Is a richly aesthetic life worth maintaining? Is it better to seek a moral lifestyle by following society's moral standards? With ideal appearances and superficial beauty, a decorated life can seem easier and more luxurious than a moral life. Leading a moral life is not that attractive to most people; and it is full of difficulties and problems in “doing the right thing”. It is not possible to maintain one quality without losing the other, due to their contrasting nature. While the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray brings out the central question “Is it better to pursue aesthetics or morality?” describes the life of Dorian Gray, who constantly tried to maintain his appearance at the expense of his morals, and answers the question by revealing the consequences of living Mr. Gray's "handsome" lifestyle. In the novel, Oscar Wilde illustrates the explosion of aesthetic philosophy in English society at the time and demonstrated that ideas were not only limited to art and artists, but also extended to life itself. Aestheticism advocates whatever would create more happiness, beauty, and luxury in the individual's life, normally through the tradition of hedonism or pleasure-seeking self-indulgence. For the aesthetic English citizen, the ideal life is selfish, beautiful and concerns only the individual who lives it. Lord Henry Wotton, one of the novel's main characters, is a man with "wrong, fascinating, poisonous, and delightful theories" (Wilde 87). Although Lord Henry is a self-proclaimed hedonist, he lives a rather boring life in the novel. He participates in English civil society and frequents parties and the theatre/opera, but does not indulge in any low or unpleasant behaviour, unlike Dorian Gray in his unbridled pursuit of youth... middle of paper.... ..however, the Wilde's novel does not embrace aestheticism as these examples imply. Wilde illustrated the need for a controlled approach to aestheticism, without which it would lead to a serious loss of morality. The concept of unbridled aestheticism, as shown by Dorian, results in selfishness, lack of guilt, and decay of the logical mind. As the novel asks: “Is it better to pursue aesthetics or morality?” describes an uncontrollably aesthetic lifestyle, the life of Dorian Gray, and answers the question by revealing the slow decay and eventual death of Mr. Gray's life. It is better to maintain a moral life with a guilt-filled conscience than to have a life of beauty and self-indulgence, filled only with the temporary “pleasures” of the world around us. Works Cited Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New Jersey: Everbind Books, 1890. Print.