The Truth of Tomorrow and the Mistake of Today ——Aesthetic Morality in THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

Morality in Oscar Wilde-s THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY has been a long-debated p aradox. On the one hand, the plot of the novel suggests that moral corruption ne cessarily leads to punishment; on the other, Wilde stated explicitly that art is amoral and should only concern itself with the beauty of form. This paper attem pts to reconcile the paradox within the framework of Wilde-s aesthetic philosop hy and discover its inner consistency.