The Picture of Dorian Gray - PODG #7 - The Orchids of Dorian Gray

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, flowers are used frequently as symbolism. One flower that is most commonly used is the orchid. Lord Henry describes an orchid as "a marvelous spotted thing, as effective as the seven deadly sins" (142). This associates orchids with sin, causing the purity and perfection that they represent to become tainted. Orchids also represent luxury and rare, delicate beauty. They are associated with ancient Greek culture, which also plays a part in Dorian Gray. The spots on an orchid are said to represent the blood of Christ in Christian theology, which ties in with the religious diction about the "seven deadly sins". Saying that orchids are "as effective as the seven deadly sins" insinuates that perfection and beauty lead to sinful nature, which has been Dorain's case. Orchids, like all flowers, must eventually whither and die when cut from the ground. Orchids symbolize how beauty dissolves overtime and how perfection can become skewed. This will happen to Dorian eventually, for it is just a matter of time before he is somehow cut off from the portrait's power and changed to be his true self again.