Lord Henry Wotton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lord Henry Wotton is one of the leading characters of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Some critics consider Lord Henry to be responsible for Dorian Gray's mental awakening, which ultimately leads to the young man's downfall. Blame has also been given to Dorian himself as well as Basil for producing the picture. He forces the naïve boy to realize that he is beautiful and admires his youth, "the one thing worth having." Lord Henry, who meets Dorian through their mutual friend, the artist Basil Hallward, has paradoxical views on life, marriage, and the world in general and is known for his witty repartee, somewhat like Oscar Wilde himself.

There is also an unmistakable allusion to "old harry" (the devil) in the character's name. Dorian refers to him as Harry and he is continually tempting Dorian and talking him into a more immoral frame of mind.

Lord Henry Wotton was portrayed by actor Bela Lugosi in a film version of the novel released in Austria-Hungary on January 21, 1918. He was also played by George Sanders in the 1945 film version.

The character is said to be based on Lord Ronald Sutherland-Leveson-Gower.