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摘 要

埃德加·爱伦·坡和奥斯卡·王尔德都被认为是唯美主义的代表人物，他们的作品具有“独一无二”的风格，语言和形式精致、优美，内容多样。《椭圆形画像》和《道林·格雷的画像》作为他们各自的代表小说，都对唯美主义和哥特式小说做出了全新的诠释。前人对于这两篇小说的分别研究不计其数，研究内容主要涉及主题探究、意象刻画以及作品的现实意义讨论，而本文则另辟蹊径，将两篇同类型小说进行比较，对两篇文章的哥特式元素和互文性进行深入阐释。

一方面，本文将对于《椭圆形画像》和《道林·格雷的画像》使用的哥特式表现手法进行比较。作为唯美主义的代表小说，这两篇小说都使用了哥特式的写作手法，它使我们今天习惯地将哥特式与黑暗、恐怖联系在一起。显著的哥特小说元素包括恐怖，神秘，超自然，厄运，死亡，颓废，住着幽灵的老房子，癫狂，家族诅咒等。本文还将分析这些怪诞的元素与两篇小说的悲剧结局的必然关系。

另一方面，本文将从两篇小说的相似之处着手分析爱伦·坡的唯美主义对于奥斯卡·王尔德的影响。这两篇小说，无论在故事架构、主题表达还是在写作手法、意象元素上，都有很多相似之处。本文还将分析王尔德在《道林·格雷的画像》中，表达出的艺术与现实的观念对爱伦·坡的超越之处。在《椭圆形画像》中，作者认为艺术远远高于现实生活，并有自己的生命，而在王尔德的笔下，自然是粗糙的，缺乏设计的，甚至可怕的。另一方面，他高度评价了完美和美丽的艺术。艺术高于生活。

最后，作者希望该论文能够启发学者们从新的角度研究这两篇小说的相关性和互文性，并能帮助读者领略唯美主义的主要理念和哥特式表现手法。

关键词：《椭圆形画像》 《道林·格雷的画像》 哥特式表现手法 怪诞元素 互文性

1. Introduction

• 1. Introduction of Edgar Allan Poe and Oscar Wilde

Edgar Allan Poe is an important member of the American Romanticism period. He is recognized as the pinnacle of short Gothic novels and aestheticism. In any era, his works have a ‘unique’ position. The languages and forms of the works are exquisite and graceful, and the content is varied. Poe’s successful attempt of combining Gothic elements with detective stories has greatly influenced the latter writers. What is more, his Gothic novels also have had a tremendous aesthetic impact.

窗体顶端Oscar Wilde, one of the greatest writers and artists, is famous for his plays, poems, fairy tales and novels. He is also a representative of aestheticism. In his career, Wilde was influenced by the aesthetic concept and the Pre-Raphaelite works, which established the direction for him to become a pioneer of aestheticism. His The Picture of Dorian Gray was believed to write under the influence of the aesthetic art of Allan Poe. In many aspects, these two works have similarities which are worthy to study.

窗体顶端

Allan Poe and Wilde are important representatives of aestheticism. On the relationship between art and reality, they think that art should be detached from reality. Real events are enemies of art. The harm of all the art is generated from the real sense. All the poor art is from the returning of nature. The only thing that is beautiful is nothing to do with us. For the role of art in life, Wilde thinks that it is not art reproduces life, but life imitates art. Art is not a mirror of human social life, and life is an art’s student. Art is supreme.

1.2 Introduction of writing backgrounds

‘The Oval Portrait’ is not typical for Allan Poe. It is not a detective story. There is no chain of reasoning, not strange atmosphere, no murder, violence and other topics. It is a short story that written by Allan Poe in 1842. At this time, Poe was working as an editor in the press. He had published his first mysterious novel, and then created a new novel and poem, and entered the new period of his life. The novel was written in the 1940s. The American women in this period are highly dependent on men. They are not independent in terms of economy, politics, social status, and even emotion. Women's social status is marginalized and is very low. Allan Poe was influenced by the Western Decadent School, forming the initial aesthetic thought of the aestheticism. For example, in his commentary on ‘The Philosophy of Composition’, he said that ‘Beauty of whatever kind in its supreme development invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.’

The novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde was published in 1891. The novel's creation opportunity is due to a visit to an old painter. The model of this painter is very young and beautiful, so Wilde could not help but sigh: ‘What a pity! Though he has a beautiful appearance, but he still has to be old one day’. The painter replied: ‘Yes. If only he could be replaced by the man in the picture’. Later, Wilde created the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. When Wilde wrote the novel, it was during the Aesthetic Movement. The movement was a loosely organized movement in the field of English art and literature in the late 20th century. The so-called ‘aestheticism’ is an artistic proposition that art is the absolute beauty. The writers and artists in the Aesthetic Movement argued that the mission of art is to provide sensual pleasure to mankind rather than to convey some sort of moral or emotional messages. Thus, the aestheticism refused to accept the utilitarian view of John Ruskin and Matthew Arnold’s opinion. They think that ‘Art is the practical thing that carries morality’. On the contrary, aestheticism believes that art should not have any preaching factors, but it should have the pursuit of pure beauty. They are so addicted to pursue ‘beauty’, which is the essence of art. They advocated life should imitate the art. The main features of the Aesthetic Movement include the pursuit of sensual enjoyment, the large number of applications of symbolic practices and the pursuit of the relationship among things. That is to explore the inner relationship among vocabulary, color and music. The real representative of aestheticism is Oscar Wilde. He is not only a practitioner of aesthetic creation, but also a promoter of aestheticism theory.

1.3 Introduction of these two stories

‘The Oval Portrait’ tells the story of a husband being obsessed with his own art paintings all day. His young and beautiful wife would like to be the model for her husband while she was suppressed and ignored. When the painter painted the last one cast of the color of her eyes, the wife’s spirit and life was exhausted. Finally the wife died, seeing the painter created a life in the picture, and at the same time he also destroyed his wife’s life.

The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of Dorian Gray. He is a long aristocratic teenager in London, handsome and kind. Dorian met with the portrait by the painter Henry Wotton, finding his amazing beauty. Under the painter Lord Henry's bewitching, he made a wish to the portrait: the youth being young forever. All the changes of life and evil is born by the portrait. Dorian took no care at first. However, when he was playing with an actress's feelings that led to her suicide, it was found that the body in the portrait had transformed to be evil. Dorian was in fear but he did not restrain himself, but indulged his own desires more and more. Dorian was beautiful still, but the portrait has become uglier and uglier day by day. Eighteen years later, based on the hate of the painter's work and the disgust of his ugly soul, Dorian murdered the painter Wotton. After that, the actress's brother came to revenge, but he was deceived by Dorian as well. Ultimately, the brother died as well. It was the death of the actress's brother that awakened the conscience of Dorian. He lifted the knife to the ugly picture and stabbed himself. His face became ugly and old, while the portrait was young as ever.

1. Literature Review

‘The Oval Portrait’ and The Picture of Dorian Gray have been studied by lots of critics from different perspectives，including the use of Gothic techniques，the relationship between life and art, grotesque colors.

Some scholars considered ‘The Oval Portrait’ and The Picture of Dorian Gray both reflect the relationship between the art and life.

Han Ling noted that 窗体顶端

Han Ling noted that ‘The Oval Portrait’ shows the relationship between art and life. ‘The author spent a lot of ink on the description of the portrait of young women, but with a smaller space to think about this art is at the expense of the life of the young bride’(34). It can be seen that the artistic beauty and reality are in a contradictory binary opposition, which is far higher than the real life and have its own life.

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Hu Qiyun said that Wilde held the view that life copies art and art is above life. In The Decay of Lying, Wilde wrote: ‘If not from the impressionists, do we get those wonderful brown fogs that come creeping down our streets, blurring the gas lamps and changing the houses into monstrous shadows,…Nature is no greater mother who has borne us, she is our creation. It is our brain that she quickens to life. Things are because we see them and what we see and how we see them depends on the Arts that have influenced us. Human beings are the creator of Nature’ (19). On the other hand, he spoke highly of art that is perfect and beautiful. Art is superior to life.

Some scholars also noted the use of Gothic techniques in both two works.

Lei Muye said that ‘The Oval Portrait’ is also similar to the previous Gothic novels. ‘The story takes place in an abandoned castle, gloomy and solemn castle, gloomy room, shabby and old decoration, gloomy shutters and black velvet curtain... All these elements deliberately pursue the creation of the effect and fully render the atmosphere of death, so that readers feel the shroud of death’(87).

窗体底端

Wu Yanan noted that The Picture of Dorian Gray focuses on the description of the grotesque portraits and the murder of horror. The author uses the supernatural portraits to show the fall of the hero's soul, making the meaning of the work more profound(32). With the characteristics of modern Gothic novels, the murder and dissection plot also presents the atmosphere of the publication of the work.

3. Comparative Reading of ‘The Oval Portrait’ and The Picture of Dorian Gray

3.1 Analysis of the Gothic style in the two works These two literary works use the Gothic expression technique to start the story line. Gothic novel, a writing style in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, described romantic adventures in mysterious or frightening surroundings. Gothic fiction, which is largely known by the subgenre of Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature and film that combines fiction and horror, death, and at times romance. Its origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel ‘The Castle of Otranto’, subtitled ‘A Gothic Story’. The effect of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of terror, an extension of Romantic literary pleasures that were relatively new at the time of Walpole's novel. It originated in England in the second half of the 18th century and had much success in the 19th, as witnessed by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Another well-known novel in this genre, dating from the late Victorian era, is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The name Gothic refers to the (pseudo)-medieval buildings, emulating Gothic architecture, in which many of these stories take place. This extreme form of romanticism was very popular in England and Germany. The English Gothic novel also led to new novel types such as the German Schauerroman and the French Georgia. It is a popular Western literature in the thrilling mystery novel. Gothic novels can be said to be the originator of horror movies. More importantly, it makes us often associate Gothic with darkness and terror today. Significant Gothic elements include terror, mystery, supernatural, doom, death, decadence, old house, madness, family curse and so on.

3.1.1 Similar Gothic settingIn ‘The Oval Portrait’, the story took place in the past, which is consistent with the characteristics of Gothic novels, that is to describe the story of the past. The setting of ‘The Oval Portrait’ is also similar to the previous Gothic novels, which took place in an abandoned castle. We established ourselves in one of the smallest and least sumptuously furnished apartments. It lay in a remote turret of the building. Its decorations were rich, yet tattered and antique. Its walls were hung with tapestry and bedecked with manifold and multiform armorial trophies, together with an unusually great number of very spirited modern paintings in frames of rich golden arabesque.(3)Gloomy and solemn castle, gloomy room, shabby and old decoration, gloomy shutters and black velvet curtain fully render the horror of the atmosphere of death, so that readers feel the shadow of death. The place where the story really happened was the place where the creation of the painting was done--in the attic of the castle, a dark and uninhibited place. This place also eventually became a place to kill the beautiful bride's life. For example, the abandoned castle in ‘The Oval Portrait’ is one of the grotesque elements. This place also eventually became a place to end the beautiful bride's life.

While in The Picture of Dorian Gray, the poppy is also the performance of the grotesque elements. Poppy is a symbol of evil in the full text. All along, the poppy is a symbol of evil and short love. In the novel, from beginning to the end, poppies are inseparable from the whole process of tear. It is like a flower of evil, also a symbol of Dorian’s moral confusion and difficulty to avoid the tragedy. In the later period of the novel, Dorian was driven by individualism. He was trapped in art, the reality of mud and was unable to extricate himself. Finally, in the moral anxiety, the author's aestheticism pursuit walked to failure, while Dorian walked to the destruction. In the beginning, Dorian did not know Sibyl’s death, but also tried to save himself in remorse. Henry brought her death message to him. Hearing the bad news, he was painful as ordinary people: ‘I have to plant poppies in the garden.’ Dorian had always regretted what he had said to Sibyl. He was prepared to apologize and marry her, so he began to complain to Henry about his recklessness, but he was told that the lover had committed suicide. At that moment he was like a devastated flower. He was distraught to think that he killed her. But after Henry's paradox persuaded, he seemed to see the sun and began to justify himself: ‘The roses do not dissolve their own charm because of this, and the birds are still happy to sing in the garden.’ Life is still happy. He can not let the pain become the theme. This time he did not know that his most valuable things was disappearing and poppies in his garden was crazy to grow up. Unlike the selflessness of the Dorian Grey, Henry was like a man who holds a poppy. He sees the death of Sibyl as a dramatic beauty. He instantly breaks the moral barrier in Dorian’s heart. He began to see the death of the lover as a beautiful tragedy. This time the poppy began to bloom. His constant falling made him to close himself and immersed in pleasure. Just like a poppy, his good mettle was limited. Doom became closer and closer to him. Finally, he led to Basil, Sibyl brother's innocent tragic death, also made himself to the destruction.

3.1.2 Similar Gothic characters

The characters in Gothic novels often have a mad mood. In ‘The Oval Portrait’, the narrator ‘I’ may have had a keen interest in the painting of the spirit of the wall, which is numerous and full of spirituality. In the second part, the painter is a fully passionate, wild uninhibited and moody people. All day he was indulged in his own fantasy. He took the art as the bride. He was passionate to paint his beloved woman day and night, indifferent to his wife's face. He would not see that the color that was painted on the canvas came from the face of his wife. The madness of the feelings only brought the tragedy to his wife. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, the author uses the supernatural portraits to show the fall of the hero's soul, making the meaning of the work more profound. With the characteristics of modern Gothic novels, the plot of murder and dissection also intensified the atmosphere of horror. The image of the Gothic villain is represented by Dorian and Lord Henry, while the image of Gothic unfortunate actress is represented by Sibyl. ‘"No," said Dorian Gray, "there is nothing fearful about it. It is one of the great romantic tragedies of the age. As a rule, people who act lead the most commonplace lives. They are good husbands, or faithful wives, or something tedious. You know what I mean--middle-class virtue and all that kind of thing. How different Sibyl was! She lived her finest tragedy. She was always a heroine. The last night she played-- the night you saw her--she acted badly because she had known the reality of love. When she knew its unreality, she died, as Juliet might have died. She passed again into the sphere of art.’(95)Through the characterization of the Gothic villa, Oscar Wilde shows the corruption of the upper classes of the Victorian people in the decent life, which makes the girls like Sibyl become their victims.

3.1.3 Similar Gothic themes

Through the depiction of a large number of artistic and realistic grotesque elements, these two novels provide the aesthetic value of the grotesque art, the similarities and differences between the grotesque art and other artistic and real life, the tectonic skills of the grotesque art, the source of inspiration, the standard of art and so on. From these two novels, our readers can get a glimpse of two great authors’ aesthetic thoughts, which are similar in the Gothic tragedy of death.

In the theme of the two novels, they all propose the relationship between life and art. As representative works of aestheticism, these two novels reveal the relationship between artistic beauty and reality in contradictory binary opposition. Art is much higher than real life and has its own life. When the art of the soaring, it can relentlessly abandon the life itself. Life is nothing more than a living body. Artwork is inherently lifeless, and how many excellent artists have given the artwork life.

3.2 The influence of Ellen Poe on Wilde

Allan Poe's ‘The Oval Portrait’ fully demonstrates Poe's life in pursuit of beauty. Through its clever plot arrangement, you can see that although this is a horror fiction, the structure is so tortuous and perfect. Those terror and suspense elements will bring us into the poems of Abraham's absurd world, letting us appreciate the beauty of the weird horror, the beauty of madness and the beauty of an abstract and mysterious world. What’s more, his work also affected the descendants like Oscar Wilde. Wilde has a more profound idea of aestheticism. From The Picture of Dorian Gray, we can find that Wilde has a more extreme expression on the relationship between art and life.

There are many similarities both in the theme and writing techniques between ‘The Oval Portrait’ and The Picture of Dorian Gray. What’s more, whether it is ‘The Oval Portrait’ or The Picture of Dorian Gray, these two novels show the relationship between art and life.

In ‘The Oval Portrait’, the author spent a lot of ink on the description of the portrait of the young woman, but with a smaller length to think about that art is at the expense of the life of the young bride.

It can be seen that the artistic beauty and reality are in a contradictory binary opposition, which is far higher than the real life and has its own life. When the art is soaring, it can relentlessly abandon life itself. Life only for art is a life without a body. Artwork is inherently lifeless, and so many excellent artists have given their lives to artwork. Through the night of the painting, this passionate, wild uninhibited and moody painter created a living art, giving the greatest value of works of art. In fact, he ignored the life, and even personally destroyed the life and its artistic inspiration. The source of his beautiful bride denied the value of life. His wife is only a props sitting in front of him, all day long in his eyes, while he ignore his wife day by day. The painter transferred her life to the painting. Finally he painted a wonderful work, while his wife fell to the ground and died.

However, Oscar Wilde had a more extreme idea of the relationship between art and reality. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde believes that life reproduces art, and art is beyond life.

In the Decay of lies, Wilde wrote: ‘If not from the impressionists, do we get those wonderful brown fogs that come creeping down our streets, blurring the gas lamps and changing the houses into monstrous shadows, ... Nature is greater greater Mother who has borne us, she is our creation. It is our brain that she quickens to life. Things are because we see them and what we see and how we see them depends on the Arts that have influenced us. Human beings is the creator of nature’.(193) This statement shows that Wilde believes that life is a reflection of art. Before the artist brings out the beautiful fog art works, people will not appreciate the fog. Art affects people's thoughts about life or life is the engraving of art. There are two reasons for this phenomenon: the instinct of human life imitation: the purpose of life is to find the expression, and art provides a variety of forms to do so. In the ‘decline of lies’, Wilde pointed out that naturally uncomfortable. For him, the grass is ‘hard, massive and damp’ with terrible insects. In addition, the poorest workers can behave better than the whole of nature.

Wilde has a kind of attitude towards nature. He thinks natural rough, lack of design, and even terrible. On the other hand, he spoke highly of the perfect and beautiful art. Art is better than life. This idea has also been fully reflected in The Picture of Dorian Gray.

4. Conclusion

No matter in story theme, writing techniques or the use of the grotesque elements, The Oval Portrait and Picture of Dorian Gray have many similarities.

The Oval Portrait and Picture of Dorian Gray reveal the theme that art is not a mirror of human social life. Life is only art’s students. Art is supreme. On the relationship between art and reality, they think that art should be detached from reality. Real events are enemies of art. The harm of all the art is generated from the real sense. All the poor art is from the returning of nature. The only thing that is beautiful is nothing to do with us.

No matter in the Gothic writing expression, or in the theme highlights, these two aesthetic novels have a dangerous magic that makes people fall. The two novels are filled with multiple elements of light and darkness, beauty and ugliness, kindness and evil. These all bring people a different kind of beauty. For the interpretation of these two novels, we are more closely to contact with Allen Poe and Oscar Wilde's inner world to feel their art and beauty.

This paper will inspire scholars to study the relevance and intertextuality of these two novels from a new angle and to help the readers appreciate the main ideas of the aestheticism and the Gothic expression.

Works Cited

Cao，Zhenhua. [曹振华]. “以结构主义的眼光看爱伦·坡的《椭圆形画像》”，《外国文学研究》，No.7，2010.

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