The Psychology in The Picture of Dorian Gray

    Defense mechanisms are unconscious psychological operations that are employed to protect oneself from inner conflicts. In my AP Psychology class, we studied these mechanisms extensively, so while reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, the characters' use of many of these defense mechanisms stood out to me. 

    First, sublimation is clearly seen throughout the novel. This defense mechanism serves as a way to transform generally unacceptable thoughts into a socially acceptable outlet. With Basil, we see him transform his obsession with Dorian into painting him as a way to admire Dorian’s beauty while also not coming off as a creep. Lord Henry, on the other hand, transforms this obsession into long, philosophical speech that contains indirect messages indicating his love for Dorian.

    These eloquent words can also be described as rationalization, a defense mechanism wherein we rationalize thoughts that cause dissonance. When Dorian finds out that Sibyl Vane has died, he blames himself for her death yet doesn’t feel as affected as he thought he would feel. Luckily, Lord Henry comes to save the day (not really) and rationalizes her death, describing the whole ordeal as if it were just part of a play–a mere mishap in Dorian’s life. Such explanations sway Dorian into thinking that Sibyl’s death was indeed not his fault and rather served as a way for Sibyl to express the great effect Dorian’s love had on her.

    Another defense mechanism depicted in the novel is projection: the act of attributing a disturbing thought onto someone or something else. In the case of Dorian, he shows this operation as he projects his internal discomfort onto the painting of himself, seemingly witnessing his painted face shift into a cruel expression. With the aid of such a mechanism, Dorian is able to fulfill his own wish of maintaining eternal beauty by projecting all of his pain and blemishes onto his portrait, while leaving his real self unscathed. 

    The use of repression, another defense mechanism through which we restrain and suppress thoughts that bring about conflict, is also evident in the novel. After witnessing Sibyl’s horrible acting, Dorian’s heart is plunged into a state of despair. Talking with her backstage doesn’t help relieve this pain and actually makes it worse as he finds out that his love for her was the cause of this tragedy. Shocked, Dorian attempts to forget his past love for her, stating how he can’t believe that he loved her in the past. Moreover, as a way to stifle this discomfort, Dorian tries to forget about the event by sleeping in more than usual to repress his thoughts on the situation. 

    Through the novel, the implementation of such actions allow various character’s to quash the problems they faced in order to return their bodies to a state of internal harmony. Freud would be proud!