If the title of the novel was The Portrait of Dorian Gray, it would be logical to connect the authorship of Dorian to Basil specifically, as he created the portrait. However, as the title is the picture, this points toward a less specific vision of Dorian, leaving room for other sources of creation.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Picture vs. Portrait
In class earlier this week, the title of The Picture of Dorian Gray was questioned. Why is it titled the picture and not the portrait? After thinking about this and the idea of Dorian's authorship, I wonder if the title of the novel is the picture because it brings about more ambiguousness in reference to the creation of what may or may not be considered the monster.
2 comments:
I remember thinking about this the first time I read the book. When I think "portrait" I think of the traditional meaning of a painting of someone based on their exterior appearance; which is interesting sine the portrait begins to display Dorian's interior appearance. Maybe "picture" is used to refer to that interior appearance (his soul.)
This is an interesting idea that I hadn't quite thought about that seems to make sense as usually portraits are done by one particular author,but as we have talked of in class, Dorian has had multiple people who shaped and formed him into the man he is, but also leaves him to be included in that group as well.
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