ABSTRACT
PATRICIA DIAN V. The Battle Between the Pleasure and Reality Principles in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Yogyakarta: Departement of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University (2008).
Literary works are means of expressing what people think or feel about their surrounding. This undergraduate thesis focuses on Oscar Wilde’s only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. This novel has gained a notorious popularity not only because of its content but also its later function as evidence of the author’s misdeed. Therefore, this novel is worth studying in order to see that the novel truly reflects the author’s misdeed.
This undergraduate thesis analyzes three main problems. The first one is the characteristics of the main characters in the novel. The characteristics then will be analyzed together with the conflicts to see the battle between the pleasure and reality principle in the story. Finally, the battle between the pleasure and reality principle which is seen through the characteristics of the main characters and the conflicts in the story are used to see the reflection of the internal conflicts of the author.
The study of the novel was conducted through library research using related books, and internet resources. In conducting the study, first the characteristics of the main characters were analyzed using theories on characters and characterization. Next, the conflicts in the story were also analyzed using the theories on conflict to see the battle between the pleasure and reality principle. The final step was answering the third problem which is the author’s internal conflicts using the biography of the author.
ABSTRAK
PATRICIA DIAN V. The Battle Between The Pleasure and Reality Principle in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Yogyakarta: Departement of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University (2008).
Karya-karya sastra merupakan sarana seseorang untuk mengekspresikan apa yang dirasakan maupun dilihatnya tentang hal-hal disekitarnya. Skripsi ini menitikberatkan pada satu-satunya novel karya Oscar Wilde yang berjudul The Picture of Dorian Gray. Karya sastra ini memperoleh reputasi yang tidak baik bukan hanya karena ceritanya tetapi juga karena novel ini juga digunakan sebagai bukti perilaku menyimpang sang penulis. Karya seperti ini layak untuk diteliti untuk membuktikan apakah benar novel ini sungguh mencerminkan perilaku menyimpang sang penulis.
Skripsi ini menganalisis tiga masalah utama. Yang pertama adalah karakteristik tiga tokoh utama. Karakteristik-karakteristik tiga tokoh utama tersebut kemudian akan dianalisis bersamaan dengan konflik-konflik yang terjadi dalam cerita untuk melihat perang antara pleasure principle dan reality principle. Pada akhirnya perang antara pleasure principle dan reality principle yang dilihat dari karakteristik tiga tokoh utama dan konflik-konflik yang terjadi di cerita digunakan untuk melihat konflik internal yang terjadi pada sang pengarang.
Analisis novel ini dilaksanakan dengan cara studi pustaka menggunakan buku, artikel serta sumber-sumber online yang berkaitan. Dalam proses analisis, mula-mula karakteristik dari tiga tokoh utama yang akan dipelajari dianalisis menggunakan teori karakter dan karakterisasi. Kemudian konflik-konflik dalam cerita juga dianalisis mengggunakan teori konflik untuk melihat perang antara pleasure principle dan reality principle. Langkah terakhir adalah menganalisis konflik internal sang pengarang dengan melihat biografi sang pengarang.
THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE PLEASURE AND REALITY
PRINCIPLES IN OSCAR WILDE’S
THE PICTURE OF
DORIAN GRAY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
PATRICIA DIAN VIRNANDI
Student Number: 024214111
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE PLEASURE AND REALITY
PRINCIPLES IN OSCAR WILDE’S
THE PICTURE OF
DORIAN GRAY
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
PATRICIA DIAN VIRNANDI
Student Number: 024214111
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
“Mother to Son”
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair,
It’s had tacks in it, And splinters.
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor-
Bare-
But all the time I’se been climbin’on
And reachin’ landin’s
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’in the dark
Where ain’t no light
So boy, don’t you turn back
Don’t you fall now,
For I’se still goin’ honey, I’se still climbin
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair
La n g s t o n H u g h e s ,
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma :
Nama : Patricia Dian Virnandi Nomor Mahasiswa : 024214111
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
The Battle Between The Pleasure And Reality Principles In Oscar
Wilde’s
The Picture Of Dorian Gray
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempubliksikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin kepada saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 18 Oktober, 2008
Yang menyatakan,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My greatest gratitude first and foremost goes to Jesus Christ. I thank Him
for guiding me and keeping my faith. I thank my mom and dad for giving me
everything. I dedicated this thesis for them. I thank my dearly annoying brothers
and lovely sisters for always walking me through the ‘rain’ and for their
unconditional love.
Next my huge gratitude goes to my Advisor and Co-Advisor, Dewi
Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. and Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum. whose
guidance and support have made this thesis possible to be finished. I can never
thank them enough for the wisdom, knowledge and especially patience that they
have shown me.
Thirdly, my deepest gratitude goes to those who never give up on me. To
friends I called best friends, The Prue Family: Ardi, Hendy, Ferdi, Nana, Kartika,
Debby, Jeff, Niko, Fitra, Alfa, and Rudi. I thank them for showing me what
happiness means. To my second home, the Language Institute of Sanata Dharma
University, to Tante Di, Miss Hippo, Mas Andri, Ucy, Tika, Mas Sandi and to all
the CEIC and ILCIC staffs. I thank them for loving me and never giving up on
me. I would also like to say my gratitude to friends that I called sisters, Iig, mbak
Inten, mbak Ari, mbak Anis and mbak Irien. I thank them for sharing their lives.
Last but not least, my gratitude goes to my best friend, my love, Gregorius
Yose Ade Candra. I thank him for always by my side, for lending me his
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……….………… 1
A. Background of the study ……….……… 1
B. Problem Formulation ……….………. 4
C. Objectives of the Study ……….…….. 5
D. Definition of Terms ………... 5
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ………. 7
A. Review of Related Studies ………..………. 7
a. Theory on Psychoanalysis and Pleasure and Reality Principles .... 18
3. Biography of Oscar Wilde …….….……… 22
C. Theoretical Framework ………….……….….. 26
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………….……….. 28
A. Object of the Study ……….…………. 28
B. Approach to the Study ……….. 29
C. Method of the Study ………..………... 31
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ………..…. 34
A. The Characterization of the Main Characters in the Novel ……… 34
1. Characteristics of Basil Hallward ………... 34
2. Characteristics of Lord Henry Wotton ……… 38
3. Characteristics of Dorian Gray ………... 42
B. The Battle between the Pleasure and Reality Principles ……….. 45
ABSTRACT
PATRICIA DIAN V. The Battle Between the Pleasure and Reality Principles in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Yogyakarta: Departement of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University (2008).
Literary works are means of expressing what people think or feel about their surrounding. This undergraduate thesis focuses on Oscar Wilde’s only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. This novel has gained a notorious popularity not only because of its content but also its later function as evidence of the author’s misdeed. Therefore, this novel is worth studying in order to see that the novel truly reflects the author’s misdeed.
This undergraduate thesis analyzes three main problems. The first one is the characteristics of the main characters in the novel. The characteristics then will be analyzed together with the conflicts to see the battle between the pleasure and reality principle in the story. Finally, the battle between the pleasure and reality principle which is seen through the characteristics of the main characters and the conflicts in the story are used to see the reflection of the internal conflicts of the author.
The study of the novel was conducted through library research using related books, and internet resources. In conducting the study, first the characteristics of the main characters were analyzed using theories on characters and characterization. Next, the conflicts in the story were also analyzed using the theories on conflict to see the battle between the pleasure and reality principle. The final step was answering the third problem which is the author’s internal conflicts using the biography of the author.
ABSTRAK
PATRICIA DIAN V. The Battle Between The Pleasure and Reality Principle in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Yogyakarta: Departement of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University (2008).
Karya-karya sastra merupakan sarana seseorang untuk mengekspresikan apa yang dirasakan maupun dilihatnya tentang hal-hal disekitarnya. Skripsi ini menitikberatkan pada satu-satunya novel karya Oscar Wilde yang berjudul The Picture of Dorian Gray. Karya sastra ini memperoleh reputasi yang tidak baik bukan hanya karena ceritanya tetapi juga karena novel ini juga digunakan sebagai bukti perilaku menyimpang sang penulis. Karya seperti ini layak untuk diteliti untuk membuktikan apakah benar novel ini sungguh mencerminkan perilaku menyimpang sang penulis.
Skripsi ini menganalisis tiga masalah utama. Yang pertama adalah karakteristik tiga tokoh utama. Karakteristik-karakteristik tiga tokoh utama tersebut kemudian akan dianalisis bersamaan dengan konflik-konflik yang terjadi dalam cerita untuk melihat perang antara pleasure principle dan reality principle. Pada akhirnya perang antara pleasure principle dan reality principle yang dilihat dari karakteristik tiga tokoh utama dan konflik-konflik yang terjadi di cerita digunakan untuk melihat konflik internal yang terjadi pada sang pengarang.
Analisis novel ini dilaksanakan dengan cara studi pustaka menggunakan buku, artikel serta sumber-sumber online yang berkaitan. Dalam proses analisis, mula-mula karakteristik dari tiga tokoh utama yang akan dipelajari dianalisis menggunakan teori karakter dan karakterisasi. Kemudian konflik-konflik dalam cerita juga dianalisis mengggunakan teori konflik untuk melihat perang antara pleasure principle dan reality principle. Langkah terakhir adalah menganalisis konflik internal sang pengarang dengan melihat biografi sang pengarang.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
People could learn many fascinating things in literature. Literature often
reflects aspects of human life, such as moral, history, psychology, society, and
many more. Reading literary works enables human to enrich their soul, gives new
perspectives in seeing things, and sees deeper than what is seen. Moreover,
literature is both beautiful and useful.
Literary works, such as a novel is said to be beautiful in ways that it gives
pleasure to the reader. It is said to be useful since it gives contemplation to its
readers. People could learn about the complexity of life and problem solving
through the characters of certain literary works. Even though those characters are
unreal figures, they are able to touch their readers’ heart through the similarities of
life experiences. Some of the life experiences in the novel might be rather
different than ours; still it could give us a new perspective, a media to have
self-awareness.
Hudson points out in An Introduction to Study of Literature (1958: 10) that
literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have
experienced of it, what they have thought and felt which have the most immediate
and enduring interest for all of us, it is thus fundamentally an expression of life
The great playwright, Oscar Wilde, had written his only and most popular
novel The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890. He opened an opportunity to researchers to study many things from his novel. Desire or sexual drive is the
major theme in this novel. Sexual drive is considered as the most powerful instinct
within human mind. It is located in the unconscious that mostly tied to the
biological desires and obey what Freud called the pleasure principle.
On the other hand, within human mind there is also what is called as the
consciousness. According to Freud, the conscious mind is a survival system that has logic and reason that is forced by the external environment. Freud said that
this rational process of the mind obeys the reality principle. “For all his
lawlessness there is one venue where the subject of desire featured in The Picture
of Dorian Gray has proven himself as the most exemplary citizen” (Butler, 2000: 240)
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only novel published as the lead story in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890. Wilde later revised this edition,
made several alterations, and added new chapters, and Ward, Lock, and Company
published the new edition in April 1891 (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi
qa3708/is 200310/ai n9329138/pg 2)
The Victorian age or Wilde’s time believed that art could be used as a tool
for social education and moral enlightenments illustrated in literary works by
writers such as Charles Dickens and George Gissing. This view is contradictory to
Wilde’s perspective in which art does not need to posses any other purpose than
w.sparrknotes.com/lit/doriangray)
This thesis tries to reveal the complexities of human psyche. It is believed
that in human’s psyche there is an inner-psychological conflict, which according
to Freud’s term called as the battle between the pleasure and the reality principles.
These two principles, the reality and the pleasure principles, represent two
opposite natures of human. According to Freud, it is the battle between the
pleasure principle (immediate gratification) and the reality principle (delayed
gratification) that causes consciousness to emerge in a child.
The novel by Oscar Wilde tells about a man who adores himself too much.
To gain eternal beauty and youth he sells his soul to the devil. This novel is a
perfect reflection of the battle between the body and soul within a human, the
characters and the conflicts in the novel portray the battle between two principles
of Freud, the pleasure principle and the reality principle.
According to Freud, the pleasure principle represents human’s wildest
desires, such as sexual desires. On the other hand, the reality principle is the filter
of the pleasure principle or part of the psyche that recognizes the boundaries or
the norms made by the society or the societal standards.
The novel tells Dorian Gray’s developing desire describes a trajectory of de-essentialism, in which his erotic passions appear less and less an expression of inherent attribute, and more and more a function of external influence, less and less like natural hunger that arises from within the subject and more and more like infection” (Butler, 2000: 240)
Therefore, this paper tries to discuss Freud’s theory on the pleasure and
reality principles seen in Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, about the battle
characters and the conflicts within the story. In other words, the writer tries to
relate literature and psychology. Wellek and Waren (1956: 81) in their book
Theory of Literature state that analyzing literary works relating to psychology means studying theory of psychology that may exist within works of literature.
In reproduction of literary works, the author gave the biggest influence.
The story plays a role as the author’s media to share and express his or her
messages, minds, feelings, and also imagination. According to Van De Laar and
Schoonder Woerd novels or other literary works are, whether directly or
indirectly, the portrayal of the author’s experience of life. Consequently, besides
revealing the battle between the two principles brought by Freud, the writer also
wants to discuss about the author’s inner conflicts related to Wilde’s novel.
Directly or indirectly, conscious or unconscious, every novelist necessarily presents in his novel a certain way of life and some of the problems of life. He represents incidents, characters, motives and etc. in such a way to reveal more or less directly and clearly the way in which he looks upon the problems of life (1969: 174).
B. Problem Formulation
Regarding the explanation above, the problems can be formulated as
follows.
1. How are the main characters characterized in the novel?
2. How is the battle between the pleasure and reality principle depicted in
Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray?
C. Objectives of the Study
In the objectives of the study, the writer tries to find out the answers of the formulated problems in the previous part.
The first objective is to see how the main characters are characterized in
the story. The second objective is to find out how the battle between the pleasure
and reality principles is depicted in Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, seen
through the intrinsic elements. Therefore, the third objective is to find out how
this battle between the two principles depicted in the novel reflects the author’s
inner conflicts.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid misunderstanding that may occur in this thesis the writer
provides the definition of terms.
1. Pleasure principle. According to Freud in Bressler’s book, pleasure principle craves only pleasure, and it desires instaneous satisfaction of
instinctual drives, ignoring moral and sexual boundaries established by
society. This principle governs the id in which it contains our secret
desires, our darkest wishes, and our most intense fears (Bressler, 1999:
150).
2. Reality principle. According to Freud in Bressler’s book, the reality principle is part of the psyche that recognizes the need for societal
standards and regulations on pleasure. This principle governs the ego, the
instinctual desires of the id, and to allow these desires to be released in
nondestructive way (Bressler, 1999: 150).
3. Psychoanalysis. It is a type of psychotherapy developed by Freud, in which the chief tools are free association, study of dreams, slips of the
tongue, and transference. Psychoanalysis attempts to give patients insight
into his unconscious conflicts, which he can then control as they come into
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The Picture of Dorian Gray is Wilde’s only novel that made a sensational appearance in 1890. This novel is one of Wilde’s most popular works. The novel
was said to be a successful scandal. Early readers were shocked by its hints at
unspeakable sins and the book later was used as evidence against Wilde at the Old
Bailey in 1895 (http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=0141439572).
Mighall Robert from Powell.com considers this book as one of the last
works of classic gothic horror fiction with a strong Faustian theme. It deals with
artistic movements and homosexuality, both of which caused some controversy
when the book was first published. However, in modern times, the book has been
referred to as “one of the modern classic of Western literature.”
Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray makes a Faustian bargain to sell his soul in exchage for eternal youth and beauty. Under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, where he is able to induldge his desires while remaining gentleman in the eyes of the polite society. Only Dorian’s picture bears the traces of his decadence (http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=0141439572).
Terrence Dawson, a senior lecturer in National University of Singapore in
his literary review “Basil, Lord Henry, and Wilde: A Jungian Approach to The
Picture of Dorian Gray “ states that Basil and Lord Henry represent the actual life
of Wilde in which his adoration for Lord Alfred Douglas is the same as Basil’s
Ackroyd’s preface in the original Penguin Classic said that this novel leads
us to know about the secret life and an analysis of the darker side of late Victorian
society. The Picture of Dorian Gray offers a disturbing portrait of an individual coming face to face with the reality of his soul. This novel talks about spiritual
corruption in which a young man exchanges his soul for eternal youth to indulge
in his desires (Edinburgh, 2003: ix ).
Meanwhile, Camille Cauti, Ph.D. points out that The Picture of Dorian
Gray is a fantasy story about a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. According to her, this novel is not only about immortality but also about
the life of the upper class people at that time since the main characters are upper
class society that shows hypocrisy (http://www.awerty.com/The Picture of Dorian
Gray.htm).
There have been many studies related to Wilde’s work The Picture of
Dorian Gray from many different points of view. Most of the previous studies discussed The Picture of Dorian Gray from psychological point of view, in which
this thesis will also discuss the novel from the same point of view. Diiferent from
the others, this thesis is focusing on two opposing principles brought by Freud that
is said to be the battle between the flesh and spirit seen from the characters and
the conflicts within the story. This thesis also tries to see whether or not the battle
B. Review of Related Theories 1. Theories on Literature
The first group of theories being used in this thesis is theories on literature.
Since the thesis starts analyzing the intrinsic elements of the literary work,
therefore it is appropriate to put literary theories at the beginning.
a. Theory on Character and Characterization
Character, according to Abrams (1993: 23) in his book A Glossary of
Literary Terms, is the person “presented in a dramatic or narrative work … interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and
emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say-the dialogue-and by what
they do-the action”. While according to Holman and Harmon (1986: 81) in A
Handbook to Literature, a character is a complicated term including the idea of moral constitution of human personality, the moral uprightness, and the presence
of creatures in works of art which seem to be human in one way or the other.
From these sources it can be concluded that character is a complicated term
presented in literary work which has the idea of moral constitution in human’s
personality and having moral uprightness which the readers interpret as having the
qualities of human in one way or the other.
A character may be flat or having only a single idea or quality without
much detail or round, that is having more complex characteristics as real life
plot, or dynamic, influenced by actions and experiences and used to reveal the
consequences of his or her actions (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 24).
Characterization is the way in which the author reveals or creates the
characters in his/her work, making them ‘alive’ for the reader (Holman and
Harmon, 1986: 81). In his book Holman and Harmon (1986:81) state that there
are three fundamental methods of characterization in fiction. First, the explicit
presentation by the author, second, the character’s own presentation in action
without any comment from the author, and the last one is the representation from
within a character of the impact of certain events towards the character’s inner
self, also without any interference from the author.
Meanwhile M.J. Murphy (1972: 161-173) in Understanding Unseens An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students explained that there are nine ways of how an author makes his character
understandable for the reader. Sometimes the steps are not all used by authors to
show their characters’ characteristics, however some of them must exist.
a. Personal Description
The author can describe a person’s appearance and clothes in details so that
the readers will be able to figure the personality of the character based on his
or her appearance.
b. Character as seen by another
Instead of describing a character directly the author can describe him
c. Speech
The author can give us an insight into the character of one of the
characters in the book through what that person says.
d. Past Life
By allowing the reader learn something about a person’s past life the author
can give us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character.
This can be done by direct comment by the author, through the person’s
thoughts, through his conversation or through the medium of another person.
e. Conversation of others
The author can also give us clues to a person’s character through the
conversations of other people and the things they say about him.
f. Reactions
The author can give us a clue in a person’s character by allowing us to
know how that person reacts to various situation and events.
g. Direct comment
The author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly
through the narration (especially in third-person narrator).
h. Thoughts
The author can give us direct knowledge of what we cannot do in real life.
He can tell us what different people are thinking from the omniscient narrator.
i. Mannerisms
The author can describe a person’s mannerisms, habits of idiosyncrasies
b. Theories on Conflict
Beaty and Hunter (1986: 998) in their book New World of Literature, says
that most people try hard to avoid conflict. People choose to live in peace.
Nevertheless, no one can escape conflicts for long, even without wars or a
large-scale disagreement. Dealing with their statement, we know then that conflicts
exist in our lives.
In literary work, characters sometimes develop with the interference of
some conflicts that appear in the story. Conflict in literature means a struggle
between opposing forces. The protagonist engages in the conflict with the
antagonist, which may take the form of a character, society, nature, or an aspect of
the protagonist’s personality (http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature
/bedlit/glossary_ a.htm#top).
While according to Dowling, there are two main kinds of conflict, external
and internal conflicts. External conflict is a struggle between a character and an
outside force. Characters may face several types of outside forces. The outside
force may be another character (man against man). It may be the character and the
community. The outside force may also be force of nature (man against nature)
(http://www.dowlingcentral.com/MrsD/area/literature/Term/conflict .html).
In comparison, a struggle that takes place in the character’s mind is called
internal conflict. For example, a character may have to decide between right and
wrong or between two solutions to a problem. Sometimes, a character must deal
with his or her mixed feelings or emotions (man against self)
Henceforth Perrine (1974: 44) states that conflict itself is a clash of action,
ideas, desires, or will between two individuals, or among people in the story.
Similarly, Stanton (1965: 16) explains that internal conflict is conflict between
two desires within a character or between a character and his or her environment.
External conflict means conflict coming from outside the characters such as
people or other characters and society.
Redman (1964: 363) asserts that a conflict is the struggle between two
opposing forces, ideas, or belief. According to him, there are two kinds of
conflict. They are inner or internal conflict meaning a struggle within the heart
and mind of the protagonist, while the other is external conflict meaning a
struggle between the protagonist and an outside force.
Since this research is going to use psychoanalysis study in its approach,
the writer includes the definition of conflict seen from psychology. According to
Kagan and Havemann in their book Psychology: An Introduction (1972: 373), a
conflict is the simultaneous arousal of two or more incompatible motives,
resulting in unpleasant emotions. The person in conflict experiences uncertainty,
hesitation, and the feeling of being “tron” and distressed –elements that are an
integral parts of conflict that make conflicts such an unpleasant part of life and a
potential threat to normal behaviour.
In this book, Kagan and Havemann divide conflicts into two general
classes. One class includes conflicts between motives and standards, or conflict
with internal standard; the other includes conflicts over incompatible goals or
Conflicts with internal standards is when a motive urges us toward
behaviour that is incompatible with our standards, we have a conflict that often
results in intense anxiety. On the other hand, conflicts over external goals occur
when two motives for different and incompatible external goals are aroused at the
same time. Life is full of conflicts over pairs of goals that cannot both be attained.
Almost similar to Kagan and Havemann, Atkinson, et al. stated that a
major source of frustration is conflict between two opposing motives. When two
motives are conflicting, the satisfaction of one leads to the frustration of the other.
Even when only one motive is involved, conflict may arise if the goal can be
approached in several different ways (1981:10).
Sometimes conflict arises between a motive and a person’s internal
standards rather than between two external goals. An individual’s sexual desires
may conflict with his or her standards of acceptable social behavior. Achievement
motives may conflict with individual standards of helpful and cooperative
behavior. Conflicts between motives and internal standards often can be more
difficult to resolve than conflicts between external goals. Most conflicts involve
goals that are simultaneously desirable and undesirable-both positive and negative
(Kagan, 1981:10).
There are two kinds of conflicts, approach avoidance conflict which
indicates that the two motives operate somewhat differently and
avoidance-avoidance conflict which means having to choose two negatives alternatives
c. Theories on the Relation between Literary Work and Its Author
Wordsworth believes that people’s psychological structure is paralleled in
the workings of the universe as a whole. He believes that literary works, such as
poems could tell the truth. Similar to what Pope said that “in every work regards
the writer’s end, since none can compass more than they intend” (Daiches 1981:
261)
Northrop Frye as cited in Reichert (1977: x) said that forms of literature
are the forms of life. People make sense of character, a dialogue, a plot, as they
make sense of each other and their life, and experiences take the shape of
literature and make it meaningful.
To read or interpret or assess a work of literature is to read or interpret or assess it as something as an expression of thought or feeling, as a complicated statement about life, as a subtly persuasive of rhetoric (Reichert, 1977: 134)
Longinus in Daiches (1981:47) says that the true nature of literature is
defined by a discussion of its greatness and the definition in moral and intellectual
qualities of the author. In other words, to produce the greatness effect to readers
the author must possess certain qualities as a man as well as certain skills as a
writer. As a man he must have impressiveness of thought and emotion.
Junus (1983: ix) in his book Dari Peristiwa ke Imajinasi: Wajah Sastra dan Budaya Indonesia states that literature is the product of a hard and intense experience toward reality. In the high level of consciousness a work of art is a
result of a dialogue between the artist and its surrounding reality. While in the
also believed that literature is an effort to show the meaning of life, while literary
review is the effort to make the literary work understood.
Schooles in his book Structural Fabulation as cited in Dari Peristiwa ke
Imajinasi: Wajah Sastra dan Budaya (1983: 3) states that it is impossible to see reality without individual interpretation which may connect with imagination.
Similarly it is impossible to have an imagination without any knowledge about
reality. Therefore, imagination is always attached to reality and reality cannot be
separated from imagination.
It is undisputable that in producing a work, the author gives a big portion
of influence. The story plays a role as the author’s media to share and express his
or her messages, minds, feelings, and also imagination. According to Van De Laar
and Woerd novels or other literary works, whether directly or indirectly, are the
portrayal of the author’s experience of life.
Directly or indirectly, conscious or unconscious, every novelist necessarily presents in his novel a certain way of life and some of the problems of life. He represents incidents, characters, motives and etc. in such a way to reveal more or less directly and clearly the way in which he looks upon the problems of life (1969: 174).
According to Wellek and Warren (1956: 75-78), the author is definitely
important since he is the creator of literary works. There is a close relation
between the author and his or her works that cannot be separated.
There is a close relationship between the work of art and the life of the author, but the work of art is not mere copy of life. A work of art may be only a place to hide his or her weakness and so that in writing a literary work the author depends on his or her mood.
work and the author. An author’s work, including characters, perhaps is “a kind of
mask which is surely based on the author’s experience of life” (1971: 8).
d. Theory on the Relation between Psychology and Literature
Literature and Psychology are two subjects that can be a media to explore
human’s life. Bornstein (1984:144) in the book Psychology and its Allied
Disciplines Humanities volume I states that literature is best at describing the human condition in dramatic form, while psychology has the strength to
investigate human’s character or behavior in systematic ways. The statement
means that literature depicts human condition in dramatic way while psychology
studies human characteristics systematically. Both subjects have one common
purpose that is to depict human condition.
According to Jung psychology as a study of process of the mind, can be
brought to bear the study of literature in which the human mind is the center of all
arts and sciences. Therefore, the study of the mind should be able to explain the
psychological structure of work of art and to reveal the factors that make a person
artistically creative (Jung, 1966: 86).
On the other hand, Kalish (1973: 8) in his book The Psychology of Human
Behaviour states that literature “holds the mirror up to the man.” A good writer or novelist can communicate the feelings of their character and make them seem
more life-like than the real people whose behavior are tried to be described by the
enrich the stories, and psychologist can gain their understanding of human
behaviour by drawing the deep sensitivity of good authors.
Moreover, Freud said as in Bressler (1999: 153) that any unresolved
conflicts given rise to any neurosis are the stuff of literature. A work of literature,
he believes, is the external expression of the author’s unconscious mind.
Accordingly, the literary work must be treated like a dream, applying
psychoanalytic techniques to the text to uncover the author’s hidden motivations
or repressed desires.
Wellek and Warren (1956: 91) also discuss that characters in plays and
novels are judged to be “psychologically” true. Sometimes, a psychological
theory, held either consciously or dimly by an author, seems to fit a figure or
situation. Psychological truth is naturalistic standard without universal validity. In
some cases, psychological insight seems to enhance artistic values.
2. Theories on Psychology
a. Theory on Psychoanalysis, Pleasure Principle, and Reality Principle
Psychoanalysis is a type of psychotherapy developed by Freud, in which the chief tools are free association, study of dreams and slips of the tongue, and
transference. Psychoanalysis attempts to give the patient insight into his
unconscious conflicts, which he can then control as they come into their
awareness as taken from Kagan’s book Psychology: An Introduction (1972: 595)
Psychoanalysis is based on the theories of Sigmund Freud. According to
psychological disturbances are due to anxiety about hidden conflicts between the
unconscious components of one’s personality. These theories suggest that
psychoanalyst should be aware of the unconscious impulses, desires, and fears
that are causing anxiety. Psychoanalysts believe that if the patients can understand
their unconscious motives, they have taken the first step toward gaining control
over their behavior and freeing themselves of their problems.
According to Freud, unconscious impulses find expression in dreams, slips
of speech, mannerism, and symptoms of mental illness as well as through such
socially approved behavior as artistic literary activity. Freud believed that all of
our actions have a cause but that the cause are some unconscious motives rather
than the rational reason we may give for our behavior. We are driven by the same
basic instincts as animals (primarily sex and aggression) and are continually
struggling against society that stresses the control of these impulses. Because
Freud believed that aggression was a basic instinct, he was pessimistic about the
possibility of people ever living together peacefully (Kasschau, 1995: 397-398).
Psychoanalytic theories explore the private personality-the unconscious
motives that direct behavior. Psychoanalytic theory is also concerned with the
way in which personality develops. Freud compared the human mind to an
iceberg. The small part that shows above the surface of the water represents
conscious experience; the much larger mass below water level represents the
unconscious-a storehouse of impulses, passions, and inaccessible memories that
affect our thoughts and behavior. Using the technique of free association, which
consciousness, including the recall of dreams and early childhood memories,
psychoanalysis tries to help the patient to become aware of much that had been
unconscious to discover the basic determinants of personality (Atkinson, 1981:
395).
In Freud’s second model, the economic model, he introduces two new
concepts that govern the human psyche: the pleasure and reality principles.
According to Freud, individual exists in two different dimensions, characterized
by different mental processes and principles, the unconscious and the conscious.
The conscious and the unconscious are at battle for control of a person’s actions.
The unconscious or a dynamic system that not only contains our
biographical memories but also stores our suppressed and unresolved conflicts is
ruled by the pleasure principle. The pleasure principle strives nothing but for
“gaining pleasure, such as immediate satisfaction, or joy”. Instant relief from all
pain and suffering is its goal. The pleasure principle ignores the sexual boundaries
and moral to achieve its goal, as cited from Bressler (1999: 150).
On the contrary, the unrestrained pleasure principle comes into conflict
with the natural and human environment. The individual comes to traumatic
realization that a full and painless gratification of his needs is impossible. After
this experience of disappointment, a new principle arises. The new principle is
called the reality principle that supersedes the pleasure principle: man learns to
give up momentary, uncertain, and destructive pleasure for delayed, restrained,
but “assured” pleasure (as retrieved from (http://evans-experiantialism.freeweb
The reality principle formed in a system of institutions. The individual,
growing up within such system, learns the requirements of the reality principle as
those of law and order, and transmits them to the next generation. Parents and
educators enforce the reality principle (http://evans-experimentialism.
freewebspace.com/marcuse02.htm). The reality principle helps part of the psyche
that recognizes the need for societal standards and regulations on pleasure. It
regulates the instinctual desires of the unconscious and allows these desires to be
released in some non destructive way. It acts as a filter or censor of the mind. It
also encourages us to make moral judgment upon societal standards and
suppresses the desires and instincts forbidden by society. The reality principle
disguises in the form of punishment. It allows us to feel guilty or afraid or
ashamed (Bressler, 1999: 150).
In conclusion, as cited in Guerrin (1999: 129-130), the pleasure principle
governs the id, which is the reservoir of libido, the primary source of all our
aggressions and desires. It is lawless, asocial, and amoral. Its function is to gratify
our instincts for pleasure without regard for social conventions, legal ethics, or
moral restraints. The id as defined by Freud is identical in many aspects to the
Devil as defined by theologians.
The id is solely governed by the pleasure principle; on the other hand the
ego is governed by the reality principle. The ego is the rational governing agent in
the mind.
Freud as cited in Literary Theory (Eagleton, 1983: 151-154) also gives
dominated by the need to labor; and for Freud that harsh necessity means that we
must repress some of our tendencies for pleasure and gratification. If people do
not work in order to survive, they might simply lie around all day doing nothing.
According to Freud, every human has to undergo this repression that is repression
of the pleasure principle by the reality principle. The other act that is based on the
pleasure principle is narcissism. Freud said that narcissism is a state in which
one’s body or ego as a whole is ‘cathected’, or taken as an object of desire that is
forced by libidinal drives.
In conclusion, pleasure principle is Freud’s notion that we are all driven to
satisfy our needs. The reduction of drive gives us pleasure. It is anarchic, sadistic,
aggressive, self-involved, and remorselessly pleasure-seeking. While reality
principle is the awareness that the world has reality of its own, separated from
what we wish it to be.
3. Biography of Oscar Wilde
To understand Oscar Wilde fully, the biography of the author is completed
with the author’s autobiography De Profundis, to see the psychological condition
and the conflicts within the author’s mind.
Oscar Wilde was considered as a controversial figure. As retrieved from
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/owilde.htm Oscar Wilde was born on October 16, 1854
in Dublin with a name of Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde to unconventional
journalist. His father was Sir William Wilde, an Irish antiquarian, gifted writer,
and specialist in diseases of the eye and ear.
Oscar Wilde inherited all his grace and intelligence from his parents,
especially his mother. His gifts and grace distinguish him among his
contemporaries (Sherard, 1911: 26). ‘Oscar Wilde is known for his amiable
personality, glitering wit and audacious showmanship’ (Laver, 1954: 1).
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born at No. I, Merrion Square ,
in the city of Dublin, on the 16 October 1854. Oscar Wilde adored youth. He
stated that he was not born in 1856, but two years earlier. This inaccuracy arouse
from his misstatement. He used the term “the usual age” commented on his birth
date that made him appears two years younger (Sherard, 1911: 3-4).
At the age of 13, Wilde's tastes in clothes were already dandy's. "The
flannel shirts you sent in the hamper are both Willie's mine are one quite scarlet
and the other lilac but it is too hot to wear them yet," he wrote in a letter to his
mother. Willie, whom he mentioned, was his elder brother (as retrieved from
http://www.online-literature.com/wilde). Wilde statement in De Profundis shows
this.
The Gods had given me almost everything. But I let myself be lured into long spells of senseless and sensual ease. I amused myself with being a flaneur, a dandy, a man of fashion. I surrounded myself with the smaller natures and the meaner minds. I became the spendthrift of my own genius, and to waste an eternal youth gave me a curious joy (Wilde, 1905: 25).
Lady Wilde's third and last child was a daughter, named Isola Francesca,
who died young. It has been said that Lady Wilde insisted on dressing Oscar in
Wilde it is said that for months before Wilde was born his mother had earnestly desired that the child should be a girl. She often expressed her conviction that a
daughter was going to be born to her. She used to tell friends of the things she was
going to do “after my little girl is born”. When Oscar was born, her
disappointment was great. She refused to admit that her new child was a boy. She
used to treat him, to speak to him as if he was a girl and as long as it was possible
to do so, she dressed him like a girl (Sherard, 1911: 5). In De Profundis Wilde
stated his regret to his mother
Three months go over and my mother dies. No one knew how deeply I loved and honoured her. Her death was terrible to me; but I, once a lord of language, have no words in which to express my anguish and shame. She and father had bequeathed a name they had made noble and honoured not merely in literature, art, archaeology, and science, but in the public history of my own country, in its evolution as a nation. I had disgraced that name eternally (Wilde, 1905: 18).
Few years afterward, at Oxford Wilde shocked the pious dons with his
irreverent attitude towards religion and was jeered at his eccentric clothes. He
collected blue china and peacock’s feathers and later his velvet knee-breeches
drew much attention. His lifestyle and humorous wit made him soon spokesman
for Aestheticism. He worked as art reviewer (1881), lectured in the United States
and Canada (1882), and lived in Paris (1883) (as retrieved from
http://www.online-literature.com/wilde).
In 1884 Wilde married Constance Lloyd who died in 1898 and to support
his family Wilde edited Woman’s World Magazine in1887-1889. In 1888 he
open to rumors. At Oxford he became a close friend of Frank Miles, a painter, and
the homosexual aesthete Lord Ronald Gower. Wilde’s marriage ended in 1893.
Wilde had met a few years earlier Lord Alfred Douglas, an athlete and a poet, who
became both the love of the author's life and his downfall. In 1891 Wilde began
his affair with Lord Alfred Douglas who has a nickname Bosie. His years of
triumph ended dramatically, when his intimate association with Alfred Douglas
led to his trial on charges of homosexuality (then illegal in Britain)."The only way
to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it," Wilde once said. Bosie's uncle, Lord
Jim, caused a scandal when he filled in the 1891 census describing his wife as a
"lunatic" and his stepson as a "shoeblack born in darkest Africa" (Laver, 1954:
21).
I deliberately went to the depths in the search for new sensation. What the paradox was to me in the sphere of thought, perversity became to me in the sphere of passion. Desire, at the end, was a malady, or a madness, or both. I grew careless of the lives of others. I took pleasure where it pleased me, and passed on. That something hidden away in my nature, like a treasure in a field is Humility (Wilde, 1905: 25-27).
It has been denied that Wilde was born as a complete homosexual. His
marriage and the birth of two sons is sufficient evidence that he is not a complete
homosexual. He is more appropriate to be considered as bi-sexual. He himself is
not aware of this state, not until he was in Oxford (Laver, 1954: 21).
Wilde was sentenced to two years hard labor for the crime of sodomy.
Wilde was first in Wandsworth prison, London, and then in Reading Gaol. During
this time he wrote De Profundis (1905), a dramatic monologue and
autobiography, which was addressed to Alfred Douglas. During his first trial
century is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was
between David and Jonathan”.
During the trial and while he served his sentence, Bosie stood by Wilde,
although the author felt himself betrayed. Later they met in Naples. Wilde’s wife
took their children to Switzerland and adopted the name ‘Holland’. Wilde died of
cerebral meningitis on November 30, 1900, penniless, in a cheap Paris hotel at the
age of 46 (http://www.online-literature.com/wilde). Wilde’s conflict was best
stated in his autobiography.
I must say to myself that I ruined myself, and that nobody great or small can be ruined except by his own hand. I am quite ready to say so. Morality does not help me. I am one of those who are made for exceptions, not for laws. I see that there is nothing wrong in what one does, I see that there is something wrong in what one becomes. Religion does not help me. The faith that others give to what is unseen, I give to what one can touch, and look at (Wilde, 1905: 23, 33).
C. Theoretical Framework
In analyzing this thesis, first of all, the three main characters in the novel
are studied by using the theories of characters and characterization. Once this is
done the answer of the first problem formulation is obtained. Second, the
characters and the conflicts in the novel are examined thoroughly using the
theories of pleasure and reality principles, and theories of conflict. Consequently,
the battle between the pleasure and reality principles in the novel can be seen in
which it is the answer to the second problem formulation.
Theories on the relation between literary work and its author, theories on
the relation of psychology and literature, and the biography of the author are
conflict it is necessary to see the theories of conflict as well. Finally, the answer of
the third problem formulation will be achieved by using the psychoanalysis
theories.
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of this study is Oscar Wilde’s only novel The Picture of Dorian
Gray. The version being used in this thesis is the popular illustrated classics version published by Rohan Book in 2003. The story was first published by J.M.
Stoddart on Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine on July 1890. The story is considered
notorious on its first appearance. The next year Wilde greatly revised and
expanded the text, adding melodramatic subplot and preface that defended his
aesthetic philosophy.
The novel itself is about a young man who is captivated by his own
beauty. Dorian Gray, the beautiful young man is a friend of Basil Hallward, the
painter who painted his picture. At first, Dorian is depicted as a naïve young man
with astonishing handsome face that amazes everyone who sees it. Then he meets
Lord Henry Wotton. Influenced by Lord Henry Wotton’s ideology and philosophy
of life, Dorian Gray wishes to stay young forever. Along the journey of his life
Dorian Gray conducts a lot of crimes; breaks Sibyl Vane’s heart then she finally
commits suicide by drinking poison, kills Sibyl’s brother James Vane who tries to
have a revenge for his sister and finally Dorian also kills his own best friend, Basil
Hallward. Magically, along this period of his life, he stays young while his
portrait changes. The portrait of Dorian grows older as an exchange for what he
1890 in beautiful places in London, such as Basil Hallward’s studio and the opium
dens of East End.
B. Approach of the Study
To answer the problem formulation in this study, the writer applies
psychological approach. This thesis deals with characters, author and his state of
mind, therefore psychological approach is appropriate since character is one of the
subjects of Psychology. It involves patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings.
Therefore, this criticism is the most suitable to be used in this thesis since the
analysis concerns about the pleasure and reality principles seen in the characters
and the story of the novel.
The basis of psychological approach is the idea of the existence of human
unconscious impulses, desires, and feelings about which a person is unaware but
influencing emotions and behavior. Critics use this approach to explore the
motivations of characters and the symbolic meanings of events in literary works.
It is also used to describe and analyze the reader’s personal responses to a text
(http://www.bedfordmartins.com/literature/glossary_htm#top).
According to Rohrberger and Woods (1971: 13), psychological approach
is an approach to literature which “involves the effort to locate and demonstrate
certain recurrent patterns” and which refers to different body of knowledge that is
Psychology. In applying this approach, psychological theories are generally used
as interpretive tools, similar to what Lewis Leary (1976: 57) said in his book
A psychological approach is an approach that applies principles of modern psychology to characters or situations within literary work or to the person who wrote the work.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theories as cited in Kennedy (1999:
1947) have changed our understanding about human behavior by exploring
human’s thoughts such as wish fulfillment, sexuality, the unconscious and
repression. According to him language in literature is able to reflect unconscious
fears and desires. He admitted himself had learned psychology mostly from
studying literature. He believed that author of literary work “had such profound
insight into human nature that his characters display the depth and complexity of
real people.
Unresolved conflicts that give rise to any neurosis are the stuff literature. A work of literature, he believes, is the external expression of the author’s unconscious mind. According to Freud, literary work must be treated like a dream, applying psychoanalytic techniques to the text to uncover the author’s hidden motivations and repressed desires (Bressler, 1999: 153).
According to Freud, as taken from Bressler (1999: 159), an author’s chief
motivation for writing any story is to gratify some secret desire, some forbidden
wish that probably developed during the author’s infancy and was immediately
suppressed and dumped in the unconscious. The outward manifestation of the
suppressed wish becomes the literary work itself. Freud declares that the literary
work is therefore the author’s dream or fantasy. Psychoanalytic criticism focused
mainly on the author. Known as psychobiography, this method of analysis begins
by amassing biographical data of an author through biographies, personal letters,
lectures, and any other document deemed related in some way to the author.
personality with all its idiosyncrasies, internal and external conflicts, and most
importantly, neuroses. In turn, such devised theory, they believed, could
illuminate an author’s individual works, giving rise to latent content in the
author’s texts. By gaining an in-depth understanding of the author, these critics
assumed they would be better able to interpret an author’s cannon. In later studies,
the psychoanalytic critics focused on character analysis, studying the various
aspects of characters’ mind found in author’s cannon. Individual characters within
a text now became the focus, believing that the author had in mind a particular
personality for his or her characters. A character’s motivations and actions, then,
became more complex than simply the author’s ideas.
According to Freud, playwright had such profound insight into human
nature that his characters display the depth and complexity of real people. Freud
and disciples believed that great literature truthfully reflects life. Psychological
criticism employs three approaches. First, it investigates the creative process of
the artist. Second is the psychological study of particular artist. Most modern
literary biographies employ psychology to understand their subject’s motivation
and behavior. The third is the analysis of fictional characters. Freud’s study shows
psychological approach tries to bring modern insights about human behavior into
the study of fictional people is act (Kennedy, 1999: 1947).
C. Method of the Study
In doing the research of the study, the library research method was used.
playwright, Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray which was published on
2003 was used as the primary data. Second, the secondary data were books that
were used to provide theories, such as Bressler’s Literary Criticism, Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary Terms, Murphy’s Understanding Unseen, etc. Some critical reviews and theories obtained from some Internet sites were also used.
Firstly, the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray written by Oscar Wilde was
read focusing on the content. Afterward, the novel was re-read to understand it
more and to analyze it. The story is very important because the form of this
literary work is a novel and therefore it holds the biggest role in conveying the
author’s idea or state of mind.
Next the writer formulated three questions. These three questions
represented the problems that needed to be solved. The first question dealt with
the characters in the novel. The second question dealt with the depiction of the
battle between the pleasure and reality principles within the novel. The third had
to do with the question of how this battle of two principles reflects the author’s
inner conflict.
Thirdly, relating parts into whole. This step tried to make the information
from step one and two become one. Therefore, in this step the information that
can answer the problem was gathered to analyze the novel. In this step this novel
was analyzed based on the theories and references that were able to help in
answering the problems.
The fourth step was making conclusion toward the analysis. This step was
analysis were chosen and were made one or two paragraphs. Finally, the
important points in the analysis were gathered and were put in one chapter called
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
The pleasure and reality principles are two principles that govern human’s
behavior. These principles are opposite one and another. In Wilde’s novel, the
depiction of the pleasure and reality principles is seen through two ways. First
through the characterization of the three major characters, they are Lord Henry
Wotton, Basil Hallward and Dorian Gray. The second is seen through the conflicts
happen in the story, conflicts between one character and other characters, or one
character with the society in the novel. Conclusively, the battle between the
pleasure and reality principles which is shown through the characterization and
the conflicts in the story reflects the author’s internal conflicts.
A. The Characterization of the Main Characters in the Novel
There are three main characters in the novel that are being analyzed. They
are Dorian Gray, Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward.
1. Characteristics of Basil Hallward
Basil Hallward is a hardworker, a famous painter and a friend of Lord
Henry Wotton and Dorian Gray. Basil is considered as a hardworker because
Basil loves his job as a painter and he is proud of what he has done. He tries to
As the painter looked at the gracious and comely form he had so skillfully mirrored in his heart, a smile of pleasure passed across his face and seemed about to linger there (p. 5).
As a painter Basil has a great adoration for Dorian for he is a very
interesting object of art. To him, Dorian’s picture is the greatest achievement in
his life, his masterpiece, and his best work of art. As said by Murphy, character’s
characteristics can be seen from the character’s speech.
There is nothing that Art cannot express, and I know that work I have done, since I met Dorian Gray, is a good work, is the best work of my life (p.14).
Lord Henry Wotton who considers Dorian’s picture as the best
achievement for Basil supports this statement. “It is your best work, Basil, the best
thing you have ever done, “said Lord Henry, languidly. You must certainly send it
next year to the Grosvenor “(p.7).
This is also shown in what he said to Lord Henry about Dorian, “Don’t
take away from me the one person who gives to my art whatever charms it may
possesses; my life as an artist depends on him.”(p. 18)
This statement shows how deeply connected Basil is to his work. To him
his work is his world and then finally his object transfers into part of his world
also. Basil used to think of himself as someone independent. He is someone who
is indifferent to others. His main interest is art. This belief has changed since he
met Dorian. He adores Dorian too much. Dorian is one of his most precious object
of art and his good friend.
He is also a coward. Basil Hallward is a mix personality of someone with
a pure heart and a coward.
Something told me that I was on the verge of a terrible crisis in my life I had feeling that Fate had in store for me exquisite joys and exquisite sorrows. I grew afraid, and turned to quit the room. It was not conscience that made me do so it was sort of cowardice. I take no credit for myself for trying to escape (p. 11).
He is also a hard worker. This is shown through his mannerism when he
puts all his work in his art, “but I really can’t exhibit it I have put too much of
myself in it” (p. 7).
Basil is someone who upholds highly the moral standard therefore he is
quite the opposite of Lord Henry Wotton. His views of life are almost completely
contradictory to Lord Henry Wotton. He thinks Lord Henry Wotton will give bad
influences to Dorian, “Don’t spoil him. Don’t try to influence him. Your influence
would be bad” (p.18). Basil’s characterization can be seen from his way of
thinking. He is a very open minded person. According to him the less blessing
one’s receives is the better. Having something more than others will alter one’s
personality. He delivers these words for Dorian, Lord Henry Wotton and himself.
Basil believes that having a greater blessing physically or intellectually is
not always positively beneficial for someone. Having a greater fortune means
having a greater challenge to overcome temptations. Not being able to defeat the
world’s temptations will change one’s personality. Dorian’s good looks will
deliver him directly to the temptation. These temptations are things such as desire,
immediate satisfaction, and pleasure. From this point of view the conclusion that
can be drawn is that Basil is someone who thinks carefully, and always tries to see
things from different perspectives.
Basil is very sensitive; he is shocked when Dorian forbids him to see his
own masterpiece. His reaction to Dorian’s refusal is blown over proportion,
Hallward is thunderstruck. He looks at Dorian Gray in absolute amazement. He is
trembling all over (p. 125).
His sensitivity and his emotional feeling toward Dorian Gray are caused
by his great adoration and love for him. He is so afraid of losing their friendship.
He is a loyal friend, he is willing to hide his best piece of art from public as
Dorian asked him, ‘Your friendship is dearer to me than any fame of reputation’
(p.126).
Basil’s great adoration for Dorian is told in 3 pages long in the novel, from
page 126-128. Here, Basil confesses his true feeling to Dorian, ‘…As I told Harry,
once, you are made to be worshipped” (p. 128).
Similar to what Holman and Harmon (1986: 81) said in A Handbook of
