The Picture of Dorian Gray 6

Vanity and hypocrisy are both common themes in The Picture of Dorian Gray.  As seen through both Dorian and Lord Henry's fixation on the physical appearance of a person, how others perceive a person is far more important than the beauty of his personality.  In addition, Basil, Lord Henry, and Dorian all act in hypocritical ways.  This is first seen with Basil in the beginning of the novel.  After declaring that art should not contain the artist's influence, he refuses to show his painting of Dorian to the world because he put too much of himself into the piece.  Practically everything Lord Henry says is hypocritical to either society or to his actions.  For example, he condemns the idea of marriage, and yet he is married.  Combining both themes of vanity and hypocrisy, Dorian claims that he "love[s] scandals about other people, but scandals about [himself] don't interest [him]" (Wilde 109).  This statement portrays the theme of vanity because Dorian cares so much about how other people view him that he does not like them talking about him or his actions.  This statement also is hypocritical.  Although Dorian does not mind, and even enjoys, the downfall of others' social status, he does not want the same to happen to him.