《道林·格雷的画像》中唯美主义与道德的冲突_英语论文

The Conflict between Aestheticism and Morality in The Picture of Dorian Gray

摘要

奥斯卡·王尔德是一位伟大且优秀的戏剧家，散文家，诗人和小说家。尽管一生短暂悲惨，但他在文学领域还是全身心地投入对于美的追求中。王尔德作品涉及众多领域：著名的戏剧《莎乐美》，《温德米尔夫人的扇子》；两本童话集《快乐王子及其它故事》和《石榴之家》；诗歌《斯芬克斯》，《瑞丁监狱之歌》等和其唯一一部小说《道林·格雷的画像》。奥斯卡·王尔德是维多利亚时代唯美主义运动的先锋以及“为艺术而艺术”运动的拥护者。同时也是英国文学史上最具有争议的人物之一。《道林·格雷的画像》是唯美主义理论的代表作品，但同时该小说也被控诉为“不道德”因为其充满罪恶的情节与享乐主义思想。王尔德推崇“艺术至上”和“生活模仿艺术”的唯美主义观点。他坚称艺术应当独立于现实之外，并且认为生活和自然模仿艺术而不是艺术模仿生活。在他的理念中，艺术与道德无关，艺术不应受到道德的束缚和政治的影响。自相矛盾的是，从小说中画像的变化以及他对罪恶的控告却显示出他对传统道德观念的尊崇。

关键词：王尔德；唯美主义；道德；冲突；《道林·格雷的画像》

Abstract

Oscar Wilde is an outstanding playwright, essayist, poet and novelist. Though he spent a terrible and miserable short life, he still put his heart and soul into the pursuit of the art beauty. His works cover a wide range: Salomé and Lady Windermere’s Fan are among his most famous dramas, two collections of fairy tales are The Happy Prince and Other Tales and A House of Pomegranates and poems like Sphinx and The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Among them, there is only one novel called The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde is the pioneer linked to aestheticism movement in Victorian era and the strong supporter of “art for art’s sake”. At the same time, he is also one of the most complicated characters in the history of English literature. The representation of aestheticism is depicted in The Picture of Dorian Gray. This novel, nevertheless, is accused of being “immoral” for its plots of evil and hedonism. Wilde promotes the aesthetic ideas of “The Supremacy of Art” and “Life Imitates Art”. He insists that art should be independent from reality and considers that life and nature imitate art instead of art imitates life. In his apprehension, art has nothing to do with morality, and also art should be free from the bondage of morality and political influence. Paradoxically, Wilde displays his adoration and worship to conventional morality by changes of the picture and his accusations against crimes in this novel. 

Key Words: Wilde; aestheticism; morality; conflict; The Picture of Dorian Gray 

Contents

1 Introduction..1

1.1 Oscar Wilde’s Personal Life.1

1.2 A Brief Introduction to The Picture of Dorian Gray...1

2 Literature Review and Purpose of the Research..3

3 Aestheticism and Wilde’s Aesthetic Views..5

3.1 The Background of Aestheticism..5

3.2 Wilde’s Aesthetic Views...6

4 Paradoxical Relations between Aestheticism and Morality.7

4.1 Relations between Art and Reality7

4.2 Relations between Art and Morality.8

Conclusion.10

References11