The Fusion,conflict And Split Of Ethic And Aestheticism

Oscar Wilde is one of the most representative writers in the Victorian period of England.As an epitome of aestheticism in the history of British literature,Wilde advocated “art for art’s sake”,believing that art is supreme and has nothing to do with moral utility.His works,as his artistic practice,not only fully reflect his aestheticism view,but also reflect the unique ethic and morality of the Victorian period.The only novel created by Wilde,The Picture of Dorian Gray,reflects the contradiction between his artistic ideas and artistic practice.Although the novel vividly shows Wilde’s pursuit of aestheticism,it is full of ethical and moral topics,and severely criticizes the immoral behaviors of individuals and society.Today,it still has important guiding significance for the ethics,values,and aesthetics of current society,so more comprehensive research is still needed on this novel.Ethical literary criticism is a critical method of understanding and studying literature from the perspective of ethic and morality.This paper attempts to analyze and discuss Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray with the method of ethical literary criticism.Through close reading of the text and cultural research,it explores the three main characters in the novel,Dorian Gray,Basil and Henry,respectively,from three perspectives: the fusion,the conflict and the split of ethic and aestheticism reflected in them and it also analyzes the influencing factors that shaped Wilde’s unique ethical and aesthetic ideas.The ending of the hero Dorian proves that no one in society can exist without morality.Through this novel,it can be seen that the integration of Wilde’s ethical ideas and aesthetic thought is clearly reflected,and their conflict and the final departure from each other are formally demonstrated as well.The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is intended to create an ideal world of aestheticism,but it criticizes the hypocritical morality that prevailed in the British society in the Victorian age after the industrial revolution,and exposes the essence of self-interest and hedonism,which shows that Wilde’s aestheticism and practice are deeply contradictory,but Wilde does not abandon the pursuit of morality.Instead,his ethical tendency is embedded in his aesthetic tendency.Ethic and aestheticism are not a tit for tat.Beauty divorced from ethic will lead to the demise of people and society,which has a unique and far-reaching significance to the aesthetic ideas for the current society.