The Dorian Gray Syndrome

While researching the various allusions described in The Picture of Dorian Gray, I found a strange Wikipedia article titled “The Dorian Gray Syndrome.” An individual that possesses this disorder is extremely narcissistic over their physical appearance and cannot cope with the idea that their body will inevitably age. This syndrome was first classified in a paper published in 2001: The Dorian Gray Syndrome: Psychological Need for Hair growth Restoerersand other “fountains of youth.” Studies have also shown that the Dorian Gray Syndrome consists of several different psychological disorders mixed into one; it serves as an overarching classification for men with fear of deformation, paraphilia, and personality disorders. Furthermore, according to the 2001 paper, men with this syndrome often undergo medical procedures to maintain their youthful look. These strategies include antidepressants, hair growth restoration, plastic surgery, etc. 

Even though Dorian Gray Syndrome has been defined for two decades, it’s still unclear how many people actually suffer from it; psychologists are still coming up with the exact criteria and it is unlikely that this disorder would be included in medical books such as the DSM-5 anytime soon. Nevertheless, it’s still incredibly interesting to see that the trauma and fear Dorian Gray experienced in the novel are parallel with real-life experiences men have to endure. However, unlike Dorian Gray, who was able to maintain his natural beauty by making a “deal with the devil” which made his portrait age in lieu of him, modern men do not have the luxury of doing that. Instead, men have to turn to medical advances and unconventional methods to achieve the same results. This novel also alludes to the fact that maintaining such beauty comes with a drastic cost: Dorian Gray’s narcissism slowly turns his soul into a hideous creature while men that go through medical procedures destroy their own health for superficial results.