Final answer:
The Late Victorian work that best exemplifies the pleasure-seeking approach to life is Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray,' where the protagonist pursues a life of indulgence reflective of the era's tendencies towards hedonism and consumerism while critiquing social hypocrisy.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the Late Victorian Era, society experienced a dichotomy, showcasing a pleasure-seeking approach to life against a backdrop of social principles of restraint and righteousness. This era is often depicted in the literature and art of the time, displaying the indulgent lifestyle of the privileged classes and the burgeoning consumer culture spurred by the Industrial Revolution. One literary work that encapsulates this juxtaposition and the era's hedonistic tendencies is Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The novel portrays the life of an aristocrat who indulges in every pleasure and vice imaginable, seeking eternal youth and beauty, while his concealed portrait reveals the moral degradation of his soul. The themes of the novel—excess, hedonism, and the social veneer of respectability—mirror the societal tensions of the Late Victorian period.
Throughout the Late Victorian period, cities were bustling with entertainment like music halls, operas, and department stores, which gave rise to a lifestyle centered on leisure and consumption. People, especially the middle and upper classes, voiced their culture and status through consumerism and entertainment, often attending socialite gatherings, operas, and concerts. Novels of this era critiqued the society's underlying moral hypocrisy, with works from authors like Oscar Wilde challenging the established social mores and questioning the ethical underpinnings of the wealthy elite.