The Picture of Dorian Gray can be considered one of the most controversial novels of the aesthetic movement. Oscar Wilde was one of the leaders of the aesthetic movement of the 1890s. Wilde's novel takes us through the lifestyle of someone who lives without borders. It digs deep into the personality of our main character Dorian and that of some of the other characters to demonstrate the fatality of letting these psychological things take over. Throughout the novel, we see these characters' mental states slowly decline and their actions begin to be driven by what they feel. These characters have different motivations due to their differentiated psychological mindset. We will specifically look at these mental issues in Dorian Gray, Lord Henry, Basil, and Sybil Vane. Throughout the novel, Wilde shows us how harmful an unbalanced personality and mind can prove to be. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is easy to see that there are ideas of influence as well as evil within this novel. These play a specific role in understanding the motivations of some of the main characters in this book. There seem to be many things that contribute to Dorian Gray's corruption, but we can see that Lord Henry is probably considered the number one contributor. Henry's evil personality is the constant source of destruction in Dorian. He constantly convinces Dorian to think in certain ways or do things he wouldn't usually do. One of the first things Lord Henry says to Dorian is, “to influence a person is to give him your soul” (Wilde 20). We can clearly see that this foreshadows Henry's future desires to convert Dorian into an evil and manipulative person. Another theme that plays an important role in the novel is beauty. There is a direct relationship between character and beauty when the two are intertwined to show how the image changes over time. We can see that the decline of beauty and cruelty were the result of Dorian behaving the way he did. Dorian's actions are depicted in front of the portrait, which is why Wilde uses the reference to the portrait as a mirror. During the late 1800s, the idea that a person's psychological problems were the result of repressed impulses or childhood trauma was popularized by a man named Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalytic theory focuses on the unconscious and early childhood experiences. (Spielmann 20). Freud was the founding father of psychoanalysis, he believed that we never really give our reasons for doing things. He says this is not because we lie, but because we are the best at self-deception. (McLeod page 3). Freud's psychoanalytic theory has three specific parts; the id, the ego and the superego. We can distinctly see these parts throughout The Picture of Dorian Gray because of the way the characters act and think. If we pay close attention to these characters in the novel, we see that each one displays a specific part of psychoanalytic theory. Lord Henry forcefully portrays the part of the id within the theory. His character wants automatic satisfaction from things. His character is primarily focused on pleasure, and that pleasure must be achieved regardless of whether it is worth it. This is demonstrated by the way he shows interest only in his instincts, he is interested in death and the beauty of things. He seems to show no empathy or remorse for anything he does. He is trying to turn Dorian into the same kind of person he is, which causes Dorian to have an internal struggle between his id and hisSuperego. In the book, it shows that Henry is trying to get Dorian to only care about himself and his own desires. “Your life: that's the important thing. As for the lives of your neighbors, ... you can flaunt your moral vision towards them, but they do not concern you. Furthermore, individualism is indeed the highest goal” (Wilde p. 94). When Lord Henry says this, we can see that he is essentially telling Dorian that other people are not his concern, that Dorian himself is what should really matter and no one else. Basil demonstrates the superego part of the theory. The superego is the part of the theory that focuses on the values ​​and morals of society. It acts like our conscience. Strives for perfection and leads to feelings of pride or guilt. (Openstax page 5). The superego is supposed to control the impulses of the id and direct the ego towards moral rather than real goals. Basil displays these traits by continually trying to convince Dorian not to give in to immorality. He wants Dorian to ignore the horrible things Lord Henry is trying to instill in his mind. In one part of the novel Basil says: “Dorian, this is horrible! Something has changed you completely. You look exactly like the same wonderful boy who, day after day, came to my studio to pose for his photo... You were the most pristine creature in the entire world. Now, I don't know what came over you. You speak as if you had no heart, no mercy in you” (Wilde 122). He sees that Dorian is acting differently, he is trying to get Dorian to see himself changing and that the way he is acting is wrong. Dorian himself also presents the trait of the Superego in psychoanalytic theory. To be more specific, it begins as the superego but ends up being the id as well. At the beginning of the novel, Dorian is very polite and unspoiled, as he is described in the book. He had his morals in the right state and did nothing out of moral compass. He wanted everything in his life to be perfect and in balance, but we see this take a bad turn. After the death of Sybil Vane, Dorian begins to have battles between morality and immorality within himself. When Sybil dies, Lord Henry tells Dorian that her death is an artistic achievement of which he should be proud. He begins to lose his emotional and moral superego and gives in to Lord Henry's ideas. Sybil's death is the point at which Dorian's downward spiral and mental deterioration begins. Dorian appears to be a “battleground” for these two parts of the theory. We can see that in different parts of the novel Dorian seems to constantly have internal conflicts as he goes back and forth between what is right and what is wrong. This is clear after Sybil's death, and again towards the end of the book when she decides to destroy the portrait. The entire novel seems to show Dorian as a character stuck between the battles of the id and the superego. The next psychological aspect that we can glean from this novel is the disorders that are represented throughout the story. Narcissism is one of the most common themes in this novel, so that's what we'll be talking about. This novel was used as the basis for a disorder called “Dorian Gray Syndrome”. This syndrome is a "cultural and social phenomenon characterized by man's extreme pride in his personal appearance, accompanied by difficulties in coping with the needs of psychological maturation and the aging of his body". This is closely related to narcissism. They have ideal characteristics and Dorian certainly exemplified them. He expressed several times throughout the novel that he wanted to remain beautiful forever: “I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I'm jealous of the portrait you painted of me. Why should he keep what I have to lose? Everything is fine.