Chekhov raises questions about the value of human life, about a person’s moral duty to the people, about the meaning of human life. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wrote: “Everything in a person should be beautiful: face, clothes, soul, and thoughts.” This desire to see people as simple, beautiful and harmonious explains Chekhov’s irreconcilability towards vulgarity, towards moral and spiritual limitations.

The hero of the story “Ionych” is a young man, full of unclear but bright hopes, with ideals and desires for something high. But love failure turned him away from his aspirations for a pure, rational life. He lost all spiritual interests and aspirations. The time when simple human feelings were characteristic of him: joy, suffering, love disappeared from his consciousness. We see how a person, smart, progressively thinking, hardworking, turns into an ordinary person, into a “living dead man.” Chekhov's heroes, like Ionych, lose that humanity that nature endowed them with.

The story of A.P. is remarkable. Chekhov's "Gooseberry". The hero of the story is an official, a kind, meek person. The dream of his whole life was the desire to have a “homestead” with gooseberries. It seemed to him that this was enough for complete happiness. But Chekhov's idea of ​​real human happiness is different. “It is customary to say that a person needs only three arshins of land... A person needs not three arshins of land, not an estate, but the entire globe, all of nature, where in the open space he could demonstrate all the properties and characteristics of his free spirit,” wrote Chekhov. And now the hero’s dream came true, he acquired an estate, gooseberries grow in his garden. And we see that before us is no longer the former timid official, but “a real landowner, master.” He enjoys having achieved his goal. The more the hero is satisfied with his fate, the more terrible he is in his fall. And the hero’s brother cannot answer the question of what good needs to be done in order to get rid of vile possessive happiness.

The problem of human moral degradation is also raised in Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. This is a novel that tells the story of a young man, Dorian Gray. The “esthete” and cynic who despises morality, into whose mouth the author puts his own opinions about art and life, becomes Dorian’s spiritual “teacher”. Under the influence of Lord Henry, Dorian turns into an immoral playmaker and commits murder. Despite all this, his face remains young and beautiful. But the special portrait of Dorian, once painted by his friend the artist Hallward, reflected both the cruelty and immorality of the original. Wanting to destroy the portrait, Dorian plunges a knife into it - and kills himself. The portrait begins to shine with its former beauty, while the face of the dead Dorian reflects his spiritual degradation. The tragic denouement of the novel refutes the paradoxes of Lord Henry: immorality and soulless aesthetics turn out to be qualities that disfigure a person and lead him to death.

Composition

In his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde highlights important issues related to the cultural, social and interpersonal aspects of human relationships. In particular, Oscar Wilde, through the artistic images he created, reveals the relationship between art and the inner world of man. For example, according to the artist Basil, art is a certain mirror of the human soul; it reflects the feeling, direction, as well as the moral qualities of a person. The artist seems to put a piece of his own soul into his work, and his creation testifies to the spiritual world of the people depicted.

But the future of any creation is determined not by the creator, but by the owner of this creation. Dorian laid the burden of all the dirt of his soul on his portrait. The painting bore this burden until the death of the owner, after which it returned to its original form. In close connection with this idea, the image of Lord Henry arises. He, too, was a kind of creator - the creator of Dorian's soul. His instrument was an erroneous philosophy, which captivated the young man’s mind with extraordinary novelty and mystery, but at the same time undermined from within an inexperienced heart not seduced by evil.

Lord Henry calmed the conscience of the protagonist, made him not particularly care about morality, and thus Dorian Gray began his fall into the abyss. It is likely that he still had the opportunity to stop his fall when, after the suicide of Sibyl Vane, he, with a great burden on his heart, reflects on his attitude towards the girl, which led to a tragic end. However, Lord Henry, terribly simplifying the tragedy of women's feelings, claims that by her death she only fulfilled her last role as an actress.

Step by step, Dorian Gray turns from a man who has a good and pure heart into an egoist and criminal, thereby destroying his own soul. Oscar Wilde emphasizes the idea that only conscience is capable of controlling a person’s life, his actions, and even if not correcting them, he can reproach them. A person lives as long as his conscience is alive, which only he himself can destroy. O. Wilde’s novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is unusual in that it resembles a realistic one, but is not so. This work is the embodiment of Wilde's aestheticism, his paradoxical thinking.

What is the novel about? First of all, about the connection between life and art and what beauty is. The writer tries to create an atmosphere of beauty, a feeling of beauty through the very manner of speaking. He constantly amazes the reader, turning out constant ideas and concepts. Each of the heroes is the embodiment of some aspect of art, beauty. Basil is the embodiment of service to art, Lord Henry is the embodiment of the philosophy of pleasure, and Dorian is a man who has decided to make his life as beautiful as art itself. But the paradox is that, declaring beauty as the essence of life, the heroes commit actions that cannot be considered beautiful. The clearest example is Lord Henry, who with cold cynicism twists even moral truths simply for the sake of mind games.

This is how Wilde reveals the idea that art has nothing to do with truth and morality. The writer shows where a passion for an intellectual game, which has no goal other than the game itself, can lead. After all, Lord Henry's goal is not truth and beauty, but the assertion of his own personality. Wilde showed the power of a beautiful word and the beauty of a refined thought. But at the same time, the writer demonstrated that there is an area for which paradox is death. This is the area of ​​morality. There are moral foundations on which humanity rests, and the paradox is inappropriate here, since it destroys them, makes good and evil relative. And this is unacceptable. This is exactly what the work of art tells about - the portrait of Dorian Gray. The portrait gives a moral assessment of the hero, i.e. does not remain indifferent to morality. When Dorian throws himself at the portrait with a knife, he kills himself, but the portrait remains beautiful again, returning the flaws to Dorian.

What do Wilde's paradoxes indicate? Maybe about the fact that people are ugly, but art is always beautiful? Or maybe that the beauty of art requires atonement for human sins, since morality and beauty are in harmony?

Other works on this work

A book that made a lasting impression on me Characteristics of the image of Dorian Gray Philosophical and aesthetic problems of Oscar Wilde’s novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

The mystical and philosophical novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” will seduce everyone who has at least once in their thoughts or out loud wished to preserve their youth and beauty. But Oscar Wilde had no intention of sharing the secret of immortality; the author reflected in the work his own view of human morality, love and a world ruled by the desire for pleasure.

The plot is built around a young man who has natural, sensual beauty. The young sitter poses for his friend, the artist Basil Hallward. In Basil's workshop, Dorian meets Henry Wotton, a man who subsequently poisons the young man's mind with his sophistic speeches and cynical views. Henry expresses regret that beauty is not eternal, and youth, in his opinion, is the only wealth worth cherishing. Well, the portrait of a wonderful hedonist is complete. The handsome man is delighted with his reflection, transferred to the canvas, but bitterness crept into his soul, caused by the words of a new acquaintance. The young man understands that time will take away the beauty and freshness of his face, and he will turn into a wrinkled old man with an ugly figure. In excitement, he exclaims: “If only I always remained young, and this portrait grew old! For this... for this I would give everything in the world! I wouldn't regret anything! I would be ready to give my soul for this.” From this moment on, the description of the book “Dorian Gray” takes on dark tones: the main character transforms into a perverted egoist, transferring all the consequences of his lifestyle to the picture. She grows old instead of him.

His wish comes true. A man throws himself into the pool of vice, torturing his soul and body with pleasures and amusements. For many years, the hero remains young, and his portrait takes on all his sins and crimes, becoming repulsive. He destroys the lovely girl Sibyl Vane, breaking her heart. He kills his devoted friend Basil, who was very attached to the young man and loved him. And in the finale, a distraught Dorian thrusts a knife into the ill-fated image, wanting to put an end to the past and find peace. But this way he only finds his own death.

History of creation

Oscar Wilde made a bet with his friend that he would write a novel that would drive all of London crazy. "Dorian Gray" was written in the shortest possible time, in a single impulse of creative will. The writer won the argument, but paid for his victory: he was tried for corrupting English morals. As a result, he received a real prison sentence.

The novel has a real basis behind it. Oscar Wilde actually had a friend, Basil, who was a talented artist. One day in his workshop the writer saw a very handsome young man. Wilde was delighted with the sitter’s charming appearance and noted with bitterness that this beauty could not escape old age with its ugliness. But the artist was ready to paint an image of the handsome man every year, so that aging and fading would be reflected only on the canvas.

“Portrait…” is the only published novel that brought its creator success and almost scandalous fame. It was first published in July 1890 in the American Lippincott's Monthly Magazine. Subsequently, in 1891, the book was published in a separate edition with six new chapters and a special preface, which became a manifesto of aestheticism.

Genre

“The Picture of Dorian Gray” can be classified as an intellectual novel. In the work, the characters and the narrator are subject to introspection, comprehension of their actions and surroundings. Their conversations go beyond the plot, representing a debate of certain philosophical views. The book raises the most important aesthetic, moral and “eternal” problems.

Based on the time of creation and style, the work can be attributed to a Victorian novel. This is how English prose was called during the reign of Queen Victoria - an era of calm, puritanism and hypocrisy. Its author gracefully ridicules Lord Henry in his remarks.

The definition of “allegorical parable” is also applicable to the book. The events taking place in it should not be taken literally. The heroes are not people, they represent philosophical views, magical pictures - vicious temptation, death and love - trials, copper pipes that open the veil over human nature.

The direction of the author's creative thought is at the junction between romantic, fantastic and realistic principles. Thus, the book reveals an element of fantasy (the magical power of the portrait), the psychological and social components of realism and the romantic type of the main character.

Main characters

1. Dorian Gray is a naive and beautiful young man who turned into a depraved and insensitive egoist under the influence of Lord Henry. He is a nobleman, a descendant of a noble family. His soul eagerly sought a mentor in the secular world that was new to him. Having chosen a sophisticated and vicious example to follow, the hero, being weak-willed and driven, rushes to try out all the cynical advice of his senior comrade. From the very beginning it is clear that he is a sensual but cowardly self-lover, because the thought of losing his own beauty (the only difference from other men in his circle) enslaves his mind, which has not yet had time to develop. He easily betrays his love for other people, this speaks of the pettiness of his nature and the stinginess of his heart. Using his example, the author draws a parallel between internal and external wealth, which are not at all identical to each other. The writer has already embodied the image of Dorian Gray in the fairy tale “Boy Star”. Wilde turns that hero into a freak, not giving him the opportunity to hide the ugliness. Therefore, he quickly transforms into a good and highly moral young man, aware of his guilt. However, the novel is not a fairy-tale parable; in it, the creator truthfully told about what awaits the arrogant and self-obsessed character.
2. Lord Henry is a wealthy and refined nobleman, well accepted in high society. His sarcastic remarks and casuistic worldview (he professes hedonism) are liked by the people around him, who enjoy his wit. Every second quote of his is an aphorism. However, he himself never follows his bold thought. He admonishes, cunningly, gradually corrupts Dorian’s soul, but he himself does nothing of the kind. His image is traditionally compared to the archetype of the devil in literature. Wotton is like Mephistopheles from Goethe's Faust: he only guides a person, skillfully shuffling hedonistic ideas, subtle humor and arrogant cynicism. The spirit of depravity emanating from this hero is attractive. He has sophistication and sublimity, but this is only external beauty, which, like the beauty of his face, is only a fragile veil of a rotten sinful essence.
3. Sibyl Vane - Dorian's lover, actress. The girl of rare beauty was also very talented. She amazed Gray with her talent. He loved her for him, because the artist could never get bored: she transformed into different images every day. The real Sybil was ready to sacrifice her career, success, creativity itself for the sake of love, and, feeling this, the young man quickly became fed up with adoration. He liked the stage, far-fetched lady of his heart, as free and incomprehensible as himself. But the young woman was only kind, dreamy, naive and vulnerable. Therefore, the first disappointment in people made her commit suicide. Neither her mother nor her brother were able to disabuse her of her rosy hopes in time.
4. Basil Hallward is a painter, a friend of Dorian and Lord Henry, who introduces them. It was he who painted the fatal portrait. The artist sincerely admired the sitter and his beauty, and it was he who sensitively perceived the changes that had occurred in the young man. He saw the emerging depravity in him and sounded the alarm, but Gray only distanced himself from him in response. Basil was a humanist and moralist, his moral principles contrast with Henry's refined immorality, and therefore irritate the protagonist. Hallward values ​​solitude, loves to reflect and philosophize, and is the bearer of the author's point of view in the novel. His sitter blames him for his fall, and then kills him, wanting to break the spell. Little does he know that his friend has been desperately trying to prevent his corruption all this time.
5. James Vane is Sybil's brother, a sailor. A sane and strong-willed young man. From the very beginning, he is skeptical of the rich nobleman's intentions regarding his sister. The man is accustomed to relying on himself in everything, and not looking for easy ways to the top, so he warns his mother against trusting too much in a stranger from the nobility. He is a typical representative of the Victorian era, his social prejudices are unshakable. When Vane learns of the death of his deceived sister, a desperate desire to take revenge on the heartless rich man awakens in his heart. Since then, the sailor, firm in his convictions and purposeful, has been chasing the offender, but meets his death before he can present it to Gray.

The meaning of the book

Wilde's novel is as multifaceted as the creative embodiment of his plan is multifaceted. The meaning of The Picture of Dorian Gray is to show us the superiority of the internal content of the human personality over the external. No matter how beautiful the face, it cannot replace the beautiful impulses of the soul. The ugliness of thought and heart still mortifies the flesh and makes the beauty of forms lifeless and artificial. Even eternal youth will not bring happiness to the ugly.

The author also proves to the reader that art is eternal. The Creator paid for his love and devotion to ideals, but his creation is alive and beautiful. The portrait shows a charming young man in the prime of enchanting youth and beauty. And a person who devotes himself to the cult of pleasure, in love only with himself and his desires, is dead. His appearance is alive in a picture, alive in art, and the only way to preserve a moment for centuries is to depict it in all its glory.

The preface to the novel consists of 25 aphorisms that proclaim the author’s aesthetic ideals. Here are some of them: “The artist is the creator of beauty”, “To reveal oneself and hide the creator - this is what art craves”, “The chosen ones are those for whom beauty means only one thing - Beauty.” “Vices and virtues for the creator are the material of art.” “The ethical preferences of the creator lead to mannerism of style.” Although Oscar Wilde was a supporter of the theory of aestheticism, the work clearly outlines the danger of separating ethical and aesthetic principles. Service leads to death, as it happened to the hero of the novel. To feel and enjoy beauty, and at the same time preserve your face and virtue, you must always observe moral standards and not drive yourself to fanaticism, even if you have eternal life in stock.

Morality

Of course, the most important moral law of existence is not to elevate what is visible to the status of the only significant thing. If a person is beautiful, this does not mean that his soul corresponds to his shell. On the contrary, many handsome people are selfish and stupid, but society continues to value them higher than people gifted with genuine virtues. This misguided worship leads to absurd cults of heartless and empty dummies, while truly wonderful individuals remain misunderstood. Carnival falsehood, hypocritical adherence to decency and generally accepted attitudes constituted the immutable law of the Victorian era, in which the smart, brave and original writer Oscar Wilde did not fit in.

The worship of love destroyed Sibylla Vane, love for beauty and admiration for it as art led the artist Hallward to the house where he met his end. The main character, who plunged into a vicious world of pleasures, fell by his own hand. The moral of The Picture of Dorian Gray is that any absolute worship carries with it danger. You can love, create, enjoy, but at the same time leave room for a sober understanding of your actions. The characters are subject to impulsiveness, this is their misfortune: Sybil, after a breakup, commits suicide, Dorian, with triumphant malice, throws himself at the painting with a knife. And they all became victims of their ideals - such is the price of blindness. Within reasonable limits, cynicism helps people avoid making such mistakes; this is what the author teaches by portraying Lord Henry.

Issues

The novel reveals the problem of “beautiful” and “ugly”. These two extremes are needed to understand the integrity of this world. The “beautiful” includes the tragic and pure love of the actress Sibyl, Basil’s sincere affection for the young man and, of course, the main character himself, as the embodiment of true earthly beauty. The “ugly” is carried within his soul; with every vice and crime it smolders, rots, losing sensitivity and the ability to compassion. And all these metamorphoses are taken over by the mysterious canvas, turning the person depicted on it into an ugly, vicious creature. But society is blind to the fine lines between beauty and ugliness; it fixes only the external attributes of a person, completely forgetting about the internal ones. Everyone knows about Dorian’s tricks, but this doesn’t stop them loving and respecting him. Some people are only cowardly afraid of losing their ostentatious virtue, so they do not officially accept it. In these circumstances, along with the promiscuity of people, there is their hypocrisy and cowardice - problems that are no less important.

The portrait of Dorian Gray is a reflection of his soul and conscience. It in no way controls the life of its owner, does not punish him, but only silently reflects all the baseness and immorality of the young man. Virtue is desecrated, real feelings have given way to hypocrisy. The handsome man succumbed to temptation, and only his image will show the retribution for this temptation. There is a problem of impunity for a person from high society: he leads not only an immoral, but also an illegal lifestyle, and no one stops him. Of course, he is from the nobility, and, therefore, has the right to disregard the law until his behavior becomes known to the general public. Only then will everyone pretend that they are shocked by the news, but previously did not suspect anything like this. Thus, the author touches on social and political issues, criticizing Victorian England for turning a blind eye to the crimes of its elite.

Subject

The most interesting topic for the writer was the topic of art. He talked about him in the dialogues of the main characters, and dedicated the ending of the novel to him, where the man died, and his portrait remained an eternal memory of him. The invisible power of a painting is an indicator that the most significant thing created by people is art; it overshadows and outlives its creator, perpetuating his name and skill. This is what makes him truly attractive. Dorian admired Basil's creative genius, Sybil's extraordinary talent, and Henry's oratorical power. His unspoiled soul was drawn to the light of the creative principle, and turned away from it, taking licentiousness and baseness as life guidelines.

In addition, the theme of the work can be called a dramatic collision of the ideas of hedonism (an ethical doctrine where pleasure is the highest good and goal of life) and aestheticism (a movement in European literature and art, which was based on the predominance of aesthetic values ​​- the worship of fine art). Basil Hallward was in love with beauty; art and beauty were inseparable for him. Art is beauty. He sought to immortalize her features with the help of his brush and exceptional talent. But the worship of beauty destroyed the artist; his love and devotion to beauty were trampled by the madness of a corrupt soul. The hero chose the path of pleasure, in the center of which he was himself. He reveled in his impunity and moral decline, because no one could deprive him of his wealth - eternal youth. This lifestyle does not lead to true happiness, but only creates the illusion of it. Dorian in the end begins to regret the lost innocence, the former purity of his soul, but it is too late; sincere feelings, compassion, true love forever lost their meaning for him.

Criticism

The writer's contemporaries vehemently took up arms against Dorian Gray for ridiculing the prim Puritan society of that period. In addition, Wilde vividly described the immoral behavior of the main character, which was indecent to see even on the pages of a book. In the secret adventures of the socialite, especially virtuous readers saw the propaganda of a hedonistic position and vicious leisure. The enlightened and discerning public did not notice the elegantly hidden condemnation, because no one canceled the competition in ostentatious piety.

The writer was even convicted for violating morality, and to a real prison term. Although his speech at the defense caused a sensation among sensible people, it failed to convince everyone else. However, later this work was appreciated, and today it is one of the most significant not only in English, but also in world literature.

Interesting? Save it on your wall!

Problems of the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

The conflict between art and the inner world of man in the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

The Picture of Dorian Gray is an exceptional work by Oscar Wilde that has left an indelible mark on literature. It is bold, new and fresh, so much so that it won the hearts of many and made them think deeply about the value of their own lives. From the first lines of the preface, one can determine the conflict between the inner world of man and art. The author had the audacity to declare: “Art is a mirror that reflects the one who looks into it, and not life at all.” Quite sharply, the aphorism rhymes with Gogol’s “There is no need to blame the mirror if your face is crooked.”

The artist Basil claims that art is a mirror of the soul; it can reflect not only feelings, but also the moral qualities of a person. The problem of “beautiful” and “ugly” formed the basis of the work and became its leitmotif. Indeed, there is not a single deformity of the soul that would not be reflected on the face and body.

All human meanness and actions do not pass without leaving a mark on the nervous system and lie like a mask on the face, which becomes more difficult to wear every day. Virtuoso of words Oscar Wilde decided to create an ideal image on the outside, but rotten and rotten on the inside - Dorian Gray. All the deformities of the soul of the central character were displayed in the portrait, while Dorian himself retained his angelic appearance and was an example to follow in society.

This factor testifies to the incredible deafness and blindness of society and the upper circle to flattery, meanness and rabble. Only the cynic and skeptic Lord Henry did not have a veil in his eyes, who, like a perspicacious surgeon, saw Dorian’s “brain tumor” as if on an x-ray. He laid bare his ideas: why care about manifestations of conscience if, as usual, there is no place for it in a rotten soul saturated with a lack of moral principles?

Henry always went for broke and knew how to take risks: he was responsible for the words he spoke, but was not responsible for how his thoughts would affect the life of the environment in which Dorian was included. Thus, Gray was given a “sentence”, and he began his rapid fall into the abyss.

When the artist created a portrait, it was as if he had put a piece of himself into the work of his entire life, which is why this creation testifies to the spiritual values ​​of a person. However, the future of the fruit of art, as the author already warned us in the preface, is determined not by the creator himself, but directly by the owner of the creation. Dorian placed a burden of dirt in his soul, and the portrait acted as a litmus test of his choice. That is why the picture that haunted Gray carried this severe burden until the death of the character and only after his physical death it regained its original form.

Henry acted as a kind of creator of Dorian’s soul, his tool was an erroneous philosophy that captivated the mind of the young fool Gray with revolutionary ideas and innovation and at the same time sawed off the inexperienced heart from within with the temptations of evil. Henry justified Gray's actions by exonerating his conscience. As a result, the hero rose into the sky in thoughts of his own infallibility and the ability to justify any action. Henry was the lawyer of Gray's soul, and he could no longer stop his own moral decline. Even for the murder of Sibyl Vane, Lord Henry found an excuse: simplifying the structure of a woman’s soul and the tragedy of feelings to the point of madness, he says that her death was the last role of a worthless actress.

Thus, Gray transforms into a criminal and an egoist, destroying his own soul. The author more than once emphasizes in the work that only conscience can control a person’s life. She reproaches actions. Moreover, a person is alive as long as his conscience is alive. Dorian himself destroyed it, and it turned into an atavism. His mental death took place long before his physical one.