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【Abstract】：Freud's psychoanalytic theories deal with the three-part psyche. He claims that the human mind contains the ego， the super-ego and the id; three parts that struggle to catch our attention. The characters in this novel may be used as a typical example to explain the Freudian concepts of the ego， the super-ego and the id. During the course of the novel， the reader follows Dorian as the three parts of his mind melt into one.
【Key words】：Freud， Wilde， psychology
Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray （1891） is a classic work of the late 19th century's English literature. It reflects the thoughts of Freud's three parts of personality. When weaving its plot that explores the issue to its core， Wilde penetrated into the psychological layer of human beings. The relationship between the three protagonists： Dorian Gray， Basil Hallward， Lord Henry Wonton are in accordance with Freud's theory of Ego， Id and Superego.
The novel begins with the three protagonists meeting each other. The well-known artist Basil Hallward meets Dorian Gray who is a cultured and incredibly beautiful young man who immediately captures his artistic imagination. Dorian is brain washed by Henry's speech about the transient nature of beauty and youth and then he pledges his soul if only the painting Basil paint for him could bear the burden of age and infamy in his stead. Under the hedonist influence of Lord Henry， Dorian fully explores his sensuality and is tempted to satisfy human's instincts for desire to the largest extent.
By chance， Dorian falls in love with the actress Sibyl Vane. He approaches and courts her， and soon proposes marriage. Sibyl foregoes her acting career for the experience of true love with Dorian Gray. Loving Dorian with heart and soul， Sibyl gives up stage for Dorian yet turns out to be rejected. Having told her that acting was her beauty without which she no longer interests him， Dorian notices that the portrait has changed; his wish has been realized， and the man in the portrait bears a subtle sneer of cruelty.
Here is the reflection and short occupation of ego. From the very outset， Dorian appears to be an innocent， pure man who barely knows the world， so he is easily influenced by the temptation of Henry. During the process of degenerating， he actually undergoes a struggle between id and ego.
Conscience-stricken and lonely， Dorian decides to reconcile with Sibyl， but she already died. Driven by Henry's book which is full of wicked exploits， Dorian sinks even deeper into a life of sin and corruption. He lives a life devoted to garnering new experiences and sensations without conventional standards of morality or the consequences of his actions. In the following eighteen years， Dorian experiments with every vice in his life where lust and good looks suffice. Here Basil Hallward symbolizes superego. He was a moral man， also a symbol of morality and conscience. When Dorian did evil things， he always tried to persuade him back to right. Unfortunately， Dorian still failed to make redemption of his soul， because his id has such an overwhelming power over the ego that even the disgusting look of his picture fails to help redeem.
Eighteen years later， he still remains young and beautiful， but the figure in his place grows increasingly wizened and hideous. Finally one night， Basil arrives at Dorian's home to confront him about the rumors that plague his reputation. The two argue， and Dorian eventually offers Basil a look at the now-hideous portrait， and Hallward， horrified， begs him to repent. Yet Dorian claims it is too late for penance and kills Basil in a fit of rage.
To escape the guilt of his crime， Dorian goes to an opium den， where James Vane is unknowingly present. When a hunting party accidentally shoots and kills Vane， Dorian feels safe again after fear for Vane's revenge. Later Dorian wonders if his new-found goodness has reverted the corruption in the picture， but sees only an uglier image of himself. Later he resolves to amend his life but cannot summon the courage to confess his crimes. Realizing that only full confession will absolve him of wrongdoing， Dorian decides to destroy the last vestige of his conscience. In a fury， Dorian picks up the knife he used to stab Basil Hallward and attempts to destroy the painting but turned out to stab himself magically.
Focusing on the id， Wilde reveals the tenderness of self-love， or narcissism， which makes Dorian come up with the idea of picture aging in his stead. Cling to the "pleasure principle"—the psychic force that motivates the tendency to seek immediate gratification of any impulse， the id knows no judgments of value： no good and evil， no morality. Driven by Henry， the formation of id in novel， Dorian is overwhelmed by his id and can't just find an object outside itself.
As for the protagonist Dorian himself， he plays the role of ego. The ego acts according to the reality principle. As Freud concedes that the ego "attempts to mediate between id and reality”， Dorian also tries to regain his consciousness after Sibyl's death and even expects his new-found goodness could revert the corruption in the picture. Yet he is not a determined man， nor does he want to make a full confession. So his ego totally gives up to the id. The superego， as Basil Hallward plays， strives to help Dorian act in a socially appropriate manner， whereas the id just wants instant self-gratification. The superego controls his sense of right and wrong and guilt in contradiction to the id， but obviously Dorian quits being manlike when in dilemma of reconciling the two personalities.
In conclusion， the novel addresses the issue of self-concept as portrayed in art. And we can try to track the end of the philosophical boundaries of Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray to Freud's "structural model" of psyche. Oscar Wilde has created an amusing tale that does not end very happily but stimulates reader's contemplation and further exploration by means of Freudian three parts of personality.
Works Cited：
[1]Dimaure， Laure. Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Detroit： Gale Research Inc， 1991.
[2] Freud， Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. New York： Norton， 1962.
[3] Raby， Peter. The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press， 2001.
[4] Wilde， Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Shanghai Foreign Language Teaching Education Press， 2010.
【Key words】：Freud， Wilde， psychology
Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray （1891） is a classic work of the late 19th century's English literature. It reflects the thoughts of Freud's three parts of personality. When weaving its plot that explores the issue to its core， Wilde penetrated into the psychological layer of human beings. The relationship between the three protagonists： Dorian Gray， Basil Hallward， Lord Henry Wonton are in accordance with Freud's theory of Ego， Id and Superego.
The novel begins with the three protagonists meeting each other. The well-known artist Basil Hallward meets Dorian Gray who is a cultured and incredibly beautiful young man who immediately captures his artistic imagination. Dorian is brain washed by Henry's speech about the transient nature of beauty and youth and then he pledges his soul if only the painting Basil paint for him could bear the burden of age and infamy in his stead. Under the hedonist influence of Lord Henry， Dorian fully explores his sensuality and is tempted to satisfy human's instincts for desire to the largest extent.
By chance， Dorian falls in love with the actress Sibyl Vane. He approaches and courts her， and soon proposes marriage. Sibyl foregoes her acting career for the experience of true love with Dorian Gray. Loving Dorian with heart and soul， Sibyl gives up stage for Dorian yet turns out to be rejected. Having told her that acting was her beauty without which she no longer interests him， Dorian notices that the portrait has changed; his wish has been realized， and the man in the portrait bears a subtle sneer of cruelty.
Here is the reflection and short occupation of ego. From the very outset， Dorian appears to be an innocent， pure man who barely knows the world， so he is easily influenced by the temptation of Henry. During the process of degenerating， he actually undergoes a struggle between id and ego.
Conscience-stricken and lonely， Dorian decides to reconcile with Sibyl， but she already died. Driven by Henry's book which is full of wicked exploits， Dorian sinks even deeper into a life of sin and corruption. He lives a life devoted to garnering new experiences and sensations without conventional standards of morality or the consequences of his actions. In the following eighteen years， Dorian experiments with every vice in his life where lust and good looks suffice. Here Basil Hallward symbolizes superego. He was a moral man， also a symbol of morality and conscience. When Dorian did evil things， he always tried to persuade him back to right. Unfortunately， Dorian still failed to make redemption of his soul， because his id has such an overwhelming power over the ego that even the disgusting look of his picture fails to help redeem.
Eighteen years later， he still remains young and beautiful， but the figure in his place grows increasingly wizened and hideous. Finally one night， Basil arrives at Dorian's home to confront him about the rumors that plague his reputation. The two argue， and Dorian eventually offers Basil a look at the now-hideous portrait， and Hallward， horrified， begs him to repent. Yet Dorian claims it is too late for penance and kills Basil in a fit of rage.
To escape the guilt of his crime， Dorian goes to an opium den， where James Vane is unknowingly present. When a hunting party accidentally shoots and kills Vane， Dorian feels safe again after fear for Vane's revenge. Later Dorian wonders if his new-found goodness has reverted the corruption in the picture， but sees only an uglier image of himself. Later he resolves to amend his life but cannot summon the courage to confess his crimes. Realizing that only full confession will absolve him of wrongdoing， Dorian decides to destroy the last vestige of his conscience. In a fury， Dorian picks up the knife he used to stab Basil Hallward and attempts to destroy the painting but turned out to stab himself magically.
Focusing on the id， Wilde reveals the tenderness of self-love， or narcissism， which makes Dorian come up with the idea of picture aging in his stead. Cling to the "pleasure principle"—the psychic force that motivates the tendency to seek immediate gratification of any impulse， the id knows no judgments of value： no good and evil， no morality. Driven by Henry， the formation of id in novel， Dorian is overwhelmed by his id and can't just find an object outside itself.
As for the protagonist Dorian himself， he plays the role of ego. The ego acts according to the reality principle. As Freud concedes that the ego "attempts to mediate between id and reality”， Dorian also tries to regain his consciousness after Sibyl's death and even expects his new-found goodness could revert the corruption in the picture. Yet he is not a determined man， nor does he want to make a full confession. So his ego totally gives up to the id. The superego， as Basil Hallward plays， strives to help Dorian act in a socially appropriate manner， whereas the id just wants instant self-gratification. The superego controls his sense of right and wrong and guilt in contradiction to the id， but obviously Dorian quits being manlike when in dilemma of reconciling the two personalities.
In conclusion， the novel addresses the issue of self-concept as portrayed in art. And we can try to track the end of the philosophical boundaries of Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray to Freud's "structural model" of psyche. Oscar Wilde has created an amusing tale that does not end very happily but stimulates reader's contemplation and further exploration by means of Freudian three parts of personality.
Works Cited：
[1]Dimaure， Laure. Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Detroit： Gale Research Inc， 1991.
[2] Freud， Sigmund. The Ego and the Id. New York： Norton， 1962.
[3] Raby， Peter. The Cambridge Companion to Oscar Wilde. Cambridge： Cambridge University Press， 2001.
[4] Wilde， Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Shanghai Foreign Language Teaching Education Press， 2010.