The Picture of Dorian Gray demonstrates a division between aestheticism and morality which Oscar Wilde describes by giving each character a very specific personality that challenges or indulges in immoral vices of life. All this while Dorian remains paralyzed between two very different ideologies. The Freudian concept that within all of us there is a split between the ID, the Super Ego and the Ego; an internal battle between three distinct mentalities, becomes more and more evident as the novel progresses and highlights this war in the mind. Dorian cannot find a balance between these three subconscious minds; he feels as if he needs to conform and become a hedonistic esthete like Lord Henry, or lead a life that coincides with the moral idealism that Basil represents. If he had the opportunity to analyze The Picture of Dorian Gray, Sigmund Freud would most likely interpret it as an illustration of how his mechanism of understanding human behavior plays out in literature. Charles Darwin would most likely say that Dorian fails to maintain this crucial yin yang balance between aestheticism and morality and inevitably gives in to his primitive animalistic instincts. These biologically programmed impulses upon which Dorian consequently acts can be best described from the perspective of Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his groundbreaking work in evolutionary theory (Desmond). It is conceivable to suppose that the art critic Walter Pater had a profound impact on Wilde during his college years, such that he probably influenced his citation in De Profundis, where he declares that Pater's work was "that book which had such a strange influence" on my life." (Michael, 1) (Schroeder, 1) Analyzing the ideologies of these brilliant intellectuals not only to highlight, but to demonstrate the commonalities between Darwin's evolutionary theory, the perspective of Freud on subconscious human behavior and Pater's idiosyncrasy of viewing art subjectively - all of which play a crucial role in understanding The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Say No to Plagiarism violent." Shouldn't video games be banned? Get the original essay Charles Darwin undertook an undertaking that led to a discovery that changed the way we understood the origin of humanity. For once in history there was a logical explanation for our existence on earth and it is such unprecedented diversity that previously could only be explained through religion or the environment. This notion and theory that the origin of species could be explained by science would have been considered immoral and non-contemporary if Darwin had not initiated intricate investigations in 1838 which led to the publication of On the Origin of Species, we would not be able to fully understand the inner workings of Dorian Gray's mind; Darwin's theories demonstrate how, at a pre-programmed biological instinctive level, the malevolent hedonistic tendencies he manifests are innate and inevitable. (Darwin Manuscripts, 1) The character Dorian Gray is an example of how these tendencies can consume an individual, rendering him helpless and unable to fight primal impulses. Before Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, even the world's most brilliant scientists attributed variations in species to strictly environmental factors; such as the availability of their food supplies or the climate in which the species in question was raised. Darwin rejects this notion by dismantling this narrow-minded philosophy supposedly supported by science and demonstrates that there is much more to this idea of ​​evolution, namely these instincts which arepre-programmed within all of us to seek out a mate with the most favorable traits to have the best chances. to have offspring who do well in life. In a process of conscious selection coined by Darwin, a breeder selects the animal with the most desirable traits such as eccentric physical beauty and qualities that would aid the overall perpetual survival of that species. All species, including humans, are subject to this subconscious process called unconscious selection. In other words, we will instinctively act hedonistically, desire materialistic pleasantries, and embody vanity as our central focus when it comes to who we choose to procreate with; in Dorian's defense, it is in our nature to act according to this principle of aestheticism and attribute the highest value to decadence. (Darwin, 1-13) Darwin shows that even without the influence of breeders, animals are proven to instinctively strive to find the mate with the most attractive outward appearance and traits essential to the survival of his species. (Darwin, 4-13) After taking Darwin's philosophy into consideration, a different perspective of the inner workings behind Dorian Gray's mind is consequently formed. The fact that he chooses to live immorally and place so much esteem on beauty could be considered a direct result of these internal biological impulses that he is unable to control. As a 21st century society, we see examples of this superficial hedonistic behavior everywhere we look, as it has become an internal fabric into the social and biological fabric of humanity. For example, consider the modeling industry; society tends to value external appearance as one of the most important aspects of life. Girls grow up seeing tabloids featuring scantily clad quintessential models, with bodies and faces that are typically out of reach and unobtainable to the vast majority of the population. This results in this desire to be beautiful because being physically attractive tends to get people what they want in life and, biologically speaking, gives them the best opportunity to get the most desirable mate. From Dorian's perspective, his appearance is the one thing he cannot imagine living without; this inevitably leads to his death in a sense. The fact is that animals always act this way, they act without thinking on these impulses because it is in their nature; humans, on the other hand, have the intellectual capacity that allows them to consider factors other than appearance and the qualities that would give rise to the most promising offspring. We take into account many other characteristics because we are human, not animals. Dorian's failure to act in this way is mainly due to Lord Henry's influences and his own recklessness; this paints him as someone who acts solely on his primal animalistic instincts. Darwin may view people who behave like Lord Henry and Dorian Gray as more primitive and less evolved than the majority of the human race who have the ability to think subjectively about another human being as a whole, not just their physical appearance. By carefully examining Darwin's On the Origin of Species, we are enlightened by scientific facts that can explain why Dorian acts the way he does from an evolutionary biological point of view. To some extent, its behavior is the result of these innate biological tendencies that we share with every other species on earth. (Wilde)Sigmund Freud, a world-renowned neurologist, devised a system that allows us to illustrate human tendencies by separating what we conceive to be human consciousness into 3 separate drives. Essentially thethe result of this were three personality types; namely the id, the ego and the superego. “The id is the agent of bodily desires, the ego is the mediating function, and the superego is in charge of moral prohibitions.” (Rieff, 173) The ego is often considered the executive branch of our personality because, unlike the ID and Super Ego, it uses reasoning to evaluate its options and come to an appropriate conclusion about what to do in the particular situation by imagining morality. implications of their actions, but also what feels good and is best for them. The ID prefers to live hedonistically, relies solely on the pleasure principle, and prefers to act on impulse without reason, regardless of who they hurt in the process; if they happen to do a morally acceptable thing, it was most likely by accident. The Superego is another extreme and essentially the antithesis of the ID because it usually derives from the common conservative religion based on the beliefs we acquire during our upbringing as children. For example, consider religious implications, what is morally right, and what is socially acceptable. (McLeod, 1) With Freud's ideology in mind we begin to notice the correlations between the characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray and these 3 different distinguishable personality types. Essentially the novel illustrates exactly what Freud always said in an easy to understand way because each character represents a specific segment of the subconscious. By understanding this correlation we come to terms with a better overall understanding of the novel as a whole and of Dorian himself in particular. Lord Henry is undoubtedly Wilde's attempt to create a literal representation of this type of personality ID which he demonstrates through this quote: “If a man lived his life fully and completely, gave form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream – I believe the world would gain such a new impulse of joy that we would forget all the diseases of medievalism and return to the Hellenic ideal” (Wilde, 19) Lord Henry works constantly to corrupt Dorian and persuade him to live a life of decadence hedonism that he prefers to lead. He believes that in life it is always better to do what is advantageous for oneself, not always what is right. Lord Henry changes and shapes Dorian's ideology to the point that he no longer believes that morality even plays a role in life until it is too late. By promoting this idea of ​​always living in a selfish and hedonistic way that ignores morality, he essentially becomes overwhelmed by the ID part of his personality and exemplifies Freud's theory. Also there is Basil and his infatuation with Dorian Gray, he represents the super ego because he sincerely wants Dorian to remain this clean, pure, uncorrupted entity. For Basil, Dorian is essentially a work of art, literally and metaphorically. He believes it is his duty to maintain Dorian's innocence, which Lord Henry constantly tries to get rid of. (McLeod, 1)How Dorian comes into play is essentially Freud's concept of what the ego represents. Dorian is perpetually faced with moral dilemmas and is forced to weigh the benefits and implications of living one way or another. Just as Freud describes the Ego as this force that sits between the Super Ego and the ID, Dorian is constantly pulled into two opposing paths. One direction is Lord Henry and his hedonistic ideology which is mainly based on this "ID-like" principle. Another is Basil who attempts to help him live a morally conscious lifestyle that coincides with the Super Ego. Just like a devil on his shoulders, Lord Henry's influence on Dorian eventually comes to a head when he finds Sibyl completely undesirable after her performance on stage was not up to parits standards. He became infatuated with the art she created and truly loved it for her; when he discovers that she has committed suicide, he carries on as if business as usual, a cold and callous manner indulging in carnal pleasantries and living hedonistically. By understanding this basic Freudian theory, we see the novel in a completely different light as it tends to highlight all these themes that were previously evident but were not as understandable without a concrete understanding of how these subconscious forces come into play to influence human behavior. . Now we can see that essentially Dorian Gray is a literal representation of Freud's concept of the Ego. So far we have come very close to getting a well-rounded perspective of the inner workings of Dorian Gray's psyche by evaluating his primitive instincts with the help of Charles Darwin's theories Natural selection in The Origin of Species. We can conclude that more often than not Dorian acted on his animalistic carnal desires and placed an extremely high value on outward appearance. Furthermore, Freud's theories on these three concepts: ID, Super Ego, and Ego tended to run parallel to how Lord Henry, Basil, and Dorian himself truly are on a subconscious level. Subsequently we will delve into Walter Pater's ideology and the clashes he had with Oscar Wilde himself. By understanding how Pater fundamentally understood art and its beauty, we come closer to understanding The Picture of Dorian Gray as a whole. The year 1877 could well have represented a turning point in Oscar Wilde's development as a writer; while attending Magdalen College, he met Walter Pater. Pater's work was said to be sought after by Oscar Wilde himself, they would meet for tea, exchange ideas and give each other pointers on the work. While there is essentially no objective truth in how we define beauty, critics of the time attempted to understand the abstractness of beauty and explain it in the most generic terms possible without the addition of personal preferences or feelings. Beauty and how we interpret it tend to be subjective; in other words, how you interpret art and the feeling it evokes depends on who you are and where your values ​​lie. Walter Pater, for example, held aestheticism in high regard, but he had this talent and skill that allowed him not to discriminate between what is considered beauty and what is not. (The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry, 1) The reason why understanding Pater's philosophy is so crucial to understanding The Picture of Dorian Gray is the fact that Wilde did not actually intend for it to be seen as a novel focused solely on decadence or what happens when this concept is abused. In the preface of the novel Wilde even says: “There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are written well or written badly. That's all. This idea that Wilde demonstrates runs parallel to Pater's ideology. Overall it suggests that it is simply the reader themselves who has the capacity to think subjectively and whether or not the novel is entirely immoral: it is open to interpretation, and that is truly what Wilde intended all along. (The Picture of Dorian Gray: Art, Ethics, and the Artist, 1) Examining Pater's philosophy and comparing it to what we know of Oscar Wilde; you begin to see this connection which inevitably leads to the idea that Pater was an essential element in Wilde's life who influenced the development of The Picture of Dorian Gray during the Aesthetic movement. Although they are said to not particularly consider each other friends, this exchange of dialogue in an interview further supports this claim that Pater had an influence on Oscar Wilde: "Pater personally detested Wilde while.