The Portrait of Modern Man
The Portrait of Dorian Grey brought forward the themes of aestheticism & the dissociation of virtues in the bid for hedonism — Oscar Wilde’s work to displace Puritanism during the Victorian Era is a scarring reminder of how history repeats itself through different forms.
The progressive car skidded off road on its journey toward perfection. Amidst peaceful thunder & righteous lightning, the pitfall to hell quickly rivals the rise to moral zenith.
The Portrait of Modern Man while different, begs the same: Viele Aestheticism has transfigured itself anew. While the Portrait of Dorian Grey pursued the hedonistic aesthetic of art and beauty, the Portrait of Modern Man stands with moral adulation inoculated by political correctness. This passage is the culmination of aphorisms that I’ve written on the commentary of that very culture.
The Modern Man stares into the mirror. He meets the gaze of cold foreign eyes that invoke narcissistic hubris, smirking without a thought in sight, he ignores it admiring only the glow of his skin. Behind his eyes sits the mortal immortal. Still staring through the mirror, The Modern Man waves his hand denying truths, consecrating his brand of overarching justice amongst all.
He finds beauty within his brand of justice. He opens his eyes, only seeking truths with relevance to him, stepping over the Socratic inquiry to demand populist support. A brand of fascism? No. He wishes it extended that far. A novel brand of narcissism — within his truly Godless mind, a retinue of vigilantes come out from the darkness with the sword of St. Micheal, ready to inflict harm to the logos & ethos.
Why you may ask? Virtue has found itself in a place of beauty. It sits comfortably amongst Aphrodite & Apollo in the halls of Olympus, holding itself as equal or even above. The Modern Man self-conceives the blessing of virtue, draping it over immodestly.
Virtue is no longer a strict symbol of egalitarianism rather, the opposite. The Modern Man has tinkered with populism resulting in in-just justice, swarms of online mobs passing judgment for brief windows of time, formulating opinions, and spreading falsehoods in a bid for recognition.
Yet, The Modern Man is lonely. As the night bids farewell to the day, The Modern Man sinks into his neutrally pleasurable chair after spending considerable amounts of his day staring at the reflection.
His face is stricken by exhaustion from a life of ostentation, it overcomes him greatly like a shadowed vandal. Alone and confronted by his thoughts, The Modern Man stares into the besmirched abyss — he closes his eyes and finds himself free-falling.
Precisely at that moment, near the warmth of the floor, the fire is lit. Pathos finds him once again and, he falls asleep comfortably. Bidding the night a premature farewell, The Modern Man youth washes back over him with great ardor. The sun will welcome him shortly.
