Abdolmohammad Movahhed

This thesis is a comparative study of self-alienation in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Coralie Fargeat’s film The Substance. Through the philosophical concepts of simulacra proposed by Jean Baudrillard, bad faith presented by Jean-Paul Sartre, and the “they” explained by Martin Heidegger, it is argued that a combination of internal and external factors makes the protagonists, Dorian Gray and Elisabeth Sparkle, believe that the only way possible for them to maintain their present (in Dorian’s case) and past (in Elisabeth’s case) social status is to accept and adopt the imposed lifestyle. Through Sartre’s framework, it is argued that both Dorian Gray and Elisabeth Sparkle engage in bad faith by denying the facticity of their bodies. Dorian puts his moral corruption into the portrait in order to keep his physical beauty and innocence, while Elisabeth biologically splits herself to restore the beauty demanded by the market. Using Heidegger’s concept of the “they,” this thesis shows that this denial of facticity is rooted in impersonal social norms. Victorian moralism in The Picture of Dorian Gray and the entertainment industry in The Substance are the impersonal systems that prioritize beauty, youth, and public approval over everything else. Finally, through Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra, the thesis argues that Elisabeth’s original existence is replaced by a marketable version, and Dorian’s moral and physical self is replaced by the portrait, which absorbs all consequences of his actions. In both cases, the real body and the real self are separated from their representations.