Oscar Wilde and Telling in Time and Space

Since the publication of The Picture of Dorian Gray, there has been a great amount of criticism both for and against the work, naming it an influential and brave step towards the freedom of marginalized tendencies. Critics have variously evaluated the work from different perspectives; however, these studies have largely targeted the thematic aspects of the novel, and little serious attempt has been made to examine this great work structurally. As a result, the narrativity of this novel still remains untouched. The present study examines the spatiotemporal structure of the novel. The analysis indicated that place, space, and time function as tools for Oscar Wilde to convey meaning and enhance the reader's understanding of the characters and their actions in the novel. In fact, much of the meaning or the effect the author intends to converse through each action, character, or dialogue is firstly embedded in a proper and effective spatiotemporal setting. The analysis ascertained a well-set spatiotemporal structure in the narrativity of the novel which results in (1) Ekphrasis, (2) Characterization, (3) Concretization, (4) Reader manipulation, and (5) Primacy effect.