The Representation of the Self and its Symbols in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)

Abstract

The present study aims to shed the light on the representation of the self and its symbols in the picture of Dorian Gray. Furthermore it examines the role of the models of the mind and its psyche in the individual’s life. This dissertation introduces an example from the Victorian age’s literature, which provides an evidence of this theory; the picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde, the first publication was in 1890 in the Lippincott Magazine, the second version was in the next year. This study will approach Oscar’s novel from an analytic perspective, in addition the study relies on the psychoanalytic theory. The present thesis finds that the parts of the mind are important in the novel because they shape Dorian’s inner self, and his general personality. Oscar Wilde provided a huge description of the self, from the development to the destruction trough his novel. Moreover the integration of the hedonism, the aesthetic movements, and the progressive development of the psych; helped to depict a Gothic touch to this literature genre. As a result, this study finds that the combination of these movements and the moral rules can lead the individual to a constant conflict in his mind; by his psyche’s parts and how can be symbolized in his inner self.