A Picture of Henry Wotton

As of right now, my favorite character in The Picture of Dorian Gray is Lord Henry Wotton. His sarcastic comments regarding artists, poets, philanthropists, Americans, the British, the aristocracy, and pretty much every other group imaginable lend humor to the novel and give the reader insight into the satirical, although generally accurate, lens through which Lord Henry views the world. His witty and charismatic exterior allows him to manipulate Dorian Gray and shapes much of Dorian’s perceptions.

When we are first introduced to Dorian by Basil’s description, “he has a simple and beautiful nature.” Basil warns Lord Henry, “Don’t spoil him. Don’t try to influence him. Your influence would be bad” (16). It is as thought Basil can see the corrupting power Lord Henry will soon possess over Dorian. Lord Henry himself is aware of the control he will be able to have over Dorian: “to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions….He becomes an echo of someone else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him” (20). It is at Lord Henry’s suggestion that Dorian begins to obsess over preserving his youth when Lord Henry says, “youth is the one thing worth having,” and that “Beauty is a form of Genius—is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation” (24). Lord Henry plants in Dorian’s head the idea of his beauty as being wasted by time.

Lord Henry’s power over Dorian stems from his intellectual magnetism and appearance. His voice alone (which is “low” and musical”) is enough to get inside Dorian’s head, and his mannerisms when speaking (a “graceful wave of the hand”) likewise exude a sense of confidence (21). Dorian is also very fond of and interested in Lord Henry’s appearance: in his “romantic olive-coloured face and worn expression…[and] his cool, white flower-like hands” (23).

Henry’s sharp wit and clear intelligence additionally hypnotize Dorian. He is able to speak words that have a “subtle magic” (22) in them, that “bewilder” Dorian, and touch “some secret chord that had never been touched before (21). Lord Henry’s intelligence can be seen in his subtle mockery of the human race. He makes fun of intellectuals in saying that “beauty, real beauty, ends where intellectual expression begins….Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How Perfectly hideous they are!” (6-7). He then goes on to satirize the church: “in the Church they don’t think. A bishop keeps on saying at the age of eighty what he was told to say when he was a boy of eighteen…” (7). He even goes so far as to ridicule philanthropists, saying “philanthropic people lost all sense of humanity. It is their distinguishing characteristic” (37). Even though his criticisms seem harsh, many, in fact, contain some truth. For example, the “philanthropists” with whom Lord Henry is acquainted often give for the wrong reasons, hoping to keep up appearances rather than aid others for purely benevolent motives.

Lord Henry Wotton is extremely perceptive and uses his intellectual prowess to control those around him. As he is so astute at getting inside Dorian’s head, he is able to greatly influence Dorian’s thoughts and actions. I would predict that his original broaching of the idea of the transient nature of beauty is what eventually leads Dorian to obsess over his youth and the painting. (574)