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*While I'm at it, this is me trying to argue Lord Henry in Oscar Wilde's Dorian Grey is not a stand in for the author:
The claim mentioned earlier that Lord Henry is Wilde himself has been bugging me. I'm sure there is some of Wilde in Henry, Basil, and Dorian, but it seems to me that claiming the corrupter who early on is said to not really believe what he says, seems... very shallow. It seems to me that Henry is meant to be someone who takes on a cynical pose so as not to let anyone get too close. I'm not saying Wilde didn't do this, but I do think the misogyny is part of the character's pose rather than some true statement of Wilde's about the shallowness of women. It seems to me important to separate the characters from the author. Henry is standing for societal forces that destroy virtue and innocence and is also misogynistic. It seems weird to have the words of the villain stand for the author's true feelings.

Maybe it's just me though.

I think Dorian's an altogether unpleasant piece of work, but would he have gone so thoroughly bad so quickly without Henry feeding his darkest nature? Probably not. There is a point where Basil and Henry's influences are fighting within Dorian. He actually considers asking Basil to help him resist Henry. I do think the bulk of blame falls on Dorian's shoulders. He chose repeatedly to follow the darker impulses, but I think Henry consistently fed that. I suspect that it makes more sense to think of Basil and Henry as conscience and temptation or something more along those lines. Wilde himself struggled internally in much the same way. I think part of why the story remains relevant is that everyone has some experience with this sort of internal struggle. It's a universal to everyone who is not a true sociopath. The central image of the picture is powerful, the writing charming and full of philosophy, observation, and epigrams, but I think people connect to it because of the the way the central characters struggle with light and dark within themselves.