Everything you ever wanted to know about the quotes talking about Sexuality and Sexual Identity in The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by experts just for you.
Beyond its literary brilliance, the novel has been analyzed for its subtle and sometimes bold treatment of homosexuality, a taboo subject during Wilde’s time. This article explores notable quotes and themes in the book that reflect Wilde’s nuanced approach to sexuality, particularly homosexuality.
Much of the material that Stoddart cut makes the homoerotic nature of Basil Hallward’s feelings for Dorian Gray more vivid and explicit than either of the two subsequent published versions, or else it accentuates elements of homosexuality in Dorian Gray’s own make-up.
In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the bonding of these three characters, the power struggles between them, and the ambiguity of Dorian’s bodily pleasures help one to speculate regarding Oscar Wilde’s homoerotic intentions for the novel.