In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the eponymous character Dorian follows the lifestyle of the new hedonism. This lifestyle advocates a complete abandonment of your impulses and does not believe in following social or moral dictates. The book illustrates the long-term effects of the new hedonism, showing the destruction and death that Dorian creates as a result of this creed, ultimately leading him to complete madness and his own destruction. When Dorian Gray first meets Lord Henry in the studio of the artist Basil Hallward. , he was fascinated by the mind of Lord Henry and the radical social doctrines he advocated. Dorian lets himself be easily modeled and falls under the spell of the arguments he hears. According to Lord Henry, the aim of the new hedonism is "to perfectly realize its nature...to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream" (198-199). As philosophies go, this seems harmless enough until Lord Henry points out that "every impulse which we strive to strangle simmers in the mind and poisons us...the only way to get rid of a temptation is to give in to it. Resist it, and your soul will become sick with desire” (199). Lord Henry's advice appeals to the malleable Dorian, who does not seem to realize that Lord Henry may advocate giving in to all impulses, even the most destructive, but he does not follow this advice himself. As Basil Hallward said to Lord Henry, “You never say a moral thing and you never do a bad thing. Your cynicism is just a pose” (188). Dorian, however, takes Lord Henry's advice regarding the new hedonism literally and the results are disastrous. Dorian begins to embrace the new doctrine of hedonism after Lord Henry proclaims: “Youth! Youth! There is absolutely nothing in the world but you... middle of paper ... He is forced to see that the new hedonism he embraces with open arms is not without a price for himself and for those who surround it. This leads him deeper and deeper into sin and depravity until he can no longer be redeemed for his sins. In a fit of madness, he decides that he no longer wants his own faults, the results of his impulsive, narcissistic and selfish behavior, to be visible to him. He takes a knife to the canvas and in doing so ends his life. A life dedicated to following his impulses without tempering them with reason, a life to thinking only of his own selfish desires and ignoring the harm caused to the people around him. The legacy generated by the new hedonism. Works Cited Wilde, Oscar and Michael Patrick. Gillespie. The Picture of Dorian Gray: authoritative texts, background, reviews and reactions, reviews. New York: WW Norton &, 2007. Print.