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Work #772 · Late

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde
1890 (Lippincott's); 1891 (revised book) · English
Fin-de-siècle aesthetic novel · Late-Victorian aestheticism / decadence

Wilde's 1890-91 fin-de-siècle aesthetic novel of decadence, beauty, and the corrupted soul

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Picture of Dorian Gray (Late)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Single
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Theistic
Observer · Moral Authority Experience
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The artificially suspended time of Dorian's youth.

Space

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Late-Victorian London, the locked attic.

Matter

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The unchanging body and the recording portrait.

Observer

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Dorian, Basil, Lord Henry.

Energy

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Energies of pleasure and corruption.

Information

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The portrait as moral record.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Wilde's Dorian Gray: foundational for late-Victorian aestheticism and decadence; a moral fable of self-corrupting beauty.