Chiang, F: Mirror, Text and the Symbolic Matrix

von Felix Feng-Wei Chiang

This is a thesis on the "creation" issue in Oscar Wilde''s only novel through a Lacanian perspective. In addtion to being a decadent manifesto, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" has generally been regarded as a certain kind of bildungsroman by critics, in which what is created is not only the magical painting but the hero as well. "Mirror, Text and the Symbolic Matrix." By suggesting these three interlocking axes, the author seeks to outline the process of creation/writing that governs the novel. By analyzing the complex work of texts and the interplay of influences, the thesis seeks to disclose the creation issue in this famous work of Wilde''s.