Dorian Gray's Faustian Pact " All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. " During the Renaissance, Christopher Marlowe examined the human soul in his morality play, "Doctor Faustus." Over 200 years later, the high-class British world of the 19th century held youth and beauty above much more important qualities, as exhibited in Oscar Wilde's novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. In this fictional story, themes from Marlowe's famous work is seen through the main character, Dorian Gray. In his pursuit of aestheticism, Dorian desires to achieve a goal that