In Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray how is sexual identity a factor in the book? How is this parallel to Wilde's personal life? Where and when do these influences come through in the text?

Although the theme of homoerotic love is never stated explicitly (and could not be, given the conventions of the day), it may be present in Basil's feelings for Dorian. He tells Lord Henry that he cannot he happy if he does not see Dorian every day. He is upset when Dorian becomes engaged to Sibyl. Later, he confesses to Dorian that from the first moment they met, he worshipped him. He says, "I grew jealous of every one to whom you spoke. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I was with you." He is completely dominated by his feelings for the younger man, which also transfigure his perception of the entire world. Everything becomes wonderful to him because of Dorian. Basil presents what may be homoerotic attraction in different terms, as the lure of an aesthetic ideal. He worships Dorian because the beautiful young man allows him to fulfill his highest ideals as an artist. He tells Lord Henry that Dorian is to him "simply a motive in art." Certainly Oscar Wilde had his own struggles with acceptance in Victorian society: a society that rejected any form of same-sex affection.