Christa Giles

of them without ever (as in Lord Henry’s case) seeming to
transgress. In this way he embodies the unconscious fears
and desires of other members of society in an acceptable
social form. One of his characteristics is narcissism – a
relationship of the self to the self. In his essay ˝On
Narcissism,˝ Freud points out that narcissism entails a
division of the self in which the ego takes itself as object,
thereby splitting and becoming observer and observed.
Dorian’s narcissism is brought to his attention by
Hallward: ˝You had leant over the still pool of some Greek
woodland, and seen in the water’s silent silver the marvel
of your own face.˝ 174 Later, Dorian kisses his portrait in a
˝boyish mockery of Narcissus.˝ The two Dorians, the
perceiver and the perceived (the painting) suggest the
alienated identity. For the portrait is ˝the most magical of
mirrors,˝ 175 and as such symbolizes not only self-discovery,
Dorian’s recognition of his many selves, but also art, owing
to the mirror’s mimetic capabilities. This is effectively
encapsulated in one scene in which we are told how Dorian
would
stand, with a mirror, in front of the portrait
that Basil Hallward had painted of him,
looking now at the evil and ageing face on the
canvas, and now at the fair young face that
laughed back at him from the polished glass.
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