Date of Award

Fall 12-18-2019

Document Type

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing

Department

English

Advisor

Sr. Mary Hotz

Advisor

Dr. Maria Kniazeva

Abstract

When interviewed about his Victorian Gothic masterpiece, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde once observed that “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry is what the world thinks of me: Dorian is what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps” (Oscar Wilde). These three characters represent widely different types of people; in light of Wilde’s words, then, what does it truly mean to be Basil, Lord Henry, or Dorian Gray? In other words, what interests, opinions, and values held by these characters determine how each of them differ from one another? In my cross-discipline thesis, I attempt to answer these questions through applying the marketing concept of persona development to the novel, and in doing so, test whether strategic marketing concepts can practically be applied to literary contexts.

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