"Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing." - The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
This is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of The Picture of Dorian Gray, when Lord Henry is dictating his opinion on beauty to the young man. Lord Henry wants Gray to take advantage of his youth and the beauty that comes with it, as he believes that as one ages one's beauty fades.
In this quote, buried within a longer speech, Henry seems to have broadened his theory on beauty into advice on living one's life to the fullest. By structuring the speech thus, Wilde subtly informs us of Henry's priorities - to him, aesthetics are equivalent in importance to an entire human life.
This section, appearing early in the narrative, establishes a sense of a "ticking clock" within the reader's mind that remains throughout the narrative developments, complementing them as the tension rises. Lord Henry drives home the point that beauty has a timer - not only does he state this directly a few times, but he also uses comparisons involving nature and the seasons.* However, these comparisons don't quite work for the point Henry is trying to make - plants lose their beauty, wither, and die, but then are reborn in the spring. Wilde thus develops Lord Henry's character as one who makes bold statements without perhaps thinking them through fully.
The imperative nature of this quote, with repetition, exclamations and short commands, furthers this characterisation - Henry is entirely self-important as he spouts long, winding speeches, the internal reasoning of which may not make entire sense. His depiction in this way also tells us something about Gray, who has been quietly listening to Henry talk and it is made clear that he is impressed with the notions expressed. We see the influence of Henry, and the submissiveness of Gray, especially in direct contrast to Basil Hallward who up to this point has not been afraid to oppose Lord Henry.**
*Indeed, the ideas about beauty and aesthetics Henry lists are entwined with the key themes of the novel through this natural imagery. At the beginning of the chapter, Gray is found reading the "perfectly charming" music composed by Schumann, the "Forest Scenes". The beautiful, real life essence of the forest is captured forever in music (the Forest Scenes were composed in 1848, while the novel is set in the late 19th century), relating to the titular portrait of Gray. Wilde expertly builds our anticipations of the plot into the small details of a conversation.
**Gray's submissive nature is set up to be subverted, when he tells Lord Henry that his theories are "wrong" and "poisonous" - although something of Gray is evidently still absorbed in Henry, for they are still "fascinating" and "delightful".
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