Masarykova Univerzita

Pedagogická fakulta

Bakalářská práce

2015 Martina Klimešová

Masaryk University

Faculty of Education

Department of English language and

literature

Martina Klimešová

Gender, power and desire in The Picture of

Dorian Gray and Bel-Ami

Bachelor Thesis

Supervisor: Mgr. Jaroslav Izavčuk

2015

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently,

using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

………………………………………

Author’s signature

I would like to thank my supervisor, Mgr. Jaroslav Izavčuk for his constructive

advice and to my friends and family for their support.

Abstract

This Bachelor theses deals with the gender roles and identities appeared at the

end of 19th century England and France. Speaking about quite new identities, we devote

our attention especially to New Woman, Dandy and re-emerged myth of Femme Fatale.

My aim was to apply these gender conceptions to the characters appeared in books The

Picture of Dorian Gray, as English representative, and Bel-Ami, as French one. I

focused on to find the connections between the culture and literature characters and the

possible reasons which lead to the appearance of new views on women and men in

society and try to prove their presence in the books.

Key words

Gender, power, desire, gender role, gender identity, homosexuality, new woman,

femme fatale, dandy, dandyism, Oscar Wilde, Guy de Maupassant, Dorian Gray,

George Duroy, fin-de-siècle, end of the century, decadence, The Picture of Dorian

Gray, Bel-Ami

Anotace

Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá genderovými rolemi, které byly typické pro

konec 19. století v Anglii a ve Francii. Byla to nová pojetí lidské identity, a proto

mluvíme zejména o tzv. Nové ženě, Dandym a znovu objeveném mýtu Osudové ženy.

Mým cílem bylo aplikovat tato společenská pojetí osobnosti do literárních děl Obraz

Doriana Graye z anglické literatury a Miláčka z francouzské, a přiřadit je k jejich

postavám. Zaměřila jsem se na spojitosti mezi kulturními a literárními postavami a na

možné důvody, které vedly k vytvoření nových náhledů na muže a ženy ve společnosti a

prokázat tak jejich přítomnost ve výše uvedených knihách.

Klíčová slova

Gender, síla, moc, genderové role, genderová identita, homosexuality, nová

žena, dandy, osudová žena, dandyismus, Oscar Wilde, Guy de Maupassant, Dorian

Gray, George Duroy, fin-de-siècle, konec 19. století, decadence, The Picture of Dorian

Gray, Bel-Ami

Table of contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 8

2. Gender in the second half of 19th century culture and literature ......................... 10

2.1. Femme Fatale ............................................................................................. 13

2.2. New Woman .............................................................................................. 19

2.3. Dandyism and Homosexuality ................................................................... 26

2.3.1. Who is Dandy and a homosexual – cultural and literary

characterization........................................................................................ 26

2.3.2. Personal characteristic features of Dandy and character´s analogy. 30

3. Connotations of gender roles in The Picture of Dorian Gray and Bel-Ami ........ 35

3.1. Literary allusions to Femme fatale ............................................................ 35

3.1.1. Prostitutes................................................................................. 36

3.1.2. Lovers..................................................................................... 38

3.2. Literary allusions to New Woman ............................................................. 45

3.3. Literary allusions to Dandy and homosexual ............................................ 50

3.3.1. Dandy and clothing.................................................................... 50

3.3.2. Dandy, women and homosexual relations....................................... 52

3.3.3. Dandy, power and identity......................................................... 55

4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 59

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1. Introduction

GENDER is generally quite new area of examination and therefore it is obvious

that many of our interests are oriented to the gender topics and try to analyze this

phenomenon retrospectively. My thesis is about a time when gender begins and about

the gender conceptions which entered the social life with its controversial opinions and

behaviour. These issues would be discussed on the story and character´s bases of The

Picture of Dorian Gray and Bel-Ami.

Speaking about 19th century, these themes were aimed to sexuality, interested in

the women such as the beautiful and romantic creatures or the intelligent and

independent woman who wants to show her abilities to society. Themes, we are

speaking about, were also centered on men and their behavior which became a bit

effeminate or homosexual. Furthermore it is not a surprise that they caused the

commotion in this quickly changing, but still conservative era and the public interest

rose not only for the texts themselves, but also for the consequences they had. Now we

speak about the trial with Oscar Wilde who was sentenced for his novel and also

condemned.

The purpose of this work is to analyze and compare the controversial themes

regarding new social and gender roles of fin-de-siècle femme fatale, New Woman and

dandy in the novels mentioned above. After examining them in cultural context, we will

provide the arguments of these gender overtones on the book´s basis and quotations to

find their presence in the works. Moreover, we will marginally devote our attention to

the desire for the power; either for money or popularity, status, appreciation … because

these topics are fundamental for naturalistic and decadent works on which the money

and visualizing them had the great influence.

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In the first part of my thesis I will focus on social and literary perception of

femme fatale, new woman and dandy types of personalities. I will try to find the

evidences proving that these formations exist in literary works and I try to underline it

by the concrete examples of specific books The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

and Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant. Additionally I will try to explain why these

gender roles appeared at the end of the century and what their role in society was and

how they influenced the literature. In the second part of my thesis I tend to centre on the

textual allusions connected to above mentioned gender and social roles. I will try to

argument their presence in the works and I will search for their identification with the

cultural icons. Moreover I compare them and state if they have something in common or

not.

The reason why I have chosen these two books is that my second subject is

French language and I wanted to connect it to my theses written at English department.

These books were published approximately around the end of century and I wanted to

analyze them from gender perspective and find their differences and similarities they

contain.

My thesis should help people to connect the English and French gender roles and

identities at that time and realize that not only in The Picture of Dorian Gray, where

gender idea was already examined, but even in the book Bel-Ami they could find the

traces of gender which could be similar to those found in the work of Oscar Wilde.

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2. Gender in the second half of 19th century culture and

literature

THROUHGHOUT this chapter we will define the three gender roles appeared

and influencing the 19th century culture and literature. We will define them and try to

match to them the characters from the books The Picture of Dorian Gray and Bel-Ami

on the basis of the identification with the gender roles.

This chapter is devoted to the study of woman and man in the late 19th century where it

undertook a huge development full of changes which struggled and had to face to the

unfavorable public position. It was because the changes we´re speaking about were

quite radical and controversial to that time which was changing but still full of

stereotypes and conservatism. So why and when appeared the longing to reveal more

about sexuality and multiple personalities, which “are opening up new varieties of

gender?” (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard, eds. 2002, 29)

Officially “the origin of the controversy may be dated around the year 1885”.

(Frierson, William C. 1928, 533) This controversial movement is overcoming the time

of realism and is associated with a concentration to a new social phenomenon –

affluence, which “may produce compulsive appetites and unrealistic expectations that

lead to disillusionment and anxiety”. (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie

Hibbard, eds. 2002, 27) Reason of emerging the sexual themes in culture and literature

may be the difference between the surplus and scarcity. “If scarcity makes things

precious, in a world of surplus, the struggle to meet basic needs becomes trivial” and

thereby the people turn their attention to the satisfaction of people´s desires, needs,

appreciated social statuses,…“so that intolerance also rises.”( Böker, Uwe, Richard

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Corballis, and Julie Hibbard, eds. 2002, 27) The answer on the question what happen

when the empty space in a soul is fulfilled by these vices is simple-then comes the guilt.

This is a fundamental philosophy and the reason why The Picture of Dorian

Gray and Bel-Ami were so discussed and shocking. The works fell on the conservative

and fundamental grown when expressing new possibilities of gender, personal values

and deviating from embedded beliefs. The main characters-Dorian Gray and George

Duroy were both living licentious lives and were craving for the luxury, sex, youth and

in addition, were also abusing the women. At the cost of that they were punished.

Dorian dies as young and good looking but with destroyed soul. In opposite George

gains what he wanted but he isn´t hold in high esteem of public eye and his fame is

certainly not eternal. These stories reflect the implementation of gender because both

protagonists are portrayed as typical well dressed and handsome young men - dandies.

In books the authors also describe the women, their behavior, social status and the way

they are treating by men. Obviously we can find there a type of eternal femme fatale and

also feminist New Woman. The individual conceptions of gender will be discussed and

described in the chapters below.

As it´s known, the resembling destiny as the main characters, has also Oscar

Wilde. He writes critically about society and slowly opens newly developing products

of society who are an effeminate man and masculine woman. Additionally the guilt

comes also in this case when Wilde is sentenced for his novel and also condemned to

two years of labor work, however, still saying that: “The only thing worse than not

getting what you want is to get it.” (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard,

eds. 2002, 27)

This punishment came from the society which proves that people were resisting

the new Darwinist´s and Freud´s ideas which were influencing this type of thinking,

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supporting the natural development of human nature and mankind that isn´t obstructive

to any kind of individual personality. In addition, the important fact of creating a new

gender´s point of view can´t leave out is industrialist class separation. Regarding at this

issue Carol Srole states that:

“Nineteenth-century bourgeois culture designed the upper and working classes

as gender extremes: working-class men appeared as brutish or hypermasculine,

upper – class men as dependent and foppish, that is, excessively feminine. So,

too, upper-class women looked too dependent and frivolous-that is, unduly

feminine-while working-class women seemed overly forward, sexual, and

independent, sometimes too masculine and other times too feminine”. (Srole

2009, 5)

To demonstrate this quotation on the books´ protagonists I agree that upper–

class gentlemen are ‘foppish’ if we take in consideration the effeminate beauty of

Dorian who´s only abusing alcohol, drugs and women. In contrast, a ‘brutish and

hypermasculine man’ may be seen Sibyl Vane´s brother James and his sense for the

protecting and providing his family. Speaking about George I would state that he´s both

in one. Originally poor ‘working man,’ but evidently with a spirit of gentleman which

forces him to move on the social scale and to become an ‘upper–class man’.

Concerning the women in Bel-Ami I have to argue that the upper – class women

are not always frivolous and feminine. The example is Madeleine Forestier who´s a

woman from upper – class but educated and modern approaching by her tricks and self

seeking to men. On the other hand Clotilde de Marelle is truly feminine woman who

succumbs to her love but she´s not ‘frivolous’. A ‘frivolous’ and really naïve and blind

upper-class woman is Virginie Walter, later Dorian´s mother-in-law. In The Picture of

Dorian Gray we can speak about Sybil Vane as about ‘working class woman’ but who´s

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‘too feminine’. This personage has an artist in spirit and therefore is romantic but

unfortunately ends tragically which resembles to femme fatale´s destiny. To compare it

with a ‘working–class woman’ from Bel-Ami who´s apart from Sibyl sexual and

independent, is a prostitute Rachel who tries to be ‘too masculine’ when threatening and

insulting George for not paying her.

Now we can move to more detailed examining of three main gender

presentations, lately analyzed in books.

2.1. Femme Fatale

THE FIRST type of women I want to analyze in the works is the cult of femme

fatale. This conception of woman changes throughout the time according to the

influencing factors and society.

It´s generally known that a gender theme has a long history because of its high

interest into women and their differences with the men. Within this time the most

important moments happened in the 19th century. Till this time, were women considered

as the creatures who were naturally condemned to be inferior to the men as the

punishment for the Adam and Eve´s sin and “consistently represent as the site of wilful

sexuality and bodily appetite, whether figured as that part of man responsible for the

Fall, as was characteristic of sixteenth and seventeenth century texts, (...)” (Poovey

2009, 10). Lately, as the politic factors gave the birth of the influence of modern

prevailing movements as were the fundamentalism and modernism, the new roles of

women were emerged. They started to be “represented as man´s foil, as in eighteenth –

century texts like Swift´s and Pope´s poems, women were associated with flesh, desire,

and unsocialized, hence susceptible, impulses and passions” (Poovey 2009, 9-10).

These women who break the rules of the traditional conception of the woman

during the Victorian time came up to the light in time which was full of developmental

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process and wealth but on the other hand which also carried the bad conditions of life.

This type of woman was hidden in the shame and the darkness appearing mainly in the

lower social classes. These women called the prostitutes threatened to the society by the

venereal diseases such as syphilis and others.

“William Acton notoriously characterized women as “not very much troubled

possible “perversion” and “degeneration” of womanhood – the more so because

the majority of prostitutes belonged to a social class that threatened to rise

against the newly established power of the bourgeoisie.” (Böker, Uwe, Richard

Corballis, and Julie Hibbard, eds. 2002, 118)

Here can be seen a certain link between the lower class and the bourgeois which

was signified by the sexual relation of these different worlds which is also manifested in

both books The Picture of Dorian Gray and Bel-Ami, where the men from upper class

don´t conceal the fact that they´re visiting the prostitutes. It evidently lends the

importance on sexuality as the one of the main important factors influencing fin-de-

siècle.

Come to the point, the woman, in our case a prostitute or women from the low

society, attiring the men´s attention using her bodily beauty and trying to seduce all the

men´s senses to reach her aim “was seen to be the incarnation of the femme fatale”

(Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard, eds. 2002, 118) whose myth is

appearing in the literature and culture for the centuries.

The basic for the reemerging the femme fatale idol lays on decadence movement

that draw his power from such factors as the fear form the illnesses and an attempt to

bridge the differences between the fundamentalists conservatism and decadence which

manifest the decay of end of the century, immorality and sexuality. So it won´t be a

surprise that the femme fatale “this suddenly obvious and overdone cultural icon–unlike

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other popular icons such as the virtuous woman – was ridiculed and transformed into a

parody of her former elusively seductive self.” (Braun 2012, 109) This “label” stick on

the women who weren´t gifted by the fortune and titles and somehow deviating from

models and roles typical for the end of the century. In the French literature and culture

is the relation between the men and women regarded in agreement with Charles

Baudelaire´s opinion which says that: “man is a weak decadent consumed by modern

woman, a vampire or femme fatale” (Ridge 1961, 352) I assess that Charles Baudelaire

wasn´t wrong with his statement which we can, besides other things, see in the

following page where demonstrating the cult of femme fatale in literary history.

Nevertheless he admits that the women have the power over the men whether they are

femmes fatales or New Women. Also in George is captured by his femme fatale Clotilde

who seduces his heart and then by New Woman Madeleine who seduce him by her

manipulating abilities and money. On the other hand Dorian is much more victim of

Henry Wotton whom he admires, than the women´s. Actually Sibyl could be considered

as his femme fatale who shows him a good but on which he turns his back.

As the first symbol is considered Cleopatra – one of the Shakespeare´s plays.

This woman is so attractive because she´s unattainable. She manipulates intelligently

with men using her feminine forces. We feel that it´s more likely a romantic aspect of

the femme fatale then a sexual one because the femmes fatales were firstly considered as

the “pristine upholders of virtue and restraint” (Braun 2012, 3) There wasn´t nothing

insulting and so much sexual as in fin–de–siècle novels. From the French literature we

can take in consideration the example of Carmen – the most famous French opera from

fin–de–siècle. Carmen is a gypsy woman who doesn´t want to let the men possess her.

In Bizet´s opera “Carmen is indeed regarded as the typical femme fatale, the

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personification of the exotic – erotic, the sphinx who inevitably destroys those

unfortunates who succumb to her irresistible charms” (Pels, Crebas 1988, 579).

Nevertheless till the end of the century our seductress undertook many literary

changes. At the beginning of the 19th century she appears in Gothic ballads. There´s a

suspension of erotic aspect and the heroines are more pragmatic and want to destroy the

male characters.

Contrary to this conception, the mid–19th century time traces more romantic type

of woman. It´s based on purity and beauty and the heroine often suffers from the

unfulfilled love. She tends to the romantic adventures of life and love. One of the

representatives is for example Charles Dickens and his Great Expectations where we

can observe all these aspects.

The erotic femme fatale emerges in the Vampire tales. For example in Bram

Stoker´s Dracula the heroine Lucy is allured by the vampire´s grace and is finally killed

because of her flirting.

Now we come to the area of our interest and that´s the end of the 19th century.

We have already stated that this time is marked by the decline of the morals and so of

the femme fatale. When it comes to the industrial time, diseases, low wages, prostitution

and a general fear of the end of the century which brings to these hard conditions even

more insecurity, the impoliteness vulgarity and sexual images begin to appear.

And this time femme fatale gets another form and becomes “a grotesque hybrid

of desires not her own, a foreign reflection of a self she neither recognizes nor controls”

(Braun 2012, 11). These sad characters are usually attributed to the prostitutes who are

considered as the decadent femmes fatales. They are also points of the writers´ interest

because the writers centre on the truth and reality which wasn´t favourable for the

people´s happiness. They wanted to express the feeling of desperation and hopelessness

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which were the sentiments belonging to the naturalistic time. If we draw the attention to

the literary works of our interest we couldn´t leave out the Oscar Wilde´s play Salomé.

Salomé is the character originally from Bible and she is seductive dancer. This play

highlight the vanity and erotic passion which leads to the dreadful acts as is the death.

The prostitutes play an important role in the works I´m preoccupied with. In Bel - Ami

there is mainly one prostitute who´s seducing Charles Duroy and then trying to destroy

his true love relationship. Contrary to Bel-Ami work in The Picture of Dorian Gray the

prostitutes play more general and non – influencing role. They are simply present in a

work pleasure the men and are seen only like the sexual symbols that even willingly

satisfy men´s needs.

Looking at this issue we can claim that they are present in the work only to

emphasize the decadent style. We can call them seductress – the women who have

nothing but low self – awareness and want to provoke the men. The truly femme fatales

are the lovers of Dorian Gray and George Duroy. The first one is Sibyl Vane the young

actress and the first love of Dorian. The second one is Clotilde de Marelle who´s

married but so much in love with George that she is cheating on her husband. Also

George really loves her but the money and power are more important to him. Both of

them are sad characters. Sibyl is fatal for Dorian, who by killing herself starts Dorian´s

self – destructive life. On the other hand Clotilde is the only stable thing in George´s life

which gives him a confidence to move on and take the other steps in building his career

while she´s watching his other lovers or women beside him.

However, the main feminine characters are not the prostitutes but the women

who are coquettes or full-fledged women. How differentiate and recognize these two

conceptions? The first one can clarify Wollstonecraft in the Braun´s work who argues

what is important about the coquette “is her ability to use her feminine wiles

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deliberately to destroy men (and sometimes other women)” (Braun 2012, 5). She is not

unaware of her seduction which can simply lead to her own destruction bringing also

the other participants. For this reason we can confirm that the lack of self- knowledge is

more powerful and destructive. In Bel-Ami there´s a typical representative of the

coquette and it´s Madeleine Forestier, who uses her intelligence combined with her

beauty to be powerful and not inferior to the men. In the Picture of Dorian Gray I

would attribute these qualities (if he were a woman) to Lord Henry. He´s manipulating

with Dorian from position of experienced wealthy man. I see also a type of seduction in

his behavior when he is all the time drawing Dorian´s attention to himself and so

distract him from his loves, personal life and friends.

Summarise these points we can state that the femme fatale has many forms and

reacts on the social and historical changes. The femme fatale of the end of the century is

showing in the realist novels “the failure of political and sexual rebellions” and “a

perversion and elimination of traditional boundaries of gender and sexuality” (Braun

2012, 6).

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2.2. New Woman

IN THIS chapter it´s going to be discussed a counterpart theme to the previous

one. While in the conception of femme fatale we preoccupied with long history, many

pictures she can have and struggles this myth went through, the conception of New

Woman is, as the title indicate, totally new because “she was part of that concatenation

of cultural novelties which manifested itself in the 1880s and 1890s”. (Ledger 1997, 1)

By mentioned novelties we mean the new socialism, industrialism, but mainly the new

representation of woman as a truly living independent person famous as suffragette,

reformer but also a writer. The word “new” has precise and deep sense in the title for

this unconventional woman. Rather because it points out that she “was consumed with a

desire for new experiences, new sensations, new objects in life”. (Pykett 1992, 138)

This type of woman digresses from the typical women who were supposed to

have respect for the superior men and to “the Victorian bourgeois ideal of the

gentleman, for example, represented a male of enormous self – discipline he could

harness his emotions and commit himself to a life of work and industry and of duty to

family and country”. (Losey, Jay, William Dean Brewer 2000, 11) A New Woman

breaks all the stereotypes of women at the end of the century and does so in many

spectres. For example she finds the new ways of clothing, thinking, behaving and so

creates a new form of personality which strays from women and gets closer to men.

This icon destroys the lines between the men´s and women´s identities and shows a new

stream of independent woman.

Also “Mary Wollstonecraft´s Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), with

its indictment of nascent modern industrialism, argues against a society based on

separate spheres, which keeps women in the home without the option of

education or work”. (Losey, Jay, William Dean Brewer 2000, 11)

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It was one of the most important woman reformer and critique of the social scale

and men versus women separation. She could be considered as one of the first feminists

and also New Woman types. It´s obvious that New Woman icon appear firstly in culture

and society. When the problematic of this issue start to be discussed in the press, and

generally in a public, the literature also tried to react.

Mainly the women who are also influenced by this movement are interested in

feminist topics and integrate them to their works. They are not so famous now but in the

period “of the 1890s occupy an important place in the cultural history of the nineteenth

century, and played an important part in the development of fiction”. (Pykett 1992, ix)

The books written by women were commenting the struggles of the hard life of female

writers and women who want to achieve a success but unfortunately they cannot,

because the men hold fast all the power in their hands. They were often comparing the

feminism with housekeeping women and they also asked the questions about the

marriage and relationships to their husbands. One could note that if woman wants to be

independent she should deny the marriage and men in superior position. Or were their

husbands conciliate with this new situation? Sally Ledger claims that:

“New Woman writers of fin-de-siècle were usually (although not always)

stalwart supporters of heterosexual marriage, they had little or no conception of

female sexual desire (let alone lesbian sexual desire), and often had a

considerable investment in eugenic and other imperialist discourses”. (Losey,

Jay, William Dean Brewer 2000, 6)

For example one of the famous English writers of that time Sarah Grand contests

in her book The Heavenly Twins that the relationships between man and woman are not

equal in a marriage. She supports the women to oppose this situation and invites them to

find the men who are able to accept them as the independent and equal. She also said

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that: “it is upon the perfecting of the marriage relation that the upward progress of

mankind depends”. (Murphy 2001, 8-9)

Concerning the books which are in our point of interest, a presentation of New

Woman is pictured in them in many ways. First of all we will compare the cultural

relationship between New Women writers and Oscar Wilde. Then the investigation of

the problematic in The Picture of Dorian Gray comes, where this type of modern

woman is relatively criticised.

Wilde portrays the women of many faces in his book and New Woman by whom

we mean the women of upper class are by the Henry´s words manipulating with men

and forcing them to the acts and thoughts they are not interested in. Wilde is maybe

more pro–Dandy type in this work. Although a type of Dandy and New Woman are both

the newly appeared conceptions at the end of the century, they differ in many ways and

so, Wilde and New Woman writers, because “in contradistinction to Wilde, feminist

writers saw themselves as agents of moral renovation, and therefore as the antithesis of

fin–de–siècle decadence”. (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard 2002,

136) The aim that the New Women set is to step out from the stereotype and thus it´s no

surprise that they are refusing the works and people claiming the opposite. They were

even against the type of femme fatale - her fatal destiny and her treating. Evidently,

Oscar Wilde and his other works and plays were provoking the women. For example his

play we spoke about in the previous chapter – “Salomé which stylised femme fatale into

an icon of aestecism”.(Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard 2002, 136)

Nevertheless the publishers and the public find out more admirable and readable

“Wilde´s emphasis on form and brilliancy of style as more palatable to the public taste

than a feminist diet of harsh realism and political didactism”.( Böker, Uwe, Richard

22

Corballis, and Julie Hibbard eds. 2002, 137) It is a fact that the women books were

more likely the sorts of pamphlets and a attempt how to change a public meaning.

Contradictory, Wilde was also famous in the public sphere as the editor of the

woman magazine the Woman´s World “which simultaneously addressed feminists and

traditionalists concerns”. (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard eds. 2002,

142) This magazine speaks about the woman´s career, education and generally about

her social role in public. There´s also a place for the showings of woman pieces of

literature to manifest their independence and attire the women readers. It also

undoubtedly centres on a topic concerning the fashion which was popular not only for

the fashion and dress code itself but what´s more important, it gives “contributions on

women´s cross – dressing and men´s decorative use of the fan in courtly society serve to

undermine normative gender discourses”. (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie

Hibbard eds. 2002, 142)

Generally the press and magazines play an important role in constituting a new

conception of gender. It´s also an evidence how the gender and a role of women were

developed. So for having the complete impression about the rising this new phenomena,

let me devote to it a few words.

The main reason for the huge popularity of spreading the phenomena of New

Woman, have the photographic inventions. And certainly even the French press isn´t out

of discussion. Guy de Maupassant also participates in a journalist spheres however,

apart from Oscar Wilde, he prefers different genres. He writes for Le Figaro or Le

Gauloi or Histoire du vieux temps and contributes on the articles concerning the

politics, economy and his experience from the Prussian – French war. That the press has

on Maupassant a great influence can be seen also in his work Bel-Ami, where a main

character is firstly lost and then at the top of the world of journalism.

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Nevertheless it doesn´t change a fact that the magazines read predominantly by

women and writing about them, didn´t get out of the French readers and public. One of

the reasons why they are so popular is providing

“their embrace of new artistic currents, and literary trends and their exquisite

presentation of famous women, these magazines became the arena through

which a powerful model of French feminity emerged”. (Mesch 2013, 4)

Between the most famous and initiating magazines should be listed La Vie

Hereuse and Femina which “offer an ideal vantage point from which to examine this

moment of society in transition: poised to accept women in more powerful, visible roles

than even before, but not always certain as to how imagine them inhabitating those

roles”. (Mesch 2013, 4) Actually, the magazines were another step for creating a public

companies speaking about changes after the attending the ‘salons’ which were known

since Baroque time. The women grab such opportunity to be more visible and try to

attribute to the magazines which it allowed. Finally they start to obtain a salary,

admiration, and access to Socièté de gens de letters and L´Académie Française.

However, there were the magazines which weren´t favorably disposed to women efforts

to penetrate to men´s world of work and fame. For example in a magazine Le Charivari

women were ridiculed in cartoons and “in image after image, women writers were

depicted as abandoning or sabotaging their traditional roles, worse yet, their husbands

were left emasculated forced into the roles their wives had evacuated”. (Mesch 2013, 7)

This publicity, whether positive or negative, affects the women in a sense of

celebrity culture. These modern trends picturing the wealthy beautiful women with their

splendid dresses and magnificent hairstyles in their immense and decorated houses

affect “their readers to see themselves differently”. (Mesch 2013, 6) Moreover the

invention of the photograph and presentation of wealth gives a birth to kind of affluenza

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and mass culture which “shaped a new model of womanhood, one that not only soldered

the association between consumerism and femininity, but also encouraged women to

develop their own critical and creative voices”. (Mesch 2013, 7) Therefore this mass

production of seemed negatives unconsciously formed a new woman able to judge

situation rationally and react responsibly to her beliefs.

A demonstration of women with already mentioned critical thinking and

intelligence is shown in the works of our study. So let be brief in depicting the main

new woman characters. In the Picture of Dorian Gray as a New Woman type could be

portrayed the Duchess of Monmouth who as almost only woman in this book shows her

independence on men and expresses confidently her personal opinions and ideas.

Otherwise she´s married, she feels positive emotions towards Dorian and perhaps he

feels the same. Nevertheless they meet only several times and their relationship is only a

friendship concentrated on nice and instructive talking.

On the other hand in Bel-Ami should be a New Woman Madeleine Forestier who

is able to easily manipulate with men and thanks to it, reach the wealth. Another fact is

that she can write the articles to the political and economic magazines so it follows that

she´s intelligent and capable of enter the men´s world where she has influential contacts.

Contradictory to Duchess who appears at the end of the book, Madeleine is one of the

main characters who´s affecting whole story. If we compare these two women

characters we can state that Madeleine is more likely an antagonist who prefers herself

and her benefits and doesn´t dare to betray her husband George Duroy, while Duchess

comes to the story just to bore Lord Henry and amuse Dorian. But still it remains that

there were these tendencies which appeared also in a book, seemingly aimed only to

aesthecism, all the type of men and her not always favorable opinions on women.

25

To summarize all what have been said we can say that this courageous and

unexpected movement at turn of the century gave the first big impulse to establish a

modern woman who´s interested in education, politics and who by acquired taste of

power can influence social and political development. These social circumstances “draw

attention to the many unnamed women, or to recognized pioneers, rather than to the few

regular biographies (saints, queens and heroines) whose names are familiar from old

fashioned children´s books or popular mythmaking (Flora Macdonald, Madame de

Pompadour, Harriet Beecher Stowe). Such ‘femmes du temps jadis’ were sometimes

rather disparagingly described as ‘women worthies.’ ” (Allison, Maggie, and Kershaw,

Angela, eds. 2015, 5) All these women deserve to be unforgotten and remained even

nowadays when the process of feminism is maintaining.

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2.3. Dandyism and homosexuality

WHILE in the previous chapter the attention was devoted to kind of masculine

woman influenced by mass culture, in this chapter we will define “the male counterpart

to New Woman in this respect” who was “Dandy and especially the homosexual

Dandy.” (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard 2002, 141) This chapter

should be the most important because it focuses on men and the men are the main

subjects of the book The Picture of Dorian Gray and also Bel-Ami. Everything we will

discuss in the practical part will be deduced from the men conceptions. Nevertheless it´s

necessary to state that the women are always present when men appeared and both, men

and women, have influence on each other. Maybe that´s the reason why when

discussing dandy – a male, although feminine, is mentioned also a female performer,

female dandy.

2.3.1. Who is Dandy and a homosexual – cultural and literary

characterization

“The dandy and the popular female performer come from the worlds known as

‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, meet at the moment when such distinctions begin to blur.”

(Garelick 1998, 4) We have no choice but agree. In the unbalanced time of industrial

and political revolution the aristocratic statutes are beginning to lose their importance.

Instead of nobility, the money and fortune start to be the main factors which, as

Francoise Coblenceová is claiming,

“are making the integration with aristocracy possible. We are pretending that

we are rich even if we have nothing. And it´s the same with the fashion, which

is a product of aristocracy: we ape the things are right now trendy. And by

emulating the wealthy people, we “are renouncing our own personal opinion.”

(Coblenceová 2003, 77)

27

Generally, Dandy is considered as a feminine man also because he´s always well

– dressed gentleman and therefore he gives the impression of an affluent well – behaved

man. “His suit is an example for whole society. When he came with a new idea of

clothing, he was observing with amusement, how it´s spreading from the highest classes

to the lowest ones.” (Coblenceová 2003, 98) Altogether with all these powers

“dandyism is a fund of social growth.” (Coblenceová 2003, 78) These statements

perfectly fit to our works. Dorian Gray and George Duroy are both well – dressed

gentlemen affect by the wealthy styles of life. Dorian Gray is an inheritor of his money

and properties and he´s only finding his aristocratic image because he´s not rise up like

one of them. It is a fact which connects him with George Duroy who´s seeking for

richness and he´s as it was said ‘pretending that he´s rich even if he has nothing’. This

proves a truth that he´s living in an ugly and dirty apartment but he wears a suit,

cylinder and a cane which helps him to be in touch with aristocrats, gaining the money

and then a status and title. He´s really a typical example of how the money can provide

a title of nobility. At the beginning we are speaking about poor George Duroy and at

the end of the story his name transform in George du Roy (le roi = a king) de Cantel - a

baron.

After defining the influencing factors of dandy´s emerging, it´s time to move

from our literary dandy to at the end of the 19th century culture one who “has a very

long tradition in both France and England; indeed, he is a hybrid of both cultures.”

(Garelick 1998, 6) And it was because of “The first Dandy celebrated specifically as

such” who “was the English George ‘beau’ Brummell (1778 – 1840)” (Garelick 1998,

6) and who integrates not only English and French cultures but also a men´s and

women´s worlds. He admires French culture and tries to integrate it to England. He also

criticised Napoleon Bonaparte nevertheless he had much in common with him. While

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Napoleon was a tyran and dictator of France and world, Brummell was a dictator of

English clubs and fashion. In addition he moves to France after he put himself into the

debts which wasn´t able to pay. His reign is associated with the kings George III. and

his son George IV. over whom he had a significant power, which also highlights the

previous assertion that thanks to the dandy´s style and behaviour he could manipulate

with upper classes men. He´s considered to be the first prototype of Dandy which is

manifested partly by his power in society and secondly by his clothing and personal

image and style. In a book Dandysmus, povinnost pochybnosti Coblenceová is

commenting that even Brummell was fashion icon, he didn´t abound with beauty but

was even drab and dull. And his elegance was based on his sobriety. Dandy wears sober

but perfect clothing containing a suit, tie and white gloves. (49) If it was true in the real

society then we can argue that, looking at Dorian Gray and George Duroy and at their

clothing the authors really tend to interpret the main characters as Dandies.

Another supporter of Dandy and objector of women is for example Charles

Baudelaire who´s a French decadent poet stating that “La femme est le contraire du

Dandy.” (Baudelaire, Girard 1919, 9) He even celebrates a sense for beauty but not

women´s beauty nevertheless the beauty of art which was according to him superior to

the nature. However the main feature of proclaiming him a Dandy is not his relationship

with women but his attitude to the politics. Actually, we can´t speak about any attitude

because he refuses all the political institutions and he´s also unclassified – no

republican, no socialist, ... He tries to separate himself from the social mainstream and

this “persistent effort to create his own originality” is typical for Dandy. His selfish

individualism celebrates the simply, unimportant things, he abounds in carelessness and

finds the fondness in art. It could be a reason why, or if Dandy falls in love with a

woman, it is for most of time a dancer or an actress. To elaborate this theory we can

29

illustrate the example of Dorian Gray and his lover Sybil who was an actress and he fell

in love with her because she was so talented. That art is very important issue for

Dandies is also a fact that Dorian breaks up with her when she acts badly. He´s furious

about it, even when Sybil explains him that she did it intentionally and for their love.

It exists different opinions on whether the writer when putting a Dandy character

in his work should be also assessed as Dandy. It´ s generally known that Oscar Wilde is

also classify together with Byron and Andy Warhol to the Dandies´ society. Wilde is

not only Dandy but he also tends to queer desire and homosexuality. It shows many

references. One of the example heads towards references on Shakespeare in The Picture

of Dorian Gray and as we know, he was also in a centre of public attention because of

his homosexual desires which he hid in his works. Moreover Wilde is confirming his

homosexuality openly in a sentence admitting that “heterosexual love is inferior to

homosexuality, arguing that women´s bodies were unaesthetic and the need to produce

children deprived women of a more exalted, transcendent, and non – purposeful love.”

(Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard, eds. 2002, 122) In further

examining his novel we can deduce that he really was influenced by homosexuality

because Dorian Gray certainly has the homosexual intentions in a book mainly to Basil

Hallward, typical gay in a book who falls in love with Dorian and his beauty while

painting a picture. He always stands by Dorian and tries to be his friend but he can´t

help not to love him. On the other hand in Bel-Ami we don´t have so much direct

references to homosexuality. George Duroy doesn´t show any attitude or desire for any

homosexual kind of relationship.

But what is actually difference between Dandy and Homosexual? Franz Meier is

holding an opinion that “homosexual was connected with degeneration, debauchery and

venereal diseases” while “the Dandy was often seen as sterile and asexual.” (Böker,

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Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard, eds. 2002, 119) It also corresponds to

Coblenceová ´s finding that “Oscar Wilde who was Dandy knew well that Dorian Gray

is not.”(10) She´s applying a concept that a real Dandy wants to live throughout the

time and adapt his genius and original identity to art and society. He doesn´t strive to be

preserved in existence as Dorian Gray is.

In my point of view it is true. However Dorian Gray has the features of Dandy, I

mean the clothing, elegance, debauchery and sexual desires, he abounds with

homosexual inclinations and decadent death – thoughts. However he resembles by some

other characteristics to George so I would consider him as Dandy too. I would match a

Dandy type to Henry Wotton. Although he´s an aristocrat from the upper class, his

behaviour and manners are answering to Dandy´s sobriety and intelligence. He is a

fashionable icon concerning his radical ideas and trendy clothing which command

Dorian´s, Basil´s and others respect just us George Brummell did so with his regent

George IV and then whole society. Harry is quite In contradistinction to evaluate

George Duroy we can state that he´s probably the most convenient Dandy. Firstly he´s

well dressed, at the beginning poor but through his dandyismus charms women and

enters the upper class where gets the opportunities to gain the money and therefore a

title.

2.3.2. Personal characteristic features of Dandy and character´s analogy

AFTER defining the basic terms of Dandy ´s role in the society we move to the

personal and psychological characteristic features in which we find analogy between, as

we have already stated, the main Dandy types of the books - Lord Henry Wotton

George Duroy and of course, partially, Dorian Gray. But first of all we should say that

Dandy reach a new dimension since Brummell and so he can be evaluated from many

other angles. He´s not only a fashionable icon, dictating the rules but also a human

31

being who comes through the personal crisis which hide for his expresses of

superficiality and eccentricity, which make out of him a modern icon at the fin de-siècle.

In Dandy we can see the clash of the two contradistinctions. When examining

his character we can´t miss out his calm and even–tempered appearance but when

looking at his behaviour we notice his wildness and his life full of profligacy. This

typical behaviour maybe results from the two dandy types, the English and French, who

joined at the end of century and created the new modern dandy. Coblenceová (2003) is

depicting them as “egoist, tense, dry dandy” by meaning the English one and as

“charming, pleasant, easy and quick – witted French elegantly dressed man, who can

converse and seduce.” (232) Also in the books we can notice several changes of the

individual characters from the ‘egoist, tense and dry’ to ‘charming, easy,’ and seducing.

For example Dorian is seducing Sybil by telling her these beautiful things about love

and his feelings he has for her. She trusts him and even calls him ‘a prince charming’

but if we go back to their broke up scene, he behaves selfishly, shows his distance from

her and his ego appeared when he doesn´t want to be ashamed of her. Identically

George Duroy shows for most of time his conservative face behind which hides the

ability to seduce the women easily, to be kind of insidious to the women. For instance,

when he also breaks up with Clotilde he´s completely tough and tense even if she is the

only woman for whom he has some deeper feelings which shows in many scenes in an

apartment where they meet regularly. In addition, concerning Lord Henry there´s no

specific information about his love affairs but we can naturally deduce that he has some.

From his spendthrift attitude to life where showing his chauvinism and pleasance and

from his insults and indifferent, tense behaviour towards the women, especially his

wife, we can draw the conclusion that even he fits to this category.

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The aspects which are provoking this personality separation may have their roots

also in society. Firstly we try to explore the passionate side of Dandy´s nature. So one

of the reasons why his personality was very eccentric can be the ennui. We are already

all familiar with the decadent idea at the end of century which means the fear of 20th

century, and spreading of insecurities. This fact leads the people to stick in time and

simply to wait what is going to happen, which is the way how to get bored with your

life. Also Dandy is skeptic about his life and he gives the impression of one of bored

people. Nevertheless this pretended ennui is “only a mask for his determination and

will.” (Coblenceová 2003, 240) And here we see his dry careless face and attitude

which needs to burst out. Therefore, this mal du siècle influence Dandy who has

naturally revolting nature and he wants to escape from this boring nothing bringing kind

of life. For Dandy it means “to step out of the absence of determinism and try to define

his own identity.” (Coblenceová 2003, 254) I think that the search for the identity is

typical for George Duroy and Dorian Gray and also a reason why they live so puzzled

lives. They are desperately looking for their new identity which find partially in Dandy

behavior. Dorian Gray finds his inner self in a pointless life without any values while

Geroge finds his self in money, social status and appreciation. These both styles of life

are vain. The vanity is what connects both protagonists. They both don´t care about love

and women as their personifications, they are only interested in themselves. This

“vanity which the fools hate and moralists denounce” (Coblenceová 2003, 278) is

changing into something stronger–“the desire for fame” (Coblenceová 2003, 278, italics

in original) In our books we can observe two different desires for fame. In George it´s to

be admire because of his social status in which he desires to play an important role. He

climbs from the working position of ordinary clerk and a militant to the position of a

recognized journalist. He wants to be perfect in every sense; I mean the elegant

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appearance, cultivated manners and of course yet mentioned status. To reach his

appreciation he´s able to do everything and his tactic is to charm the powerful women

and to get the profit of it. The illustrating examples are certainly Madeleine Forestier

whom he married immediately after her husband´s death and she provides him a fortune

and the important post in La vie Française. Then, even that is not sufficient to George

and he raises his ambitions to Suzanne Walter who´s a naive girl at the age of 15 but

with very affluent parents. In Dorian´s we are looking at wealthy man but the point is

that he´s not rose up as the upper – English class man and so he reveals a new world for

him which he tries to identify with. He explores the world where the morals don´t exist

and in a view of fact that he´s a totally beginner he wants to gain the appreciation and

fame in this decadent type of life. Moreover he lounges to be equal to Henry who´s

already experienced with this type of living and so typical Dandy. Dorian succeeds in

this field. He wastes his life in which he´s surrounded by the women, especially

prostitutes, he seduce them by his charm and beauty and with Henry´s help he finds the

satisfaction in this debauchery. Nevertheless, when they both find what they want they

lose their will and desire to live and the emptiness fills their souls.

The other side of their personality is their stony face and cold behaviour because

“the vanity demands a discipline and ascetism of will.” (Coblenceová 2003, 279) It

means that Dandies are sorts of beautiful men who are catching the people´s eyes but in

his look there´s an indifference and arrogance keeping distance from others to have

possibility to mask his truly vulnerable inner feelings. That is, that both our main

characters and even Lord Henry are masking something. Dorian is hiding the truth

about his soul and youth settling in the Picture, George is hiding his poor origins and

parents and Henry – I think he´s not so bad as he represent himself by his speeches.

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To conclude this chapter where we were analysing the significant conceptions of

the femme fatale, New Woman and Dandy, we can state that these products of great

importance of 19th century society were influencing the forming of the social identities,

existing nowadays. Especially New Women are still fighting for the woman rights and

equality with men. The Dandies are appearing in movie, singer stars spectres showing in

magazines and by their visibility are affecting our lifestyle. They again and again

emerge in literature and so maintain the gender movement strongly striking an attitude

at the end of the century and also in The Picture of Dorian Gray and Bel-Ami.

35

3. Connotations of gender roles in The Picture of Dorian Gray

and Bel-Ami

SO MUCH it was said about the femmes fatales, new women and dandies in the

previous chapters so now we will run into these issues based predominantly on the

works. We will put forward our hypothesis concerning the already mentioned characters

corresponding to different gender roles we designed in the theoretical part and we will

try to argument by the extracts from the books. Of course that not only one of the

characters is identical with more than one role, therefore, we will develop the different

views from various angles. “Our identities are not given, but there is a constant tension

between who we are struggling to become, and the indignities and humiliations we

often endure as children.” (Morrissette 1962, xi – x) It´s evident that for our

characterization will be essential the characters of Dorian Gray and George Duroy apart

from whom is all the story developing and so creating our other protagonists. First of all

we move to the presentation of femme fatales, their roles and purposes and destinies.

It´s always difficult to find the right identification between the social and personal role

and so more at the end of 19th century, where it was a sort of courage to admit the queer

or feminists desires.

3.1. Literary allusions to Femme fatale

IN a book Bel-Ami the Femme fatale identification is devoted to several women

of different characters and gender roles. For the brief illustration we can depict the

characters in few sentences to picture how the feminine protagonists are basically seen

from the point of George´s view.

“His Clotilde, his Madeleine, even Laurine, Virginie and Suzanne, he has all

of them in his mind, well ordered, catalogued and labelled by ‘the same

36

pitiable ‘idem’, all of them resembling, in essence, and representative, in terms

of essence of course, the idea of the woman who had to still create illusions

and who wasn´t prepared to be doubted”. (Maupassant 1983, xii)

It is undoubtedly a fact, that George has very consciously ranged these women

in order to use them for his amorous intrigues which lead to the intrigues in a world of

work economy and nobility. On the other hand, Dorian doesn´t have a stable and

calculating picture about the women or men surrounding him, he´s more or less a victim

of their influence than a master of his own steps as George is. In The Picture of Dorian

Gray appears mainly Sybil Vane as the female protagonist who´s influencing the future

Dorian´s life. Other characters are men such as Harry Wotton and Basil Hallward who,

of course together with George, represent the male gender roles stated in this thesis.

3.1.1. Prostitutes

COMING back to the conceptions of femme fatales in these works we could

remain the essential moments in the culture. Firstly, we speak about the femme fatales

as the representatives of prostitutes who are condemned to the shame because of their

threatening to the men from the upper – class by their diseases but also by their courage

and bluntness. One of the reasons why the prostitution question was so escalated was

the publication of “Contagious Diseases Act of 1864, 1866, and 1869 forced female

prostitutes in specified garrison towns to register with police submit to medical

examinations.” (Losey, Jay, and William Dean Brewer, eds. 2000, 9 – 10) By these act

the society openly admits the existence of sexuality, prostitutes increasing their numbers

in the last years and also the dangerous illnesses. Also Guy de Maupassant depict the

prostitutes in Bel-Ami in this negative view but at the same time he admits that: “We

know them all since ten years, we see them every night, whole year, in the same places,

except when they are in the Hygienic Station in Saint – Lazare or in Lourcine.”

37

(Maupassant 28) Women have to undertake the medical examinations but men nothing

because they are bourgeois and they only abuse prostitutes but they don´t assume the

responsibility for their destiny. As the defence they ridiculed the prostitutes and sneer at

them to feel untouched and safe which is really selfish and simple – minded. Simply,

they pay anything.

This inequality resonates also in Bel-Ami where George meets the prostitutes,

“beautiful pair of women well suitable” (Maupassant, 30) in the club to which he goes

with his old friend Mr. Forestier. The prostitutes´ services are offered to George and Mr.

Forestier who look wealthy and like bourgeois men with money. The evidence is that

the worlds of prostitution and the upper – class are really connected. George, because

we are at the beginning of the story, appears here as innocent none wordily – wise man,

who´s not certain how to behave in such situations when one of them calls him “really

nice boy” (de Maupassant, 30) and tells that “he would do the foolishness to her.”

(Maupassant, 30) He answers nothing and then the woman with the brown hair points to

him: “Thank you my cat. You aren´t much eloquent.” (Maupassant, 30) In this scene the

prostitute behaves like seductress, she´s attiring George´s attention and shows her

powers over man. There´s the second reencounter of these two and it happened when

George enters Les Folies–Bergères. Rachel greeted him: “Hello my cat. How are you

doing?” (Maupassant 75) Then she goes on with the flattery. She tells him: “I dreamed

of you two times...” (Maupassant 75) and she proposes him to start again with him if he

is interested. It may seem that she´s interested in money and so try to seduce him. But

this disapproves a fact that even George admits that he ‘is penniless’ she tells him:

“...My dear, I want only you.” (Maupassant 76) Evidently, the prostitute has the

preference for the sexual desires than for the money and her living. She shows her

decadence in a sense of putting forward a hypothesis that she´s a ‘hybrid of desires, a

38

foreign reflection of self she neither recognizes nor controls.’ But perhaps she can´t

resist to his beauty and pleasant appearance and she wants to avoid or forget to “it´s

inevitable disappointment, the intimate contact of bodies and its demystification by

monetary exchange, the ideal aspiration of love and the void enclosing each human

being in his loneliness.” (Bernheimer 1997, 1) The fact that she´s maintaining this none

paid relationship with George stresses that she longue for kind of illusion of love. On

the other hand George abuses her and finds there only the reconciliation and pleasure

and when he meets her accompanied by Clotilde de Marelle, she´s jealous and furious

and “she was walking around them with the anger in the eyes and the insult on her lips.”

(Maupassant 111) She greeted him but he didn´t answer to her pretended not to know

her and trying to ridicule her in front of the public eyes. Obviously she got mad at him

and started to hurl the imprecations at Clotilde: “Stop her! Stop her! She stole me the

amant!” (Maupassant 112) Actually George tried to avoid the public scene and his

shame, Rachel didn´t allowed him to do so. She didn´t dare to attire the attention on

herself as the prostitute for to shame and embarrass George and in this manner to defend

her ‘dignity.’

3.1.2. Lovers

THE OTHER view on the femme fatales is that they are seducing but they are

also seduced. They greatly influence lives of those they charm and are indeed fatal to

them. They succumb to the love and they often end tragically. This is a classical model

of femme fatale who is picturing like this since Shakespeare. In this following pages it´s

going to be examined the relationship between two amoureux and the reasons why is

she (feminine) femme fatale and why the evidences that he (male) loves her.

In case of George Duroy his love is “little brunet” (Maupassant 37) Clotilde. For

the first time he sees her he notices that “she has the spirit comical, kind, unexpected,

39

the esprit of an experienced naughty girl who see the things with the lightheartedness

and judge them with the careless and gracious criticism.” (Maupassant 37) Concerning

her appearance he doesn´t find nothing extraordinaire in her “dark and simple dress”

except the flower put in her black hair, which leads him to scan her “physiognomy” and

“special character.” (Maupassant 35) Similarly, Dorian is also charmed and fascinated

for the first time he sees Sibyl. He´s more passionate in his expressions about her and he

confirms it, not only in his mind, but also to Henry. After visiting the theatre he tells

about his impression:

“But Juliette! Harry, imagine a girl, hardly seventeen years of age, with a little

flower like face, a small Greek head with plaited coils of dark brown hair, eyes

that were violet wells of passion, lips that were like the petals of a rose. She

was the loveliest thing I had ever seen in my life.” (Wilde 1992, 69)

Moreover, he emphasizes: “Harry, I do love her.” (Wilde 69 – 70) Additionally

he confirms that one of the reasons why he loves her is her acting profession: “Harry,

why didn´t you tell me that the only thing worth loving is an actress?” (Wilde 70)

Since these moments, the relationships between them start to develop. In fact

George was incited to visit Mademoiselle de Marelle by Mme Forestier who tried to

artfully push him into the intrigues natural to the upper circles. However, when they

meet they realize that they have a lot in common and she´s expressing a favour attitude

to Duroy. “It is amusing when I am with you. I feel that I have known you since ten

years. We would become good friends, do you agree?” (Maupassant 80) Obviously he

agrees and finds it very pleasant of her to offer him this kind of friendship in which he

already sees something more. Sybil, likewise Clotilde, expresses her feeling to her

mother about the gentleman he met in the theatre: “Mother, mother, I am so happy!”

(Wilde 81) She tells it to her mother as Dorian says it to Herry. Then she explains the

40

reason: “I love him because he is like what Love himself should be. But what does he

see in me? ... I cannot tell – though I feel so much beneath him, I don´t feel humble.”

(Wilde 83) Here we comes to the point stating by Claire Goldberg Mosses that “the

ideal Romantic women was no equal to men, she was childlike, depend on men´s power

for her very survival, she was also self – sacrificing, subordinating herself to men´s

interests.” (Mosses 1984, 18) This claiming also underlines Dorian´s remark that “there

is something of a child about her.” (Wilde 73) Although their love is pure and contains

all of the best intentions, the women can´t resist to charm of their, we could say, fatal

men. In the end suffer from their treating based on selfishness and, for them, higher

senses of life than love is. Besides, considering these men as Dandies in their behaviour

it perhaps puts the importance on the femmes fatales´ tragic destinies.

The first time we are the witnesses of the quarrel between Clotilde and George

we go back to the meeting with Rachel and these two. Clotilde is very furious about

realizing that George sleeps with Rachel while she pays him the apartment and gives

him the money.

“Wretch... Wretch... Is it possible? What a shame! Oh my God!... What a

shame!” (Maupassant 112) Clotilde tries to escape from his presence and she awakes:

“And I gave him the money... for this girl... Oh! Wretch!” (Maupassant 113)

41

Ironically, although George tries to prevent her from leaving, the other day when

he wakes up sad but “necessity to find the money prods him to going first to Forestier”

(Maupassant 114) It´s the remark of Duroy demonstrating that women are not at all on

the first place for him. The other George´s insult of their love was a fact that he started

to see Mme Forestier not only as someone to help him with his works but also as

someone whom he likes and wants to marry. “Cristi! If I had known the woman like

you, with what felicity I would love have married her!” (Maupassant 117) Of course,

that his brave doesn´t last long time until he has to announce it to Clotilde. He´s

reluctant to do that an even Madeleine has to remain him: “You haven´t yet announced

our plan to Mme de Marelle?” (Maupassant 188) So Clotilde is to obtain another

disappointment of her love. He starts his confession:

“My dear friend, you see me that I´m really in trouble, really sad and really

embarrassed of what I´m going to admit to you. I love you very much; I love

you of depth of my heart also the fear to cause you the pain afflicts me more

than the news I want you to tell. She paled, started to tremble and mumbled:

‘What is it? Tell it quickly!’ He pronounced with the tone sad but decisive;

with flabbiness we use for announcement the happy unpleasantness: ‘It´s that

I´m going to marry (...).’ ” (Maupassant 192 – 193)

“Who´s that?" she asked. “he hesitated a moment and then, understood that he

needs to explain: ‘Madeleine Forestier’ ” (Maupassant 194) It´s the last drop for her so

she left with trying to maintain the rests of her dignity. Nevertheless they conciliate

early in the following love expressions towards Clotilde:

“Whole evening he was haunted by the memories of his and Clotilde´s love,

the memories tender and at the same time sensual. He remembered their

42

amusements and gentiles, their escapades. He repeated: ‘she´s really gentile.

Yes, I will see her tomorrow.’ ” (Maupassant 229)

He cannot resist his femme fatal unconscious temptation and he visited her to

conceal them and calm down their relationship.

“He took and kiss her hands. ‘How much I have been thinking about you’ he

says. ‘And me, she says.’ They sat down. They smiled at each other into their

eyes with the envy to hug each other on their cheeks. ‘My dear petite Clo’ I

love you.’ ‘And me too’ ‘So... so... you are not much angry with me?’ ‘Yes

and no... It presses on me, and even though I understood your reason, and I

told myself: ‘Bah! He would come back to me this day or the other.’ ”

(Maupassant 229)

It shows that Clotilde really is his femme fatale, his lover, his weakness and his

certainty. He betrays her several times but always knows that she will love him and

finally forgive him. To compare her with Dorian´s Sybil we can see some differences in

their behavior. Firstly, her destiny is more tragic than Clotilde´s because she´s not able

to handle her love´s unfair and selfish manners. However Sybil appears only to the

middle of the story, her sad destiny has the important effect on the main protagonist.

“The girl never really lived, and so she has never really died. To you at least

she was always a dream, a phantom that flitted through Shakespeare’s plays

and left them loverier for its presence … The moment she touched actual life

she marred it. And it marred her, and so she passed away.” (Wilde 135)

Henry´s point of view is quite precise. Sybil lived in her plays as she was the

actress. “You said to me that Sybil Vane represented to you all the heroines of romance

– that she was Desdemona one night, and Ophelia the other, that if she died as Juliette,

she came to life as Imogen.” (Wilde 135)

43

But when she touched the reality detached from her romantic dreams, characters

and visions, she wasn´t able to deal with such a situation. “ ‘Dorian, Dorian, she cried,

‘before I knew you, acting was the one reality of my life. It was only in the theatre that I

lived.’ ” (Wilde 113)… “You taught me what reality really is.” … My love! Prince

Charming! Prince of life!” (Wilde 114) These evidences show that Sybil was really

closed in her own world and when Dorian comes to her she´s stunned with the reality

because everything, including Dorian, is perfect, beautiful and she starts to enjoy her

life. Unfortunately when Dorian is disappointed by her bad acting he refuses her

impassively, “You have killed my love.” (Wilde 114) “What are you now? A third –

rate actress with a pretty face.” (Wilde 115) he brings her to desperate situation. “It

came so suddenly across me, my love for you.” … “Oh, don´t leave me, don´t leave

me!” (Wilde 116)

Dorian´s perception of Sybil is only artistic as Oscar Wilde himself confirms:

“Despite being supportive of individual women and their professional

endeavours, he ultimately saw Woman as a receptacle for men´s ideas for

beauty, the clay which gave expression to the artist´s vision.” (Böker, Uwe,

Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard, eds. 2002, 143)

She ends her life because it doesn’t make sense to her anymore. He reacts

quickly, without long thinking and harsh to end as the personas from her plays. “Poor

Sybil! What a romance it had all been! She had often mimicked death on the stage.

Then Death himself had touched her, and taken her with him.” (Wilde 137)

As Juliette dies for love we could say that even Sybil dies for love she can´t live

without. And if want to sum up these passages devoted to Clotilde and Sybil, we can

say that both of them suffered for their love they burden of not fulfilled love as they

44

both imagine it could be. This makes of them the romantic type of decadent femme

fatales.

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3.2. Literary allusions to New Woman

INTRODUCING this chapter we start with defining a new woman

characterization. The New Woman is firstly feminist, independent woman interested in

social change and process. Secondly it´s a kind of selfish woman who uses the men for

her personal interests, she can well calculated and she disdain the men. In the analyzed

works we consider as new woman type Madeleine Forestier and Duchess of Monmouth.

Also these two protagonists are different in some areas but still, they appear like New

Woman conceptions.

In Bel-Ami we discuss Madeline as an upper - class wealthy and moreover

intelligent and modern woman who doesn´t dare to manipulate with anyone. To see the

difference between two most important women for George, it’s necessary to note that

Duroy feels a kind of affection to Mme Forestier but it´s different from one he feels to

Clotilde. He´s expressing about the presence of these women in this way: “Mme

Forestier with her smile immobile and pleasant which attire and stops in the same time

and which want to say: “I like you” and also “Be careful” so we never get the true

sense, (...)” (Maupassant, 81) This way of communicating seduce him sexually but on

the other hand “with Clotilde he feels the desire more brutal, more precise, the desire

which trembles in his hands in front of the silky airy welts rolled up.” (Maupassant 81)

From this statement we can deduce that Madeline is surely beautiful woman but she is

very conscious of what she´s doing and she doesn´t let herself to be charmed by men

too much.

Even when he meets her for the first time “her eyes didn´t leave him only for the

moment.” (Maupassant 34) (...) “the figure irregular and seducing, abounding by

kindness and maliciousness.” (Maupassant 34) George feels even from her appearance

46

the self – seeking and insecurity. From the profit – seeking reasons she offers him to

work with him on the articles he´s supposed to write for La vie Française

accompanying him with a look “You will come.” (Maupassant 40) He doesn´t admit it

firstly but when he appears at her door she evidently makes fun of him: “ ‘Yet’? She

asked. And then she added: ‘It´s not a reproach it´s only a question’ ” (Maupassant 52)

Evidently she´s confident and has own points of view. Her thoughts to men and

marriage are quite eccentric to the time. For example when Duroy says: ”Me, when I

love a woman, all around her disappear.” (Maupassant 87)

Madeleine she reacts: “Me, I´m less platonic.” Duroy: “This honesty honours

you and proves that you are a practical woman.” (Maupassant 87)

She really proves that she´s has a cold soul which doesn´t resemble to one of the

femme fatale. She had a chance that not affectionate Duroy expresses his positive

feelings towards her. Duroy:

“It´s because I love you…oh! A little, just a little… and I don´t want to

become completely in love with you.” And she reacts absolutely indifferently.

(…) “She did not look nor surprised, nor chocked, nor flatted, she still smiled

indifferently and she answered with tranquility: ‘… We aren´t never in love

for a long time’ ” (Maupassant 116)

Subsequently, she takes a stand against men who are in love. She finds that feelings

make them less strong and make of them less than the men.

“My dear friend, for me a man in love is strike off the list of living. He

becomes idiot, not only idiot, but dangerous. I stop with the men who love me,

or who pretend it, to have the relationship intimate because they bore me first

and then because they suspect me like the enraged dogs which can explode.”

(Maupassant 116)

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Afterwards she adds comments regarding the differences between men and

women. “I know that with you the love is nothing more than appetite, while me, for me

it´s … a harmony of souls which is not in the religion of men. You understand the

writing and I understand a soul.” (Maupassant 116) To confirm that she´s really

possible type of New Woman she emphasizes by expressing her independency to men

by following:

“I won´t never be your lover, listen to me well. It´s absolutely inutile, it will

be even nasty of you to persist on this desire.” (Maupassant 117) (….) ”And

now … would you like we become good friends, but truly friend, without

ulterior motives?” (Maupassant 117)

Madeleine evidently doesn´t want to involve any personal interest into her

relationships with men. Even when she marries George, he´s not only man in her

personal life and she´s careful and vigilant justifiably because George betrays her not

only by adultery which she know but also denounce her to police for her adultery.

However in The Picture of Dorian Gray perform predominantly the men, it seems that

despite all the negativity to women, there really is one female character who displays

her feminist ideas.

Harry: “Is Monmouth to be there, too?” (speaking about duchess husband)

Dorian: “Oh, yes, Harry.”

Harry: “He bores me dreadfully; almost as such he bores her. She is very

clever, too clever for a woman. She lacks the indefinable charm of weakness.

It is the feet of clay that make the gold of the image precious. Her feet are very

pretty, but they are not feet of clay. White porcelain feet, if you like. They

have been through fire, and what fire does not destroy, it hardens. She has had

experiences.” (Wilde 233) In this was Henry characterized this woman as

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strong but he also alludes to the effeminacy which she represents. He says that

her feet are of porcelain and ‘it hardens’ therefore he says that these women

will get their own way to harden the equality of women in the society.

She expresses her attitudes towards the feminist situation also in the following

pages. Firstly she enters into conversation with Henry who´s known as the willful

critique of women, which demands the courage and sort of intelligence to oppose his

strict arguments.

Initially she picks on Dorian: “ ‘Our host is rather horrid this evening’ answered

the Duchess, colouring. ‘I believe he thinks that Monmouth married me on purely

scientific principles, as the best specimen he could find of a modern butterfly.’ ” (Wilde

251) In the quotation she gives the evidence that she consider herself to be a modern

woman and during the speech defends other women as a new forming kind of

community.

Henry: “Every effect that one produces gives one an enemy. To be popular

one must be a mediocrity.”

Gladys: “Not with women” …”and women rule the world. I assure you we

can´t bear the mediocrities. We women, as someone says, love with our ears,

just as you men love with your eyes, if you ever love at all.” (Wilde 252)

Our Duchess stands the opinion that men look only on appearance and Beauty.

For them it means a lot, nearly everything. Apart from men, the women care for what it

is said and they consider the person or situation more carefully and therefore they

benefit from not to be only superficial and mediocre. “By exhorting feminists to display

a greater degree of femininity, she underwrote Wilde´s point that what mattered was the

appearance rather than the essence of things.” (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie

Hibbard, eds. 2002, 135) Other historical allusion comes afterwards.

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Harry: “Greek meets Greek, then?”

Duchess: “I am on the side of Trojans. They fought for a woman.”

(Wilde 253)

She doesn´t hesitate a moment not to say something good about the

women and so support them in the process of effeminacy. “Courage has

passed from men to women. It is a new experience for us.” (Wilde 254)

Perhaps we can see in Duchess of Monmouth one of the Wilde´s feminist friend

- Robins whose philosophical relationship with Wilde was a bit similar. If we consider

that Henry Wotton represents Oscar Wilde we probably could claim:

“That, despite their different outlooks, the friendship between Robins and

Wilde continued for almost a decade may signal the potential of the alliance

between the New Woman and the Dandy, ultimately, however, their paths

appeared incompatible. This missed opportunity of a closer, more subversive

alliance between Wildean decadence and New Woman feminism is surely part

of the tragedy of 1895.” (Böker, Uwe, Richard Corballis, and Julie Hibbard,

eds. 2002, 143)

To summarize the feminist protagonists we can provide the argument that they

both were radical in their opinions on men. Both of them, despite having the husbands,

try to enforce their independence and say it openly in the circles of the upper and middle

- classes. They argue clearly that they are conscious of simplicity of women´s inequality

with men and they are ready to claim their opinions through their literary characters.

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3.3. Literary allusions to Dandy and homosexual

THIS part of the theses will be devoted to analyzing especially the men

protagonists from the perspective of their personality, their nature and character. That´s

because

“Our ability to think of sex as a constructed identity therefore provides us with

a valuable analytical tool for understanding sex as a historical artifact

furnishing individuals with particular kinds of self – awareness and modes of

social self – representation.” (Nye 1998, 4)

Likewise, this chapter will be divided into several parts to textually demonstrate

the personality from more angles to find their identities of the end of 19th century. We

will try to search for the reasonable arguments concerning the dandy and homosexual

reactions and thoughts to prove their resemblance with the cultural ones as discussed in

theoretical part.

3.3.1. Dandy and clothing

IN the theoretical part concerning dandy (1.3.) was said that clothing and style of

a man plays an important role to determinate a dandy characterization. The clothing is

obviously a part and trend of a social and historical conception however it undoubtedly

belongs to the Dandy identity, especially if they belong or try to belong to upper – class.

“Because the nobility retained much of its social, political, and economic

power well into the nineteenth century, the prestige of the old aristocratic code

continued to work its magic on successive generations of ambitious bourgeois,

for whom noble savoir faire remained the ideal of fashion.“ (Nye 1998, 8,

italics original)

The clothing is also connected with the women who were also attired by the look

of the well - dressed men and then it involves them into further man - woman

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development in the books. The example is George´s representativeness in Bel-Ami:

“How he swagger nice, by nature and by pose of ancient sous-officier, he cambered his

chest, combed his moustache with the militant and familiar manner (...).” (Maupassant

15) It´s evident that he cares for his beauty and appearance which has the influence on

women who “look at him” (Maupassant 15) For Dandy is also natural to emanates type

of attraction “however, dressed in suit for 60 francs, he evokes certain blatant elegance,

a bit ordinary but true in the same time.” (Maupassant 16) It signifies the sobriety which

is natural to dandy clothing in which is found the exceptionality. It is worth mentioning

that Dorian is also “a young man of extraordinary personal beauty.” (Wilde 8) “He was

a marvellous type, too, (...) “There was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of

influence” (Wilde 51) That Dorian look as dandy not only because of his extraordinary

beauty and natural attraction as George, but also for the attention to his clothing.

“and then got up hastily and dressed himself with even more than his usual

care, giving a good deal of attention to the choice of his necktie and scarf – pin

and changing his rings more than once.” (Wilde 209)

This portraying assure us, by focusing on the ‘changing rings’ that there´s

something unusual in his peculiarity. Dorian shows perhaps even a bit of feminine

manners in it. A clear evidence of connection between dandy and fashion is given in the

chapter eleven where the description of Dorian attitude to this phenomenon emerges.

“Fashion, by which what is really fantastic becomes for a moment universal,

and Dandyism, which, in its own way, is an attempt to assert the absolute

modernity of beauty, had, of course, their fascination for him. His mode of

dressing, and the particular styles that from time to time he affected, had their

marked influence on the young exquisites of the Mayfair balls and Pall Mall

club windows, who copied him in everything that he did, and tried to

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reproduce the accidental charm of his graceful, though to him only half –

serious, fopperies.” (Wilde 168)

He was undoubtedly one of the fashionable icons for his surroundings which

look up to him but on the other hand he

“desired to be something more than a mere arbiter elegantarium, to be

consulted on the wearing of a jewel, or the knotting of a necktie, or the

conduct of a cane. He sought to elaborate some new scheme of life that would

have its reasoned philosophy and its ordered principles, and find in the

spiritualizing of the senses its highest realization.” (Wilde 168 – 169)

Dorian is thinking about his identity. He already knows that he is a Dandy but he

searches for the new, more decadent conception of it. There´s also one note which

comes from Harry´s uncle who comment his unacceptable behaviour: “I thought you

dandies never got up till two, and were not visible till five.” (Wilde 46)

3.3.2. Dandy, women and homosexual relations

FOR closer analyzing the question of gender in books´ relationships we will

centre on women and homosexual relations to our dandy protagonists. Regarding Bel-

Ami we should focus on George´s affection by women and his opinions on them, which

depends on different women characters of course, but generally is positive because it

makes him possible to realize his social visions. He considers the women and even the

prostitutes like: “the women of love. He doesn´t despise them by the disdainfulness

innate for the men of the family.” (Maupassant 17) In this statement he also confirms

that he´s not as the men of the family, co he´s not a typical man as all dandies. He

certainly loves women ad they love him too and his try to use all of them show us kind

of hypermasculinity hidden in his dandy look.

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“From his experience he has already knew that they all kept for him, wordily –

minded such as ham actors’ women, the extraordinary enthusiasm, fleeting

sympathy and he felt again not to know those on whom he could depend his

future (...).” (Maupassant 79)

It assures us that he can´t wait to get to know all the possible women from whom

he can profit.

Another of dandy´s signs for Henry could be his quite negative posture to

women and on the contrary, the positive to Dorian. One of the reasons why he doesn´t

consider women able to own judgment is maybe his relationship with his own wife:

“You seem to forget that I am married, and the one charm of marriage is that it

makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties. I never know

where my wife is and my wife never knows what I am doing. When we meet –

we meet occasionally, (...)” (Wilde 11)

To support this idea, he also advises Dorian against his own marriage with Sybil

by expressing his opinion on that kind of relationship.

“the only way a woman can ever reform a man is by boring him so completely

that he loses all possible interest in life. If you had married this girl you would

have been wretched. Of course you would have treated her kindly. One can

always be kind to people about whom one cares nothing. But she would have

soon found out that you were absolutely indifferent to her. And when a woman

finds that out about her husband, she either becomes dreadfully dowdy, or

wears very smart bonnets that some other woman´s husband has to pay for.

(...) but I assure you that in any case the whole thing would have been an

absolute failure.” (Wilde 130 – 131)

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He evidently discourages him maybe because he doesn´t want to share Dorian´s

acquaintance with anyone else. It is a thing that Dorian also admits his positive feelings

for Henry calling them a friendship.

“ ‘I am awfully obliged to you for all you have said to me. You are certainly

my best friend. No one has ever understood me as you have.’ ‘We are only at

the beginning of our friendship, Dorian’ answered Lord Henry, shaking him

by the hand.” (Wilde 137)

By this response Henry hints at their further relationship, perhaps promising it

not only as a friend. It also shows that Dorian is quite depended on Henry and he looks

up at him.

Nevertheless when we compare Basil, who is also impressed by Dorian, we can

find a bit stronger feeling than was one of Henry. “When our eyes met, I felt that I was

growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face

to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to

do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself.” (Wilde 14)

(...) “Harry! If you only knew what Dorian Gray is to me!” (Wilde 19) Basil Hallward

presents in a book a painter who paints Dorian´s portrait and the fact that “there is too

much of myself in the thing, Harry – too much of myself” (Wilde 20) is that he

definitely gives us the homosexual impression of his affection. Unfortunately Dorian, as

Basil claims, doesn´t reciprocate fully these affectionate feelings, or more Dorian shows

his superficiality and indifference to Basil, common to his relationships. “Then I feel,

Harry, that I have given away my whole soul to someone who treats it as if it were a

flower to put in his coat, a bit of decoration to charm his vanity an ornament for a

summer´s day.” (Wilde 21) However in comparison to Henry Dorian speaks in favour

to Basil.

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“I am changed, you must always be my friend. But I know that you are better

than he is. You are no stronger – you are too much afraid of life – but you are

better. And how happy we used to be together! Don´t leave me Basil, and

don´t quarrel with me. I am what I am. There is nothing more to be said.”

(Wilde 144)

Dorian takes him as a friend and someone he can tell about his feelings.

Nevertheless, the thing which associates both – Dorian and George, is that they

are both admired by women: “first of all he abounds in don to appeal the women, all the

women, of fifty such as the little girls” (Maupassant 7) speaking about George, and

“women who had widely adored him” (Wilde 184) speaking about Dorian, but they are

not completely interested in them.

Concluding point concerning the issue of constituting a male identity is that

“Failure for men to achieve a masculine gender role identity is thought to reset in

homosexuality, negative attitudes toward women, or hypermasculinity.” (Levant 1995,

231) In our case the failure means the Dandy and his reactions on women or inclinations

to homosexuality or sort of hypermasculinity.

3.3.3. Dandy, power and identity

FINALLY, our attention will be devoted to Dandies, the men searching for their

identities during the end of 19th century. Both characters I mean George and Dorian go

through some development in a book and their life and in their reactions we will look at

some similarities with Dandy´s proper behaviour. At the beginning they are both

innocent and don´t know yourself and the world they want to enter.

Mr. Forestier asks George: “Tell me my old friend, do you know that you have

really the success with the women? You need to safe it. It can move you far.”

(Maupassant, 30) In this speech Mr. Forestier plays the role similar to Lord Henry’s. He

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also gives the impulse to George, as Henry to Dorian, to think about his own beauty and

personality itself by saying that: “You have a wonderfully beautiful face Mr. Gray”

(Wilde, 34) He points out that: “With your personality there is nothing you could not

do.” We can see that he advices him to pleasure life, to take the advantage from his

youth and the similarly to George, Henry says: “The moment I met you I saw that you

were quite unconscious of what you really are, of what you really might be.” (Wilde,

35) This encouraging is the beginning of the “curiosity about life which Lord Henry had

first stirred in him, (...) “seemed to increase with gratification. The more he knew, the

more he desired to know.” (Wilde 167) His innate passions, which he can´t deny rise in

him and he wants to know them. Also George is disgusted by his poverty and “the

exasperation surged him against the poverty of his life (...) “it is needed to end with this

destitute existence the day after tomorrow.” (Maupassant, 47) He intends to “gain the

fortune in Paris” (Maupassant, 49) Another reason they are so in favour to explore the

life spreading before them could be the ennui as says Lord Henry: “The only horrible

thing in the world is ennui, Dorian. That is the one sin for which there is no

forgiveness.” (Wilde, 260) As well as Dorian, George is also “lost in hallucinations of

desire” Maupassant, 220) Henry is a persistent supporter of this hedonistic style of life

and he encourages Dorian and advises him. “The only way how to get rid of temptation

is to yield to it.” (Wilde 29) It is the advice which fits to both protagonists. George

succumbs to women who influence him, help him, give him the love and sensations but

lead him to the peak of society. When he reaches it he decides to take the situation into

his hands. On the other hand Dorian yields to vicious life underlined by the sins, also of

murder, which damages his soul.

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Nevertheless, as dandies

“they were discouraged from expressing vulnerable and tender emotions and

required to put a sharp edge of their masculinity by avoiding anything that

hinted of the feminine.” (…) “On the other hand they received lots of training

in problem – solving, logical thinking, risk – taking, staying calm in the face

of danger and assertion and aggression.” (Levant 1995, 229)

Although they wanted to show their true masculinity which obviously isn´t one

of their characteristic dominants, they often in their passionate life, which is picturing

their aims and sensation of the nature, show their neutral, moreover cold stance. Go on

to point George when, after marrying Madeleine Forestier whose husband died, he gets

his job and wife he´s suddenly jealous of him realizing that he as his predecessor, is also

only her puppet when hearing this words: “I always mislead you with poor Charles.”

(…) Anger was born inside him against this dead man.” (Maupassant 216) He feels

down and his thoughts are blinded by jealousness. Nevertheless he stays calm when

speaking with his wife. He asks the questions but still “it seems to her that his lips are

cold.” (Maupassant 225) Other example could be his final break up with Clotilde with

whom he meets all the time. But when he intends to marry Suzanne Walter he goes

really too far. Clotilde is furious about it and she reproaches him everything he has

done: “Since you have left your wife you were preparing this coup” (…) “What a crook

you are!” (Maupassant 336) George tells her: “Shut up or I will march you out.” (337)

He reacts completely coldly and then leaves the flat.

The same effect we can observe about Dorian who after murdering Basil “he felt

strangely calm (…)” (Wilde 205) In addition also in his break up scene with Sybil he

show his indifferent attitude to the situation. “ ‘I am going,’ he said at last, in his calm ,

clear voice. ‘I don´t wish to be unkind, but I can´t see you again. You have disappointed

58

me.’ ” (Wilde 116) In time they both display their new, more cruel, selfish and ignorant

values of their image, they become someone different who doesn´t deserve any

admiration, neither of beauty. They have the cold face to mask their true nature and

feelings which corresponds to Coblenceová´s theory about Dandy. Even when George

“became celebrated in the politic parties. He felt rising his influence” (…) “the

admiration of his ingenuity of his esprit and “plenty of his acquaintances,” (Maupassant

215) he is someone who “betrays all the people, you exploit all the people, you take

pleasure of the money everywhere …” (Maupassant 337) And of course Dorian doesn´t

stand behind because he also obtains the guilt “You have not been fine. One has a right

to judge of a man by the effect he has over his friends. Yours seem to lose all sense of

honour, of goodness, of purity. You have filled them with a madness for pleasure.”

(Wilde 195 – 196)

In this subchapter we depicted the moments when dandies show their two faces

as we were speaking about in the theoretical part. They are presented as the men full of

passion to live and change them to find their true self and on the other hand they are

tense and dry while facing the extreme situations.

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4. Conclusion

THIS thesis dealt with the gender theme which was regarded mainly from the

perspective of three main gender roles and identifications. The findings give us the

picture of Femme fatale, New Woman and Dandy type and in addition the account of

his possible homosexual inclinations. First of all we found out that they exist at the end

of 19th century culture, we analyzed the reasons of their emerging, such as decadent

thinking and the inclinations to the passions, vices or snobbism. We proved their

existence in literature at that time which reflected them in many depictions.

For example a popular prostitute was spoken to be a certain reincarnation of

Femme fatale as so as the romantic type of woman who entirely succumb to love to man

without seeing her tragic ends. While analyzing femme fatale we found that she is

portrayed in both works, actually mentioned prostitute appeared as only one possible of

analysis in Bel-Ami. She is kind of sad character who despite her social handicap wants,

as all women, the touch of love. She also shows her other face by her detachment of

tough reality and kind of sarcastic mockery showed to defend her dignity in which we

can see the desperate hope to save the rest of us in the unhappy decadent time.

Nevertheless we proved her existence in 19th century literature and furthermore we

devoted our attention to comparing two romantic types of femme fatales. They both are

in similar love with the main protagonists; they both get angry with them when trying to

face their superficiality of feeling and thoughts. Sybil ends more tragically apart from

Clotilde, but they both remain us the femme fatales of Greek or Shakespeare times.

Probably this also shows that in the decadent time is no place for love because it´s not

careless enough and it is a feeling we have to succumb fully to, or not at all.

Other depiction concerns New Woman who is present by Madeleine Forestier

and Duchess of Monmouth characters. These two women are strong defenders of

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independent woman in society and they show it by their acts or speeches. In books they

claim that men are not superior to women anymore, that time changes and that they can

control their feelings not to be much influence by men, obviously in a bad ways. In

society these women fought for their rights which thanks to the industrialism – women

started to work, and with a fall of the old aristocratic stereotypes they had the chance to

revolt against men too. Another evidence of spreading the idea of feminism was the

growth of photographic inventions and popularization of women in magazines. I

associate this fact with Madeleine Forestier who really writes articles for newspaper,

actually hidden behind her men.

The last type finally concerns to man and his changing nature towards the

women. It is obvious when women want to be like men, naturally the men start sort of

convert to effeminacy. The second reason is stated to be the high interest in sexuality as

the consequence of decadent and materialistic thinking, support also by the

industrialism, which spread the idea of surplus and then the concern for vices rises.

Dandy is not necessary a homosexual, nevertheless he tends to effeminate clothes

wearing, he cares about his external appearance and he spends lots of time in men

company. The description fits to Henry, Basil and Dorian who spent lots of time

together and we can also see there the homosexual overtones between Basil and Dorian,

but also between Dorian and Harry. Concerning the comparison between George and

Dorian we found out that they resemble in style of clothing and moreover in their

behaviour in which they show their dry faces in front of society to be considered as well

– situated men but on the other hand they hide the passionate temptations towards the

money in case of George and towards the eternal beauty and life of vanity without guilt

in case of Dorian. They both showed the attempt to reach their satisfaction. The

attention was also devoted to their relationships with women, which accompany us

61

through all the chapters because we analyze all the characters from the point of George

and Dorian view. It is necessary to be stated that both of them didn´t treated women

well, they disdained them and despite their love which they felt to their femme fatales or

new women, refused it in favour of their profits, naivety and eccentricity.

To summarize my points I would state however The Picture of Dorian Gray

contains more controversial overtones and concerns predominantly to men apart from

Bel-Ami where is, on the other hand, better seen the women world and their intrigues.

62

Résumé

The aim of the thesis was to define the three major types of gender popular at the

end of 19th century. Then they were adopted to the books The Picture of Dorian Gray

and Bel-Ami where was analyzed that the characters of the works resemble to those

cultural icons and therefore are implemented in the stories which could be considered as

the relevant document, in this sense truly picturing the end of 19th century. However

The Picture of Dorian Gray contains more controversial overtones and concerns

predominantly to men apart from Bel-Ami where is, on the other hand, better seen the

women world and their intrigues.

Cílem této bakalářské práce bylo definovat tři hlavní pojetí gender na konci

devatenástého století. Ty byly potom adaptovány na knihy Obraz Doriana Gerye a

Miláčka, kde se tyto kulturní ikony podobaly těm literárním, což může být považováno

za věrohodný dokument zobrazující jevy 19. století. Zatímco Obraz Doriana Graye

obsahuje vice kontroverzních náznaků a zaměřuje se více na muže narozdíl od Miláčka,

kde jsou lépe znázorněny ženy a jejich svět intrik.

63

Apendices

Picture: 1, George Brummel1

Source: www.georgianindex.net

64

Picture: 2, George Duroy = Bel - Ami2

Source: aria - art.ru

65

Picture: 3, Dorian Gray3

Source: www.internationalhero.co.uk

1,2,3 taken from Google Images

66

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