Although wonderful in real situations where physical alterations can help improve quality of life, plastic surgery is often used for purely cosmetic reasons. Plastic surgery is the closest, it seems, that one can get the the Fountain of Youth. The danger, however, is that it is obviously not natural but created beauty that results from these procedures. In “Picture of Dorian Gray”, Dorian becomes eternally youthful in appearance, while the portrait of himself reveals the truth of his inner beauty: that there is none. Out in the world are many Dorians who can keep up the illusion of youth through the modern means of plastic surgery, but at a cost. People who use this surgery obsessively out of fear of aging are sometimes diagnosed with Dorian Gray Syndrome, and many are suicidal.
Do you think this is a fair comparison? Would Dorian opt for a facelift if he were present among us?
More information on Dorian Gray Syndrome can be found here.
Victorian Visual Culture 
Leave a Reply