynovelbyOscarWilde,peoplehavevariousviews.Afterpublishedin1891,thenovelwasconfrontedwithalmostsimultaneouscriticismfromthecircleofBritishnewspapers.SomearticlesregardeditasaproductofFrenchdecadentliterature,somethingpoisonousandfilledwiththecollapseofmoralityandspirits.Itwasalsotakenasanunethicalbookwhichinsultedthevaluesoftheupperclassonthetable.Yet,thenovelstillgotsomesupporterslikeJasonEpstein.HesaidinhisarticleofMarch5,1998ontheNewYorkBookReviewthatitwasnotjustthehypocrisyoftheVictorianAgewhichWildechallengedwithhiscoxcombicalappearanceandextremeaestheticism,moreover,whathereallychallengedwasthemostobstinatelawsanddisciplineritesinthehistoryofBritain.[6]Now,theVictorianAgehaslonggone.It’stimeforustositdown,pickupthenovel,andre-analyzethisself-assumednotoriouswriterfromamodernperspective.Wilde’suniqueunderstandingofart,lifeandlove,alongwiththecouragetoexpresshisverythought,notonlylendscharmtohisownfigurebutalsochargesthenovelwithspecialmeaningandfeeling.II.AboutOscarWildeA. CommentsonOscarWildeOscarWilde,borninIreland,wasagreatscholarwhoenjoyedequalfamewithGeorgeBernardShawinthe19thcentury.Hewasarepresentativefigureofaestheticism,andalsooneoftheadvocatorsoftheideathatartforart’ssake.PeoplehavemixedcommentsonWilde.[2]Thosewhoappreciatehisstylethinkofhimasagreatmanthathighlyupheldtheartofaestheticisminhisownway,whilecriticsshowstrongdisapprovaltohimbecauseofhispropositiontolivewithmasks,hisacceptanceofhomosexualityandhiscomplicatedoutlookonlife.Inspiteofallthecontroversy,OscarWildewasamanwhodancedinthestormofliterature,bangedthedrumforaestheticism,andfoughtbravelyinthehomoerotismmovement.Whatheleftbehindwasfarmorethanwhatheonceprocessed.B.WhatIThinkofOscarWildeItishardtosaywhetherOscarWildeisanangeloradevil.Hiseccentricityisnotabigdealintoday’smulticulturalsociety,butbacktotheagehelivedin,hisparticularhobbiesmightleadtohisinfamyandsufferinginjail.Thismaybethereasonwhyhehadanextremelyfrustratedlifeinhislateryears.However,frommypointofview,whatreallyaccountsforWilde’smisfortuneishispridetogetherwithhisinfatuationforbeauty.Hisideathateventheslightestmomentsoflifehavesomethingtodowithaestheticswasthenoutoftunewiththesociety.[3]Therefore,somepeoplecallhimadispiritedman,theviewpointwhichIdon’tapproveof.TheyneglectedthefactthatWildewasborninanoblefamilywithsuperiorlivingconditionsandgrewupinaplainsailing,soitwastheflamboyantenvironmentthatformedhisconceptofartandliterature.Asforme,Wildeisaninbornoptimistaswellasacheerfulhedonist.Iffatehadgrantedhimadecentlifeinhislateryears,hecouldhavebeenamildconservative,arosewithoutanythorn.III.ManbehindMasksA.AllMenLivewithMasksWildeonceemphasizedthatamanwasinhisleastselfwhenhespokeninperson.Heheldthebeliefthatallmenlivedwithmasks,especiallyauthorswhowereinneedofflexiblemaskstocatertovariouspurposesinwriting.Onlyonthepremiseofhidingtheirtrueselvescantheyexpresstheirideas,unveilthetruth,satirizethesocietyandunveilthesinattheirownwill.[6]Bythistoken,ThePictureofDorianGray,thebookinwhichconveythethemethatoneisdoomedtobepunishedbecauseofvillainy,seemstobethemasterpiecebyOscarWildeunderhiscarefulcamouflages.Inthisbook,Dorian’sbeautyisnothingbutanevilmaskunderwhichhehideshisuglysoul.Itisthismaskthatleadshimtotheirreversiblefallfromgrace,andeventuallyhisdeath.B.ThreeSidesofOscarWildeWildehasoncesaid,“BasilHallwardiswhatIthinkIam;LordHenrywhattheworldthinksme;DorianwhatIwouldliketobe”[2].Thethreemaincharacters,thoughhaveuniquefeaturesinartisticimage,representthethreesidesofOscarWildefromdifferentperspectives.BasilstandsfortheWildewithamaskofanartist;HenryisjustliketheWildewithamaskofanadvocatorofaestheticismandhedonism;andDorianistheWildewithamaskofasophisticateoflifeorapractitioneroftheory.ThecontradictionamongthethreecharactersisexactlytheoneamongthedifferentselvesofWilde.WhatIappreciatemostisthathehasneverdeniedthecontradictorinessinsidehimself.Onthecontrary,heconsciouslychosethesuitablemasksinaccordancewiththekindofpeoplehemetandtheplacehewent.Therefore,Wildewasjustlikeathorninthebodyofupperclass,disdainingandcriticizingtheessenceofhypocrisywhilebeingunavoidablyinvolvedinit.IV.FragileBeautyA.ArtHastheHighestValueArtwasofthesupremevaluethroughWilde’slife,evenwhenhewasputinjail.Havingsuchobsessionwithbeautyandzealforart,hehadhisdistinctiveideas.TocriticizethesocietydirectlywasnotthestyleofWilde.Instead,hisidealwastocleansethetruthinanartisticway,whichhehasalreadyachievedinthebook,ThePictureofDorianGray.B.CrueltybehindBeautyWildewasskilledinbuildingupsomethinginabeautifulway,anddestroyingitinthesameway.ThiscanbeprovedinThePictureofDorianGray.Atthebeginningofthestory,WildemadeanutmostefforttoshowusthefascinatingbeautyofDorian.Hewrote,“Yes,hewascertainlywonderfullyhandsome,withhisfinely-curvedscarletlips,hisfrankblueeyes,hiscrispgoldhair.Therewassomethinginhisfacethatmadeonetrusthimatonce.Allthecandorofyouthwasthere,aswellasallyouth’spassionatepurity.Onefeltthathehadkepthimselfunspottedfromtheworld.”[1]However,asthepagesturned,Wildegraduallyruinedtheimageofapureandinnocentyoungman,andturnedhimintoamercilessandselfishkillerwholosthimselfincomfortandindulgence.Likewise,WildedestroyedthebeautifullovebetweenDorianandSybill.DorianfellinlovewithSybillbecauseofherperformancewhichmakeshimregardherastheembodimentofart.AndthattheydeeplyadmireeachotherinducesustobelievethattheirlovefueledbyaplayofShakespeare'swilllastforever.ButthenDorianfoundthatSybillisnotthatperfectwhenshewasnotbeinganyofthecharactersbuthertrueself.Sotheirlove,defeatedbyreality,endswiththesuddenchangeofDorian’sattitudetowardsSybillandherunexpecteddeath.ReaderscandrawcrueltyfromthebeautyWildeshowedus,andthisseemstobetheparticularwayinwhichhesoughtresonancewithreaders.V.ConclusionThePictureofDorianGraydawnsonustheinseparablerelationbetweenartandmorality.Inotherwords,artusuallyhassomethingdealwithmoralitywhilemoralityoftensetsrestrainttoart.Thenovel,atthesametime,tellsusthatanythingwhichistoogorgeousorevenartisticcannotwithstandasingleblowofcruelreality.ThoughWilde’sunrulinessinthoughtsandactionshaswonhimtotalnotoriety,therearestillsomeshiningpointsinhisuniqueideology,hisindividualunderstandingofloveandlife,aswellashiswildattitudetowardsart.Hence,whenpeoplehighlyevaluatetheinfluencebroughtaboutbythemartyrdomofJesusChristandSocrates,theyshouldalsogiveamoreveraciousevaluationtoOscarWilde,andtothegreatspiritualtreasureheleftbehind.Bibliography[1]MaryC.King.DiggingforDarwin:bitterwisdominthepictureofDorianGrayand'thecriticasarti