Dorian Gray Blog 3

Writers often display their views about life and human nature through the words and actions of their characters, The Picture of Dorian Gray is no exception. However, the views of the author are never the sole ideals portrayed through the characters because then every character in every book would the same, a copy of its author. By this token, one cannot assume that Wilde is misogynistic simply because Lord Henry looks down upon women and marriage. He believes that those "who love only once in their lives are really the shallow people"(53). Lord Henry is looking to win back the focus of Dorian from Sybil, so his anti marriage and women views surface all the more. In an effort to win back Dorian's main infatuation, he makes the institution of marriage look as bad as possible and talks about how women "are always bothering us to do something for them" (83). Despite all of this talk, Dorian is emphatically in love with "Sybil Vane (who) is sacred" (56). These two conflicting views on love would leave one who believes the views of an author are expressed through their characters a bit confused. Wilde never states in the book that he himself looks down on women, he simply alludes to the fact that Lord Henry does. This is why Wilde is not a misogynist. If the views of an author are shown through characters, how can one know which character the author is living vicariously through?