Compare
and contrast the presentation of narcissism in Oscar Wilde's The
Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)
and Iain Banks' The
Wasp Factory (1984)
through the protagonists.
Both The
Picture of Dorian Gray and The
Wasp Factory have plots that centre on
protagonists
that are the author in disguise. Oscar Wilde puts forward three
personas of himself: 'Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord
Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be- in
other ages, perhaps.'(1) Three separate characters with differing
ideologies and interchanging story arcs are presented;
themes such as power and self-indulgence run deep between the
characters. Power, not political power or the power to move an object
but the kind of power that one intelligent, unrighteous monster might
exercise over another, lesser, more unsuspecting prey. The soul and
the mind are indulged until an ego can grow large and consume more
than it has the right to consume. There are clear similarities
between the characters that Oscar Wilde presents and Iain Bank's
Frank Cauldhame - a deeply troubled young adult representing the
author's own narcissistic tendencies. I will expand on ideas of
hedonism (the pursuit to minimise pain while maximising pleasure and
self-indulgence) and animalism (behaving with the characteristics of
an animal, especially physically and instinctively), then explore
their relationship with the author. Aesthetics shall be cast in a
looking glass, jealousy brought to light, ego shall take the stage
and be exposed as the ravenous property of desperate men creating
fictional characters to fight the outside world, while the authors
fight internal wars over their own character. This
is the exploration of how the most formidable of character traits can
be the most self-destructive. The following is a brief study of some
of the more poignant aspects of narcissism, observed in one of the
greatest writers of the late nineteenth century through Oscar Wilde's
Magnum Opus and one of the best writers of the late twentieth
century, Iain Banks through one of his crowning achievements.
Both
The Picture of Dorian Gray and
The Wasp Factory
pertain to overwhelming self-obsession among the protagonists. It is
my belief that this is what makes the characters and the books not
only so popular but so relatable in this modern age. During the very
early stages of the book, the character Dorian Gray is confronted
with the beautiful portrait of himself and observes 'How sad it is!
I shall grow old, and horrible and dreadful. But this picture will
remain always young.'(p24) It is a stark parable with the Greek
story of Narcissus, the man who fell madly in love with his own
reflection. Just like Narcissus, Dorian Gray's 'cheeks flushed
for a moment with pleasure' (p23) upon recognising himself.
However, Dorian in the second instant is confronted with the reality
that he cannot stay this beautiful for eternity. He becomes
judiciously aware that upon even an instant passing, that he has
grown less than the picture and becomes insanely jealous of it.
Dorian is terrified of the prospect of losing his beauty, it is
apparent in the use of adjectives in this section; 'old',
'horrible', 'dreadful' is Dorian's lamenting appreciation
of him.
Dorian is so self-obsessed that even a picture of himself that 'will
remain always young' is enough for him to throw away all eternity.
To maintain his youthful appearance is his desire and he admits 'I
would give my soul for that'(p24). This nature of adoring and
adhering to the pleasure of aesthetics was as much a focal point of
personality for Dorian Gray as it was for Oscar Wilde. 'There is no
such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or
badly written. That is all' (p1) Here Wilde asserts the philosophy
that when it comes to art, moral judgement is irrelevant and social
and political boundaries should not only be crossed but ignored
altogether in the pursuit of creating beauty. However, this martyrdom
of the soul-sacrificing inner peace for an ideal- is
what lead to the character Dorian Gray's and the author's demise.
Both the character and the author have homosexual tendencies, this
would have been ill-advised in society at the time. There is still
some debate over the extent of Wilde's homosexuality, the book's
depiction of love between a man and woman is very genuine and is
written as if the author knew the love of a woman well, not to
mention he fathered two children. If his faith in hedonism were to be
believed then he would have looked at the homosexual tendencies of
the ancient Greeks to which had such a heavy influence on his
reading(7), the Greeks being proprietors of homosexual activity
(especially with children). Wilde would have seen homosexuality as
not only appealing but a vital part of his self-indulgent
countenance. However, especially when looking at the author's
narcissism, it is important to note the possibility that his
homosexual indulgencies could have come from his incessant demand for
love, self-indulgence and intense experiences, it is possinle that
Wilde wanted love and he didn't care where or who it came from.
During the time period the country was deeply Christian and neither
the protestant nor
catholic faith was accepting of homosexuality, the least in a married
man. This leaves the character a social shadow and the author being
put in prison in reality. It was as if Oscar Wilde predicted and
orchestrated his own demise.
This compares to
Frank Cauldhame's character in the Wasp
Factory in his belief that the world has an
ego and is warring against him 'the outward urge consumed him, as
it does any real man, and it took him away from me, to the outside
world'(p182). This passage comes towards the end of the book, in
one of several moments of reflection; the
way in which someone self-obsessed would believe that his story is of
great importance and needs to be relayed. It is imperative for Frank
to make the reader understand why he has the feelings that he does
towards his brother. The author uses the personal pronoun 'me',
putting himself at the focal point of, not just the line, but the
lives of the people around him. He is scornful of 'outward urges',
an invader, a foreigner to himself and his brother Eric, taking what
he considers to be rightfully his. Hateful towards the things that he
has no control over. This is a characteristic that Iain Banks has
professed in himself 'I am a deeply selfish man, being nice to the
world is just my way of making up for it' (2). It is not just Iain
Bank's admission of his own selfishness that relates directly to
this quote here; it is the explanation of the quote that is
reminiscent of the character Frank. Iain Banks, though the interview
was thirty years later, still has the self-confessed narcissistic and
self-obsessed need to make people understand why he has done a
certain thing and why he has thought or acted a certain way. It is
his and the character's mode of justifying his morals to relieve
himself of responsibility. Interestingly, this is a writhe contrast
between Iain Banks and Oscar Wilde. Where Iain Banks would contradict
himself and
prove himself pragmatic or even conceited without articulate thought,
Oscar Wilde would have stuck to his ravenous ideology, his aesthetics
,hedonism
and bent the world to make sense in accordance to what he believes;
'I have a loaded revolver and I will shoot you'(3).
The craving of power
is vitally important when discussing narcissism. In The
Picture of Dorian Gray power is often
represented by the manipulation of people. It is most prominent in
the power that Lord Henry Wotton's character exercises over the
character of Dorian Gray. The potential for this kind of behaviour,
Basil Hallward forewarns Henry Wooton even before Dorian Gray is
introduced, 'Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him'(p15),
Basil Hallward warns his friend Lord Henry Wotton.
It is clear from the outset of the book that Basil and Henry are
friends and have been for a considerable amount of time. However,
Basil has a negative view of Henry and the 'influence' that he
has on people. Basil reveres Lord Henry's ability for manipulation
so decidedly that he uses the verb spoil; suggesting Dorian were a
ripe and sweet piece of fruit. This is not the only time that Dorian
is referred to as a piece of fruit by Basil, he also describes his as
'made out of ivory and rose leaves'(p6) connoting the image of an
apple. Basil is not only suggesting that Dorian is sweet but that he
is unblemished, unbruised but conjuring slightly darker tones as an
apple is often devoured. Perhaps it was Basil Hallward's intention
to devour Dorian and it was never part of his plan for Lord Henry to
be the man to 'spoil' Dorian. Or perhaps Wilde is making a
broader point about youth and its inevitability to be either bruised
or eaten. Basil's warning to Lord Henry makes the reader instantly
mistrustful of Lord Henry, worried but no doubt curious of his power,
just like Dorian. It
is interesting that Oscar Wilde would create a character as reserved
as Basil Hallward, 'I really can't exhibit it. I have put too
much of myself into it'(6), a character that would go to great
lengths to avoid an 'exhibit' of his inner self to esteem a
relationship with a deceiver. He prizes his gentle, genial nature and
yet he is eternally wound with Henry, a man that would seek to
'influence' and 'spoil'. Oscar Wilde was alluding to the
nature and importance of hedonism and animalism. In Oscar Wilde's
ideological mind and life, even if he were the most delicate and
fragile of person (and the closed moral ending of the story would
suggest that he was), he would seek out art whatever person it may
reside in. This is another example of Wilde following his beliefs in
hedonism and he will ignore all social and moral boundaries in
order to gain what would bring him the maximum amount of pleasure. It
is not the only time in the author's life that he saw fit to ignore
social boundaries and even put his own desire for pleasure and the
aforementioned sexual self-indulgence ahead of even his family's
needs and safety. Lord Alfred Douglas and Oscar Wilde started a
relationship in 1894, three years after they first met in 1891. The
nature of the relationship was intense and highly sexual, the kind of
characteristics in a relationship that Oscar would have sought after
in desperate paroxysms of self-validation. All of this happened while
the author was married with two children(6), something that came out
as evidence in court through love letters that Wilde sent to Douglas.
The public scandal left his family and their name in ruin. Given this
tendency to indulge in walks of life that others would not dream, it
is unsurprising that the character of Lord Henry Wotton is written to
be the 'fruit of forbidden knowledge' and in a world of people
pertaining to the ideas aforementioned, Henry Wotton would be
considered an intellectual without equal as others would not dare to
learn what he has learnt. New and old, wisened and unblemished should
ignore all morals to eat of the fruit of 'art for art's sake'(4).
The relationship also suggests a lonely existence for Basil; to have
to stoop so low morally to find another person possessing the same
level of genius. Something, I have no doubt, plagued Oscar Wilde
continually throughout his life.
The portrayal of
power is less over people and more implemented to nature in The
Wasp Factory. Frank Cauldhame is obsessed
with the power that he holds over the small island that he almost
ceaselessly habituates. He is paranoid and doesn't like anyone
coming on to his island without him knowing about it, 'Look back up
at those small heads and bodies as they watched over the northern
approach to the island.'(p3). This scene describes how Frank has
cut off the heads and bodies of small animals to mount them on spikes
protruding from the ground. He does this so that no one can come on
to the island without the animal's watch. Frank believes he holds
dominion and power over the lives that he has taken. He believes that
his prey, being an extension of himself, warn him of an intruder. The
verb 'approach' is interesting here, it symbolises war. It
conjures images of an approaching army, making him the leader and not
a lone soldier against any battalion of enemies. Despite these
reoccurring moments of grandeur, Frank is portrayed to be relatively
unconscious of his demand for power, 'Not that I had any particular
reason for watching him; I just liked doing it. It made me feel good
to know that I could see him and he couldn't see me, and that I was
aware and fully conscious and he wasn't.'(p148) Frank is obsessed
with demonstrating his power by killing animals. However, in this
section which appears later in the book, we see Frank demonstrating
his power over another human. Frank acts as a hunter, choosing to
stalk his father at night, like his prey. This contrast between the
son and the father shows the animalistic nature of Frank. As time
goes on, he is starting to become the animals and insects that he
kills, it is as if he has gained their power and as they have become
a part of him, he is gaining their traits too. He has even identified
an aging alpha male and is appraising the aged male sleeping. Oscar
Wilde talks of the same animalistic instincts in The
Picture of Dorian Grey when Dorian feels 'The
mad passions of a hunted animal stirred within him'(p125). This is
directly before Dorian murders Basil. It is the nature in which
Dorian feels like a 'hunted' animal that contrasts the animalism
that Iain Banks describes. Whereas,
the character Frank likes to play the hunter to feel powerful, the
character Dorian Grey enjoys the thrill and 'mad passions' of
being an animal, letting go of power or control in this instant, for
excitement, for 'a new experience'. Written by the man that
insisted that he 'can resist everything except temptation'(5).
Though Oscar Wilde
always insisted that he was a prescriber to aesthetics and Ian banks
has often voiced socialist views on politics, it isn't beyond reach
to describe their views of the world as closer to nihilism. The
animalistic nature of the morals that they both put forward is very
base and lacks the pleasure of a soul at the centre of their
theories. Confronted with the incessant demand for power and the
depravity of self-indulgence, it is easy to see why both authors were
incredibly popular in their time and our own.
We are a world
without morals;
a world that has long since decided that the nature of a soul is too
terrifying to believe in based on the atrocities that we have
committed. The authors build on this lack of spirituality and create
a world of black that only seems to dive deeper into the pit of
narcissism. Oscar Wilde clings to aesthetics for the base of his
morality instead of anything spiritual and Iain Banks making languid
stabs at being a better person on the back of his admittance that he
is not. Perhaps it is the authors complete disregard for morals that
make their writing intriguing. Or their insight into true human
nature that makes their opinion so sought after. As people, the
authors were deplorable. As authors, they are timeless voices of
their generation, speaking words that will be adopted and echoed for
generations to come.
Bibliography
and references
A)
Primary texts
Oscar Wilde The
Picture of Dorian Gray, Wordsworth classics, 1890
Iain Banks The
Wasp Factory, Abacus, 1984
B)
Secondary sources: Books and articles
Drew,
John M. L., 'The Picture of Dorian Gray:
Introduction', Wordsworth classics, 1890
Cohen, Philip. John
Evelyn Barlas, 'A Critical Biography: Poetry, Anarchism, and Mental
Illness in Late-Victorian Britain.' Rivendale
Press, 2012
Burkholder, John K,
'The New Hedonism' Work Press
Wilson, Colin, 'A
man of some importance' Socialist Review,
1995
Terpening, William,
'The Picture of Oscar Wilde: A Brief Life' The
Victorian Web, 1998
Buzwell, Greg, 'The
Picture of Dorian Gray: art, ethics and the artist' British
Library, 2014
Ross, Iain. 'Oscar
Wilde and Ancient Greece' Cambridge
University Press, 2013
C)
Secondary sources: Digital sources
Craig Williams
(director) Raw Spirit (2013) BBC Scotland interview
Agnes Nixon
(creator) Oscar Wilde: Wits End (2001) A and E Biography
Simon Tillotson
(producer) In Our Time: Oscar Wilde (2001) BBC Radio 4 podcast
References
1 Drew, John M. L.
The Picture of Dorian Gray: Introduction,
Wordsworth classics, 1890 pp 18
2 Craig Williams
(director) Raw Spirit (2013) BBC Scotland interview
3 Harris, Frank
Oscar Wilde,
Wordsworth classics, 2007 pp107
4 Wilde, Oscar. The
Complete Letters. Ed. Merlin Holland and
Rupert Hart-Davis. London: Fourth Estate, 2000
5 Wilde, Oscar, and
Karl E. Beckson. I Can Resist Everything
Except Temptation: And Other Quotations from Oscar Wilde.
Columbia University Press, 1996
6 H. Montgomery
Hyde, The Love That Dared not Speak its
Name. Little. Brown and Company, pp
144
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