Discovering Wilde in The Picture of Dorian Gray The Portrait of Dorian Gray can be defined as a symbolic representation of a dialectic between two aspects of personality by Wilde. Dorian is an archetypal image that fascinates both aspects. This suggests that his behavior symbolizes Wilde's unconscious (i.e. unrecognized) attitudes. Dorian is characterized by his evasive character and his obsession with art objects. For example, when Basil comes to console him for Sibyl's death, he does not want to discuss it. He doesn't want to admit that his behavior is wrong. He said to his friend: “If you don't talk about something, it never happened. It is simply expression, as Harry says, that gives reality to things” (107). Later, after murdering Basil, he again seeks to avoid recognizing what he has done: “He felt that the secret of all this was not realizing the situation” (159). Dorian escapes any unpleasant awareness by turning his attention to other things. Unwilling to admit that his actions have moral implications, he seeks refuge in art. Learning of Sibyl's death, he accepts an invitation, that same evening, to go to the opera. He learns to see life only from an aesthetic point of view. He reflects: Form is absolutely essential. It must have the dignity of a ceremony, as well as its unreality, and must combine the insincere character of a romantic play with the wit and beauty which make such plays charming to us. (142) The consequence of this attitude is that he finds himself increasingly “stepping out” of his experiences to observe them from a distance. Instead of living his experiences more intensely, he finds himself in the middle of paper... It is worth noting that Wilde wrote of the characters in his only novel: "Basil Hallward is what I think am: Lord Henry, what the world thinks of me: Dorian, what I would like to be – in other ages, perhaps” (Letters, 352). Dorian personifies a conflict between Dionysian and Apollonian elements that is particularly fascinating to its creator. He is passionate about “color, beauty, the joy of living” (40), but avoids getting involved in any experience for fear that it will cause him possible pain. Basil and Lord Henry's fascination with him represents Wilde's obsession with a young dandy whose evasiveness and pseudo-aestheticism symbolize his own unconscious fears. Works CitedWilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Isobel Murray. London: Oxford University Press, 1974. Wilde, Oscar. The letters of Oscar Wilde. Ed. R. Hart-Davis. London: Hart-Davis, 1962.