在小说《道林·格雷的画像》中探索奥斯卡·王尔德

1、AcknowledgementsFirst of all, I owe my earnest gratitude to my tutor, Ms. Du Manli for her insightful lectures, unstinting criticisms and valuable guidance. And I should express my thanks to her for being critical and demanding and yet caring and supportive, which therefore helps broaden and enrich

2、my knowledge in the course of academic paper writing.Secondly, special thanks will also go to the other teachers who taught me during my four years of college life.Last but not least, I am indebted to all my friends and classmates who constantly offer their concern, expectation and suggestion to me.

3、AbstractThe Picture of Dorian Gray is Wildes only novel, which tells a story about how a beautiful young man named Dorian Gray sells his soul and seeks for eternal youth and unlimited pleasure, and finally buries himself in sins. And it has been under dispute and controversy since it was published.

4、In some degree, this novel seems like a wonderful illustration of Oscar Wildes contradictive characters. Dorian, Henry and Basil are the three main characters, actually reflect the three levels of Wildes personality- the id, the ego and the superego. This thesis is mainly to discuss the truthful ref

5、lection of the contradictory triple personalities of Oscar Wilde through the image of three characters in this novel. This novel is not an autobiography but more than since it was in the criticism, and finally won a positive evaluation is not only for its beautiful languages, attractive plots and pr

6、ofound implication, but also for its reflection of Wildes true personality.Key Words: Oscar Wilder; The Picture of Dorian Gray; id; ego; superego摘要道林格雷的画像是奥斯卡王尔德唯一一部小说，讲述的是一位美少年道林格雷为永葆青春，贪图享乐，出卖了自己的灵魂，而最终走向毁灭的故事，该小说从问世以来一直饱受争议。从某种意义上来说，这部小说像是王尔德人格的最佳写照。道林格雷、巴西尔和亨利是小说中的三个主人公，也正是王尔德的三重人格本我、自我和超我的体现。本文

7、所要探讨的正是体现在这三个主要人物身上的王尔德本人矛盾而复杂的三重人格。这部不是自传而胜似自的小说之所以在饱受非议之后最终获得正面的评价，除了其优美的语言，巧妙的故事和深刻的寓意之外，更是因为反映了王尔德的真实人性。关键词：奥斯卡王尔德；道林格雷的画像；本我；自我；超我TOC o 1-3 h z uContentsTOC o 1-3 h z u 1. Introduction 11.1 The Introduction of Oscar Wilde 11.2 The Introduction of The Picture of Dorian Gray 22. Freuds Theory abo

8、ut the Id, Ego, and Superego 32.1 The Id 42.2 The Ego 42.3 The Superego 52.4 The Relations of the Id, Ego, and the Superego 53. Symbols of Oscar Wilders Triple Personalities 63.1 Lord Henry, the Id 63.2 Dorian Gray, the Representative of the Ego 83.3 Basil Hallward, the Symbol of the Superego 103.4

9、Wilds Personalities in Freuds Theory about the Id, Ego, and Superego 114. Conclusion 12Bibliography 13Exploring Oscar Wildes Triple Personalities in The picture ofDorian Gray1. IntroductionThe Picture of Dorian Gray is written by Oscar Wilde, which is only his novel. It has a great influence in Engl

10、ish literature since its publication. This novel is known by a good many of readers not only the fame of the author but its beautiful languages, attractive plots and profound implication.1.1 The Introduction of Oscar WildeOscar Wilde (16 October 1854- 30 November 1900) was born in Dublin and he also

11、 grew up there. Wildes parents were excellent intellectuals. So they had a great influence on Wildes life. In his early ages, he had a good command of both French and German. At university, first at Dublin, he majored in classical studies at Trinity College in which he got an excellent performance a

12、nd won the scholarship to Oxford. And then at Oxford, he was famous for the aestheticism under the influence of Walter Pater and John Ruskin, and both of them were his mentor. In addition, he played an important role in the late 19th century aesthetic movement in Britain, it was such a kind of movem

13、ent that advocated “art for arts sake”. To most people, he was:the Anglo-Irishman with Nationalist sympathies; the Protestant with life-long Catholic learning; the married homosexual; the musician of words and painter of language who confessed to Andre Gide that writing bored him; the artist astride

14、 not two but three cultures, and Anglo-Francophile and a Celt at heat.(Raby 88)What is more, Wilde has an great influence on English literature. He was also an outstanding writer in English literature, so he was good at writing in different forms during the 1880s. In addition, he was also one of the

15、 most famous dramatists in London in the early 1890s. He played an very important role in Aestheticism as a spokesman with many talents. All of the evidences showed that he was a charming conversationalist. A famous write, Yeats once said, “I never before heard a man talking with perfect sentences,

16、as if he had written them all overnight with labor and yet all spontaneous.”(Wu 308) In addition to his witty speech, he also had the talent of acting which attracted many peoples attention. Wiled was fond of the bright-colored costumes that were the same as dandies in early 1800s, so this kind of b

17、ehavior was also a distinctive contrast to the old-fashioned clothes of the late Victorian middle class at that time. As a poet, he was deeply influenced by many English poets, such as Browning, Swinburne and Rossetti, those people who made him feel hard to show his talent in this period. Unluckily,

18、 in the spring of 1895, he was arrested into prison because the homosexuality. And he was sentenced to jail for two years. What is worse, the success of him also has been collapsed with negative effect. He never yielded to the bad things, although he was in prison, he still continued to writing book

19、s during the two years. So there were two famous books that were published in succession because of his tireless efforts. As a writer, poet, and dramatist whose fame was in view of The Picture of Dorian Gray, his only novel. And he has a good many of masterpieces, such as Lady Windermeres Fan and Th

20、e Importance of Being Earnest. His fairy tale can be called Andersens. More importantly, Wilde is one of the most influential writers in the nineteenth century in English literature.1.2 The Introduction of The Picture of Dorian GrayThe Picture of Dorian Gray, which had created a sensation when it wa

21、s published in 1891. Although the appearance of this novel with controversy and arguments, it has got the favor from innumerable readers with its high artistic value and thought-provoking ending. In order to reveal the hidden nature desire of human, the novel had existed for a long time. Because of

22、the gorgeous rhetoric, dead image and heavy plot were used in the novel. It is a strikingly bizarre story that a handsome young man and his selfish pursuit of sensual pleasures. Dorian Gray, a ruddy, handsome and innocent man. So Dorians innocence could be seen from Lord Henrys words: “The only way

23、to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.”(Wilde 18)Dorian was shocked when he found his amazing appearance after he saw his own p

24、ortrait that was drew by Basil Hallward who was fond of painting. Lord Henry, a friend of the artist, who gave a highly praise the beauty of the portrait and the beauty of Dorian. He also told Dorian that ones beauty is hard to stay forever, so it is vital for us to enjoy the sweet of life while one

25、 is young. Suddenly, Dorian hoped that he can always retain his youthful vitality, and then he prayed for that the portrait can take place of him to become old and ugly. It means that if it was Dorian who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old. For that, he is willing to give e

26、verything that includes his soul. Since Lord Henry entered his life, Dorian was deeply impressed by the sort of shocked humor and funny words of Lord Henry, besides he was regarded as a spiritual mentor of Dorian. With the guidance of Lord Henry, Dorian led a corrupted life. Similarly, he started to

27、 become egoistic. Whats more, his behaviors became very dissolute.Once Dorian fell in love with a beautiful actress, whose name is Sibyl Vane. And she also loved Dorian deeply. However, she made a bad performance in a play because she had understood the real meaning of the true love. Therefore, she

28、was abandoned relentlessly by Dorian because of the bad performance which was considered as lack of artistic infectivity. At last, Sibyl committed suicide. But Dorian recovered from the pain quickly rather than do something to confess and expiate his guilt.However, the degenerate of Dorian in his li

29、fe that made his friend, Basill felt very sad and depressed. Under this situation, Basil tried his best to persuade Dorian to do the right thing, but he flatly refused. Unfortunately, it is such a kind person that was killed pitilessly by Dorian. But who would have thought it would come true, at lea

30、st, the miracle happened on him. The portrait had filled in stigma of time, which suffered from the vicissitudes of life. Even worse, it also had left the markers of Dorians degenerate soul. In the same time, the portrait of Dorian was becoming increasingly ugly. Without the limitation of years and

31、the lapse of time, so he was tired of his life, therefore, he was also desirous to turn over a new leaf. But the portrait frequently reminded him of thinking of his own crime. At least, under the mental torture, he decided to stab the portrait with a knife. He, however, was lying in a pool of blood,

32、 the portrait of himself became radiant. On the contrary, he became more and more ugly.2. Freuds Theory about the Id, Ego, and SuperegoFrauds psychoanalysis theory holds that a persons personality is composed of id, ego and superego. Later, Freud distinguished three new levels to clarify the divisio

33、n between theconscious and unconscious: “id, ego, and superego.” He maintained that these levels put forward a more compelling description of the dynamic relations between the conscious and the unconscious. The id means fully unconscious which includes the drives and those things repressed by consci

34、ousness; the ego means mostly conscious which handles these things with external reality; and the superego means a partly conscious which is the conscience or the internal moral judge.2.1 The IdThe id operates is according to the pleasure principle. It is our instinct, “ a chaos, a cauldron of seeth

35、ing excitement with no organization and no unified will, only an impulsion to obtain satisfaction for the instinctual needs, in accordance with the pleasure principle”.(Fraud 103-104) It refers to the utmost primitive state and includes the basic desire, impulse and vitality for survival. The id is

36、the source of all the energy of our heart and the behaviors in accordance with the principles of pleasure. And its sole requirement is to be happy, moreover, is to avoid suffering. There is no doubt that it never attaches importance to social morality or external codeof conduct. The goal of the id i

37、s to obtain the comfort, survival and reproduction of individuality, which is unconscious and unobserved.2.2 The EgoThe ego is ruled by the reality principle. And it is a part of personality that is to need to handle with reality. The ego, on the one hand, is the personality of our heart, which is a

38、lso between the id and the outside world. Freud said, “In popular language, we may see that the ego stands for reason and circumspection, while the id stands for untamed passions.”(Fraud 104-105) In addition, the action of the ego is to ensure that the requirements of the id with effective and appro

39、priate ways that are satisfied. On the other hand, the ego plays an important role in personality. So its function is to let us have good ability to meet the real world in order to restrain the id. What is more, the ego will regulate and control the id in some degree for the sake of responding to th

40、e external world. More importantly, the ego ideal is a component of the superego, which is the symbol of rules and the standards of good behaviors. According to Fraud, the ego idea was considered as the image of our idea selves, it also means that what kind of person that we want to be.2.3 The Super

41、egoThe superego is driven by the moral principle. According to Frauds theory of psychosexual development, as we all known, the superego belongs to the last component. Freud once illustrated in The Anatomy of the Mental Personality that is the “representative of all moral restrictions, the advocate o

42、f the impulse towards perfection, in short it is as much as we have been able to apprehend psychologically of what people call the higher things in human life.”(Guerin 130-131) The superego is the ideal part of personality structure,which is formed by the internalization of moral standards, internal

43、ization of social and cultural environmental values in the process ofgrowth. The major function of the superego is to supervise, criticize and control the behaviors of us. At the same time,the main distinguishing feature of the superego is pursuit of perfection, so it is as not realistic as the id i

44、s. In a way, the superego is also unconscious. Therefore, the superego askes the ego to satisfy the id in that way that is acceptable by the society.The superego also has been classified two sections: the ego-ideal and the conscience. The ego-ideal stands for ones good behavior, while the conscience

45、 is the standards of ones inner world, which can tell us whether we have done something wrong or not. Actually, it depends on the activation of the ego-ideal or conscience,so the superego can be called the feelings of pride and satisfaction and the feelings of shame and guilt.2.4 The Relations of th

46、e Id, Ego, and the SuperegoAbout the relationship between the id and ego, there was a metaphor could be gave by Fraud. He said that the id just like a horse, while the ego the coachman, who decided the direction towards which the horse went. The coachman took the responsibility of diving the horse,

47、yet the horse might not follow the order, then the fought of each other till one of them gave in.The relationship of the id, the ego and the superego are not static, but in conflict from beginning to end, which is also a coordinated and paradoxical movement. The id is an essential motivity, which is

48、 used to seek for ones own existence and the satisfaction of the instinctive desire. While the behavior of the superego is based on the supervision or control of ones moral standards in order to ensure normal interpersonal relationships. The ego, however, not only reflects the desire of the id and a

49、lso finds a way to satisfy the desire of the ego. At the same time, it also reflects the objective facts, analyses the realistic conditions and the circumstances of self in order to promote the coordination of the internal personality and ensure the external interaction activities go on smoothly. Un

50、der this circumstance, once this kind of balance has been destroyed, the psychological abnormality will be produced. There is no doubt that only by dealing with the relationship of the id, the reality and the superego, the mentality will be unable to be abnormal.3. Symbols of Oscar Wilders Triple Pe

51、rsonalitiesIn the novel, the three main characters of The Picture of Dorian Gray was stated by Wilde in different ways from different angles, which also is the reflection of himself: “Basil Hallward is what I think I am; Lord Henry is what the world thinks me; Dorian is what I would like to be in ot

52、her ages, perhaps.”(Lauren 397) In this sentence, it is reasonable to say that, in a way, Dorian is the symbol of Wilde, Basil the superego, and Henry his ego.3.1 Lord Henry, the IdAccording to the story of this novel, it is not difficult to see that Henry is one of the main characters in this novel

53、, definitely, and he also played an important role in the development of Dorians life. His personalities was very diversified, for instance, the pursuit of pleasure is one of his outstanding characters in his daily life. What is more, the statements and actions of Henry were beyond his own social at

54、tributes all the time, because he was just care about his own sense. At the same time, Henry was also being the state of degenerate. But he tried his best to lash out at the higher orders of aristocratic society with spiteful tongue and satirical words. There is no question that he was such a person

55、 who always had his own theory. The hedonism, and the thought of enjoying the sweets of life while he was young, which represented the impulse and the desire of the id. From the authors eyes, it is easy to see that Henry always followed the principles of pleasure in his life. There are some sentence

56、s can be listed: “I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good looks, my acquaintance for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects.”(Wilde 8) Typically, he tried his best to appease his most instinctive desire at all time and had nothing to fear th

57、e laws, moral principle and taboos. To make matters worse, the needs of Henrys life was even more antisocial. But if it is true, he also had a unique view of the society, so he not only helped intensify the strength of billows and waves, but also criticized the social system and expressed his dissat

58、isfaction to it. Bsides, the tendency of his thought that is a clear reflection of Wildes personality.First of all, Henry was such a man who always respected and promoted scientific knowledge, had an appetite for observation, and was fond of natural science. Meanwhile with the education that he had

59、received, he was good at choosing the angle, catching the question, reflecting actual life and analyzing the society through the different things as the occasion demands. This was closely related to social situation just at that moment, which has an deeply impact on Wildes creation. In the next place, he spared no efforts to advocate super moral, the specifications of social norms, the indulgence of community, and the tendenc