The three faces of self-alienation in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Yusuf Atılgan's Aylak Adam, and J.K. Huysmans' À Rebours

In this study, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, À Rebours by J.K. Huysmans, and Aylak Adam by Yusuf Atılgan are analyzed through a comparative perspective using the method of sociological criticism to explore the phenomenon of self-alienation in modern individuals. The works, written by authors from different nations and civilizations, are examined not only in their cultural and historical contexts but also through the characters' inner fragmentation and alienation experiences. Self-alienation can be defined as a process in which individuals grow distant from their society and eventually from themselves, leading to isolation. The technological developments of the 19th century reshaped modernity and transformed human relations, altering the individual's connection to both society and the self. While modernity promised liberation through individualization, it paradoxically intensified alienation and disconnection. This tension has become one of the central existential concerns reflected in literature. The study primarily draws on Zygmunt Bauman's concepts of liquid modernity, liquid love, and the community-society distinction; Georg Simmel's theories on the metropolis and individual-society dynamics; and Erich Fromm's notions of having/being and homo consumens. Additional sociological views are occasionally incorporated. The analysis focuses on the main characters' familial, romantic, and social relationships, revealing how and why each experiences existential solitude. Although shaped by different contexts, the alienation of these characters reveals a universal theme. The main aim of this thesis is to offer a unique contribution by examining how the rise of individualism in modernity fosters self-alienation, as reflected in these literary works. Keywords: Bauman, Fromm, Comparative Literature, Modernity, Self-alienation, Simmel