“The Picture of Dorian Gray” from a plastic surgery perspective
Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1890) is a book from which inferences can be drawn on many subjects, including the aesthetic concern that is fashionable today, the obsession with youth and beauty, the depth behind the superficial appearance, and its moral consequences.
The work focuses on the reflection of the physical aging and traces of sin in the portrait of the young and attractive Dorian Gray. Dorian, who does not change on the surface (physical appearance) and remains young, leads a corrupt life, decaying morally and spiritually over time. The portrait shows Dorian’s inner decay and the embodiment of his sins.
Let’s examine the main themes in the book from the Plastic Surgery Perspective.
1. Obsession with Youth and Beauty:
– Expectation of Modern Times: Just like Dorian’s desire to remain young and beautiful, today people are knocking on the doors of plastic surgeons with great costs and efforts for youth and beauty.
– Social Pressure: Cosmetic surgery is a common method used by individuals to hide signs of aging or to achieve an idealized standard of beauty. This desire is handled very clearly in the book.
2. Psychological Effects of Aesthetic Procedures:
– Self-Confidence and Perception: Plastic surgery can increase self-confidence in many people, but as seen in Dorian’s story, surface beauty is often not enough to fill the inner void.
– Moral and Spiritual Change: Although Dorian does not change physically, his moral decline deepens over time. This situation points to strong and obsessive psychological difficulties and image disorders that may arise in individuals after aesthetic interventions.
3. Unity of Body and Spirit:
– Surface and Depth: Although the aim of plastic surgery is generally to improve external appearance, “The Picture of Dorian Gray” allows us to think about spiritual and moral health, which is deeper and more permanent. In these surgeries, it is not enough to just improve the physical appearance; Mental and emotional health should also be taken into account, that is, we should work by observing the principles of a holistic approach.
-Temporality and Permanence: Dorian’s unchanging external appearance and his internal decay reflected in the portrait reinforce the idea that aesthetic interventions only offer a temporary solution. In a philosophical sense, lasting happiness and satisfaction should be sought not only in physical beauty, but also in healthy social relationships and spiritual balance.
Oscar Wilde’s work “The Picture of Dorian Gray” emphasizes that individuals who pursue superficial beauty and youth cannot be happy only with external appearance, and that inner peace and moral values
Plastic surgery can be a powerful tool to rejuvenate and beautify individuals’ appearances, but the story of Dorian Gray reminds us that external changes alone may be insufficient when inner beauty and spiritual health are neglected.
From this perspective, while plastic surgery contributes to people’s happiness and self-confidence journeys, the work emphasizes the importance and necessity of this holistic approach from ages ago.
Bryan Johnson is today’s modern Dorian Gray, do you know him?
