18 Sept.

The adage "be careful what you wish for" does not often go unheard of by the everyday man, yet its wisdom is profound.  Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray revolves around a wish made by the titular character to never age. Instead, for every action he takes, for every immoral decision he makes, the physical repercussions are absorbed by a painting, his portrait. Dorian's life of vanity and indulgence, however, lead to violent deaths, including his own. Through Dorian's death Wilde explores the futile consequences of a wholly humanist life.

Dorian's death is a kind of pseudo-suicide in that as he stabs his own portrait, under the supernatural circumstances of the narrative, he also effectively stabs himself. The painting was a constant reminder, staring Dorian in the face, of all the horribleness he was, of all the horrible things he did. But Dorian being stabbed when the painting was stabbed proved that Dorian could not run from all that he had been or all that he had done. Dorian would never escape his flagrant life just because he didn't want to or because the painting consumed the physical ramifications.

As Dorian dies, his previously unchanged, unblemished appearance absorbs the wretchedness of the painting. This occurrence supports the assertion that Dorian cannot avoid what he has done while, together with the fact that he stabbed his own portrait, giving Wilde's final argument: an unchecked, superficial life leads to maddening self-loathing. By the time of Dorian's death, the portrait had become a grotesque, tangible illustration of all of Dorian's immorality. Dorian wanted to destroy all that the painting was, and the painting was a portrait of his true self.

So, Dorian got what he wished for, but could not run from his carefree life nor from himself and his self-loathing. His suicide and absorption of the despicable image of his portrait at his suicide prove that living without consequences cannot truly happen. One's own eyes will always be there to stare them straight in the face.