The aesthetic violent sublime in The Picture of Dorian Gray

Abstract

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is both a refined celebration of aestheticism and a haunting critique of all that it stands for. Dorian’s feeling of joy at the sight of his “picture” is characteristic of the concept of the sublime which brings about an uncanny sense of terrible delight provided that there is a secure distance between the spectator and the awe-inspiring spectacle. This distance is procured by Dorian’s application of aesthetic creeds to his life. Drawing from theories of the sublime and those of aestheticism, this article attempts to examine how the intermingling of the two concepts into the “aesthetic sublime” functions in The Picture of Dorian Gray. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.