Dorian Gray Background Notes

Victorian Society.. The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901.[1] It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence. Some scholars date the beginning of the period in terms of sensibilities and political concerns to the passage of the Reform Act 1832. The era is popularly associated with the values of social and sexual restraint. Attitudes to homosexuality in the victorain era Throughout the Victorian Era, homosexuality held a vexed position in the culture. Homosexual acts were a capital offence until 1861. Historian Michel Foucault has argued that homosexual and heterosexual identities didn't emerge until the 19th century; before that time terms described practices and not identity. Foucault cites "Westphal's famous article of 1870 on 'contrary sexual sensations'" as the "date of birth" of the categorization of the homosexual (Foucault 1976). The first known use of homosexual in English is not until Charles Gilbert Chaddock's 1895 translation of Richard von Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis, a study on sexual practices.[4]

Hedonism
Define- The devotion to pleasure as a way of life; ones sole priority is to seek pleasure/happiness without regard for others.

Live and Let Live Carpe Diem You Cant Take it With You You Only Live Once Just Do It Never Say Never Look Out for Number One

Men- Elite status, aristocratic, social class Debonair, dandy/metrosexual, well-groomed Sophisticated- calling cards, tobacco pouches, high tea Inflicted harm on no one, avoided slander and gossip Philosophical, well educated Recognized by virtue of their occupation

Oscar Wilde- Birth name: Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde Birth date: October 16, 1854 Ireland Mother was a poet/journalist Father was a doctor Mother wanted a girl Death date: November 30, 1900 Died penniless and alone of meningitis in Paris Married with two children Sharp wit Outrageous and eccentric clothing Irreverent attitude Aphorisms/epigrams: A concise expression often satirical with an ingenious turn of thought; sage; witty Cynicism: faultfinding; contemptuous; distrustful view of society Flamboyant lifestyle Loved to stir the pot! Physiognomy in the Victorian Era The idea that you can tell a persons character from their facial characteristics, known as physiognomy, was particularly prevalent in Victorian times, the Beagles captain Fitzroy, for instance, famously distrusted Charles Darwin due to his bulbous nose. Social Darwinist, Cesare Lombroso, was

the most famous proponent of this pseudoscience, he declared that people could be born criminals and that you could recognise them by their physiology. Opium Dens An opium den was an establishment where opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century Victorian London's reputation as a center of opium smoking is quite unjustified and testifies to the power of literary fiction over historical fact. The London press, along with popular British authors of the day, were fond of portraying London's Limehouse district as an opium-drenched pit of danger and mystery. In fact, London's Chinese population never exceeded the low hundreds, in large contrast to the tens of thousands of Chinese who settled in North American Chinatowns. Yet, upon this tiny community was heaped notoriety for opium-induced sordidness and debaucherythe sole intent of which was to titillate and shock British readers. Interestingly, scholars have yet to unearth a single historical photograph of opium smokers in Londonin marked contrast to the relative abundance of period photos depicting smokers in the United States, Canada and France. The Picture of Dorian Gray, too, is laced with references to opium and interludes in low dens where opium smokers may go to find oblivion. Dorian Grays reception Overall, initial critical reception of the book was poor, with the book gaining "certain notoriety for being 'mawkish and nauseous,' 'unclean,' 'effeminate,' and 'contaminating.' The Irish Times wrote that The Picture of Dorian Gray was "first published to some scandal."This had much to do with the novel's homoerotic overtones, which caused something of a sensation amongst Victorian critics when first published. A large portion of the criticism was levelled at Wilde's perceived hedonism, and its distorted views of conventional morality. The Daily Chronicle of 30 June 1890 suggests that Wilde's novel contains "one element...which will taint every young mind that comes in contact with it." The Scots Observer of 5 July 1890 asks why Wilde must "go grubbing in muck-heaps? Wilde responded to such criticisms by curtailing some of the homoerotic overtones, and by adding six chapters to the book in an effort to add background.