Friendship: A Modern View of Aristotelian Ideas

Although Aristotle’s comments regarding self-love are relevant to many works of literature, they are particularly applicable to The Picture of Dorian Gray. After seeing his own marvelous beauty in Basil’s portrait, Dorian is led to a state of self-loving that is only encouraged by Lord Henry’s influence. However, following the provisions of Lord Henry’s aesthetic on pleasure, Dorian changes into someone that he cannot even bare to look at. Aristotle says that self-love is acceptable, although “not in the sense in which most people are self-loving.” (Page 246) The latter clause would be Aristotle’s grounds for dismissing the righteousness of Dorian’s self-love. Aristotle says that self-love is generally only acceptable when a man is setting a good example, which Dorian is clearly not. In fact, many people with whom Dorian was previously associated turned into immoral wrecks. In summary, self-love in friendship must be weighed against the promotion of one’s own self-interests.

At the end of Book IX, Aristotle comments that “everyone wishes to share with his friends the occupation (whatever it is) that constitutes his existence, or makes life worth living.” (Page 253) While this is, as Aristotle points out, applicable to scenes at bars and casinos, it is also applicable to the situation of the monster in Frankenstein. The monster does not have a day job, but his occupation with his own thoughts and emotions leads him to want a companion. This desire drives the plot and serves as motivation for actions that lead up to the climax of the novel. The monster’s actions stand in accordance with Aristotle’s aesthetic on friendship and are a prime example of the manner in which the philosopher’s theories take effect in literature. (Shelley, 2004)

Aristotle’s treatise on friendship has become an axiomatic driving force in the philosophical world and has ramifications that are clear in literature from many periods of time. His arguments are expansive and applicable to controversial questions in many fields. In works such as The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wile, Prometheus Bound, by Aeschylus, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, and This Side of Paradise, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and As You Like It, by William Shakespeare, the philosopher’s ideas come into play both in terms of plot and exposition. The classifications and descriptions of the different types of friendship are remarkable in terms of their depth and application. By writing his revolutionary treatise on friendship, Aristotle left a lasting impression on the way that people would see relationships for centuries to come.

Works Cited

Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound. Trans. William Matthews. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.

Aristotle.  Nichomachean Ethics.  Trans. J.A.K. Thompson.  London: Penguin Books, 2004.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. This Side of Paradise. New York: Scribner, 1995.

Shakespeare, William. As You Like It. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2000.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Kaplan, 2004.

Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. London: Penguin Group, 2000.