Essay on Picture of Dorian Gray The Character of Lord...

The Character of Lord Henry Wotten of The Picture of Dorian Gray The purpose of this essay is to explore the character of Lord Henry Wotten, from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde once said: I only know that Dorian Gray is a classic and deservedly. With this in mind, this essay is aimed at looking at how Lord Henry Wotton manipulates various conversations and how he effects the story with his challenging speeches, which is the reason The Picture of Dorian Gray is a classic. Henry is such a memorable, cleverly developed character, that his influence on the text elevates the novels value. In the conversations of Lord Henry Wotton and the behaviour of Dorian Gray [Wilde shows that] †¦.†¦show more content†¦Henrys bitter comments on her appearance are both humorous and outrageous. The reader gets a very quick realisation of Henrys vies on Lady Brandons character, and it is quite startling that Henry says something of that nature so early in the novel. A possible reason for this is that Wilde wanted the reader to get a sense of what Lord Henry is like early in the novel. He gives a further cynical view on marriage when he says, while in the company of Dorian Gray and Lady Narborough the The husbands of very beautiful women belong to the criminal classes. Lady Narborough responds with: Lord Henry, I am not at all surprised that the world says that you are extremely wicked. Because the novel has progressed so far with the plot and character development by this point, the reader has a clear view on why Lady Narboroughs comments and opinion are what they are. Further into the above conversation, Henry says: You will never marry again, Lady Narborough. You were far too happy. When a woman marries again it is because she detested her first husband. When a man marries again, it is because he adored his first wife. Women try their luck; men risk theirs. This is a typical Henry view of marriage, as it criticises the very reasons behind getting married in the first place. Henry likes to criticise practices that are considered normal in Victorian society, and marriage is a good outlet to bring his pessimistic views