all art is quite useless, or is it?

'All art is quite useless'. These words, written by Wilde in the preface of the novel portray what at first seems to be the message of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. Wilde was a major proponent of the movement known as aestheticism, and its main ideal was that art is intended simply to be beautiful and to be admired, not to have any deeper meaning or cause social enlightenment. It was also a backlash against the bourgeoise middle class of victorian britain, and against romanticism, which had dominated the first half of the 19th Century.

The way in which the novel is written seems to highlight this message, with long descriptive passages, full of beautiful images, serving no purpose other than to set the scene. Indeed, the first sentence of the book,  'The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.' highlights to the reader the importance of beauty and aesthetics in this society. This theme is also highlighted throughout the novel, with Henry Wotton constantly reiterating this philosophy, saying things such as 'beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins'. Wotton highlights the aesthetic philosophy present in late 19th century victorian society, as he constantly spouts controversial 'theories' which are simply designed to shock the upper middle class company he keeps.

However, despite Wilde's advocacy of the aesthetic movement, the book does seem to portray a message opposite to that of aestheticism. The two main symbols for this are the book which influences Dorian into hedonism, and the painting itself. The book acts against the aesthetic movement, as it influences and corrupts Dorian, sending him into a life of hedonism and sin, while aesthetics believe that art should have no moral impact on a person. Wilde himself stated both that 'there is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book' and that Dorian Gray was 'poisoned by a book', two conflicting ideas. The painting is a symbol against aestheticism, as Basil states that art must be 'unconscious, ideal, and remote', yet his painting of Dorian is anything but that. In fact the painting serves as a moral compass for Dorian, acting as a mirror to his soul so that he can see clearly the sin and corruption he is inflicting upon himself. It also almost acts as a prophecy, with its decline signaling the demise of Dorian himself. Henry Wotton also emphasises the deeper meaning of art portrayed in the novel, as in the first half of the book, his words seemimportant and majestic, with his ideals going against the main victorian values, yet by the end of the book, his grand theories no longer seem so grand, instead they seem rather silly and shallow.

While many of the characters in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' do advocate an aesthetic approach to art, and life, the deeper meaning of the book is one quite opposite to the ideals of aestheticism, almost coming across as a cautionary tale.