[...] In this essay I would like to concentrate on these two works, by trying to elaborate on how they portrait main characters who are unable to face the difficulties of adult life and thus cling to their mothers in search of comfort. In the process, however, they try to appear to be ‘normal’ in the eyes of society to conceal their defects and, consequently, they are constantly playing roles. I would like to begin my essay with a psychological analysis of The Picture of Dorian Gray, most importantly using the ideas of Freud. Then, the next chapter is going to be about the very same novel, with a sociological approach. Finally, in the final chapter of the body of the essay I examine “The Man with the Twisted Lip” with the same two aspects in mind, while trying to reflect upon further similarities between the two texts. (Introduction)