# The Portrait in the Corner.



## Evening Elegance (Jun 29, 2011)

The white tie thread seems to be the closest fit for this post, though I admit to being rather unsure of where to post it. 

The Picture of Dorian Grey brings, despite the popular hype for it as a horror novel, a very interesting philosophical and moral theme to the fore. Wilde postulates, through the character of lord henry that society is crassly hypocritical, and performs all and sunder of the many sins it claims to condemn. an example is this passage from the book 

"THe reason we all like to think so well of others is that we are all afraid fro ourselves. The basis of optimism is sheer terror. We think that we are generous becasue we credit our neighbour with the possession of thos virtues that are likely to be a benefit to us. We praise our banker that we may overdraw our account, and find good qualities in the highwayman in the hope that he may spare our pockets. I mean everything i have said. I have the greatest contempt for optimism."

What are your thoughts on the social commentary Wilde is making here? His view is obviously an overly pessimistic exaggeration of society's more recondite aspects, but does he, in your opinion touch on a valid and relevant socio-moral theme? Finally, do you believe the ethics of society both at the time, and today, to be as astonishingly shallow as Wilde contends?


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## Le Chevalier (Jul 26, 2011)

You bring up an interesting point, though in my personal opinion I would have to say that the book does not reflect what mores today's society at least likes to think that it has. Lord Henry essentially conducts a perverted social and behavioral experiment on Dorian. Comparable examples can be found in modern society, by scientists who performed such experiments on small children, using deplorable methods to teach fears, or certain methods. However, society outwardly condemned most of these actions, and as for the truth of what happened in these situations, well, I do not believe it relevant. Outside of what society thinks it stands for is essentially outside the realm of society - since it is a collective mental construct society can really only be defined by official notions. After that, reality is determined by individualist behavior, but I digress. Society would certainly condemn Dorian's actions, and Henry's too, at least when taken in a less subtle context. Just my take on the book.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Evening Elegance said:


> 1. ...society is crassly hypocritical,
> 
> 2. We think that we are generous becasue we credit our neighbour with the possession of thos virtues that are likely to be a benefit to us. We praise our banker that we may overdraw our account, and find good qualities in the highwayman in the hope that he may spare our pockets. I mean everything i have said. I have the greatest contempt for optimism."


1. I bet he didn't spend a lot of time figuring that out!!

2. That's funny stuff.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best I always say.

I suppose that makes me cautiously optimistic!!


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