Dorian and Mr. Faust

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     As we know of Mr. Faust, who makes a deal with the devil ultimately exchanging his soul for money, fame, and success, it's well known that the deal Faust made was intentional, unlike Dorian Gray.

    It is true that Dorian sobs in front of his portrait wishing that he remained young while the portrait aged, but Dorian never sat in a room and made a deal face to face with the devil. Dorian's wish was granted, but he himself was unaware of what the conditions of his wish were, ultimately ruining the very innocence in him that Basil adored.

    I've heard from multiple people how they can't stand Dorian Gray, but sometimes we forget that Dorian's character was built off of Lord Henry's ideals. Lord Henry chose to influence Dorian because of Dorian's beauty and innocence. With this, it is safe to say that Dorian's wish to remain young was created by Lord Henry and as Angelina noticed "Lord Henry and Basil are like the devil and angel sitting on Dorian's shoulders".  

    Looking back at Mr. Faust's story, the devil urged Faust to agree to his deal with the guarantee of fame and success, which Faust gave into similar to Dorian Gray giving in to his own devil, Lord Henry. 

    With this in mind, Dorian's wish to remain young was similar to a child's fear of growing older. Lord Henry tells Dorian that if he ages he would lose everything, and this proves that it wouldn't be wrong to assume that Lord Henry was the one who lured Dorian into making the "deal with the devil" or supposedly "selling his soul to him".

    Unlike Faust, Dorian was an innocent beautiful man whose beauty lured the devil to him, and as the devil started making changes in Dorian's life, Dorian felt compelled to make the wish that ruined him. While Basil, Dorian's angel, tried to guide Dorian down the right path before dying, Lord Henry's influence on Dorian had become too strong, ultimately overpowering Basil's guidance. 

    I feel like this meme represents the entire novel :)



Comments

  1. angelinaMay 29, 2022 at 10:22 AM

    Hey Shambhavi, thanks for the mention lol! This makes me wonder what would happen if things were switched? What would happen if Basil influenced Dorian more than Lord Henry did? How would the story end up if Dorian never "sold his soul?" Nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Veeksha SudhirMay 29, 2022 at 8:26 PM

    Hi Shambhavi, it never occurred to me how Lord Henry has basically the same role as the devil in Mrs. Faust. A lot of the points you brought up also leads to the fact that Dorian was young when he "made the deal with the devil" which really got me wondering if it was fair or not. Great job!
    P.S. I love the meme

    ReplyDelete

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