The Picture of Dorian Gray [Paperback]

 

 

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"[W]hat does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose ... his own soul?'" (Chapter XIX)

The Picture of Dorian Gray was entertaining to read and had an unexpected ending. The prose was beautiful, and there were many references to roses. The idea of this story is very creative and I was surprised that the story was this interesting. The only problem I had was that there were too many conversations to demonstrate Lord Henry's thoughts.

One day, Basil Hallward, an artist, sees Dorian Gray at a gathering and feels instantly connected to him. Basil feels that Dorian can inspire his work to be tremendous.

Basil befriends Dorian, and asks him to come to his studio so that Dorian can get his picture painted. Dorian is beautiful and young, and Basil always tells him that.

Soon after, however, Basil hints to his friend, Lord Henry, about his strange meeting with and interest in Dorian Gray. And that Dorian has inspired him, and his paintings to be the best that he has ever painted.

Hearing that Dorian is untainted, Lord Henry wants to show Dorian the world, and to help Dorian experience new thoughts and emotions. Although Basil wants to keep Dorian to himself, because he knows the mind games that Lord Henry plays with all of his friends, Henry ends up meeting Dorian by accident, when Dorian comes to the studio. That is how innocent Dorian's life changes.

Later, Lord Henry tells Dorian that he can have everything he wants in his youth, because of his appearance, but that beauty won't last forever. Dorian becomes upset, and after Basil is finished painting picture of him, Dorian wishes that he could look like the Dorian in the picture forever, and that the Dorian in the picture would age instead him.

See the wicked evils that Dorian commits to alter the face in the picture. Read the thoughts and ideas Lord Henry plants into Dorian's mind, like a devil whispering into his victim's ears.

The following are a few lines I enjoyed:

"The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray, and the advantage of science is that it is not emotional." (Chapter III)

"Experience was of no ethical value. It was merely the name men gave to their mistakes." (Chapter IV)

"It often happened that when we thought we were experimenting on others we were really experimenting on ourselves." (Chapter IV)

"... who were extremely old-fashioned people and did not realize that we live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities..." (Chapter VIII)

"So I have murdered ... her as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife. Yet the roses are not less lovely for that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden." (Chapter VIII)

"`To cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul!'" (Chapter XVI)

"It is said that passion makes one think in a circle."(Chapter XVI)

"Knowledge would be fatal. It is the uncertainty that charms one. A mist makes things wonderful." (Chapter XVIII)

"Crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders ... I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary sensations." (Chapter XIX)

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a mesmerizing read dominated by two amazing personalities. Dorian Gray is certainly interesting, but I was much more impressed by his friend and mentor Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian is a perfectly nice, well-meaning young man when we first meet him in the studio of the painter Basil Hallward. Hallward in fact is so drawn to the youth that he draws his greatest inspiration from painting him and just being with him. It is the influence of Hallward's friend Lord Henry which leads to Gray's downfall. There are few characters in literature as decadent, witty, and somehow enchanting as Lord Henry. He is never at a loss for words, fatalistic observations of life and people, sarcastic philosophical musings, and brilliantly devious ideas. Among his world of social decadents and artistic do-nothings, his charm remains redoubtable and highly sought-after. Gray immediately falls under his spell, soon devoting himself to living life to its fullest and enjoying his youth and beauty to the utmost. He solemnly wishes that he could remain young and beautiful forever, that Hallward's exquisite picture of him should bear the marks of age and debauchery rather than himself. To his surprise and ultimate horror, he finds his wish fulfilled. Small lines and creases first appear in the portrait, but after he cruelly breaks the heart of an unfortunate young actress who then takes her own life, the first real signs of horror and blood manifest themselves on his portrait. His love for the ill-fated Sibyl Vane is a sordid, heartbreaking tale, and it marks the culmination of his descent into debauchery. He frequents opium dens and houses of ill repute, justifying all of his worst actions to himself, while the influence of Lord Henry continues to work its black magic on his soul. He hides his increasingly grotesque portrait away in an upstairs room, sometimes going up to stare at it and take pleasure in the fact that it rather than he bears the stains of his iniquities. In time, his obsession with his secret grows, and he is constantly afraid that it will be discovered by someone. For eighteen years he lives in this manner, moving among the members of his society as a revered figure who magically retains his youth, but eventually he begins to see himself as he really is and to curse the portrait, blaming its magic for his miserable life of ill-begotten pleasures and loss of moral character. The final pages are well-written, and the climax is eminently satisfying.

Exhibiting the undeniable influence of the French Decadence movement of the late 19th century, this wonderful novel serves as a morality play of sorts. One can understand why its unique nature upset a British society emerging from the social constraints of Victorianism, but this reader is hard pressed to see why this novel proved so damaging to Wilde's eventual imprisonment and punishment. Dorian Gray is no hero, nor does his ultimate internal struggles and yearnings for rebirth inspire one to engage in the sort of life he himself eventually came to regret. The only "dangerous" character in this novel is Lord Henry; his delight in working his evil influence on others as a type of moral experiment and the silver-tongued charm he exploits to aid him in such misbegotten quests have the potential to do harm to a vulnerable mind such as that of Dorian Gray. Lord Henry's evil genius makes him much more interesting than his disciple Dorian Gray. By today's standards, this book is not shocking, and indeed it is much more dangerous to censor work such as this than it is to read it. This book in eminently quotable, and it still manages to cast a magical spell over readers of this day and age. Quite simply, The Picture of Dorian Gray deserves a place on the shelf of the world's greatest literature.

Beautiful on the outside, ugly on the inside. That's Dorian Gray and the symbolism couldn't be more relevant today. This is one of the reasons why this has remained and will continue to be a classic. I won't bore you with a summary of the plot. I'll simply ask that you please give this book a read. It's quick, it's short, it's exciting, it's thrilling, it's very well written and it's a good summer read - I promise.

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5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful so far
I'm only 1/4 of the way through as I am reading 3 other books right now, but so far I find this to be a most wonderful book.

Published on May 2 2010 by Ashlee L. Galletta

5.0 out of 5 stars Picture of excellence
`So, Henry, how is that young Protégée of yours progressing, hem?
Lord Henry paused to saviour his glass. Read more

Published on May 12 2008 by Barry Tighe

5.0 out of 5 stars Who wants to look young forever?
Basil, who up until now was a mediocre painter after meeting Dorian Gray a young Adonis, was inspired to create a masterpiece of which he puts himself into. Read more

Published on Nov 24 2007 by bernie

4.0 out of 5 stars Using form in two contradictory, yet complimentary ways
The picture that figures so prominently in Oscar Wilde's novel contradicts not the aesthetic doctrine of art divorced from morality but its more extreme offshoot: that of living... Read more

Published on Feb 22 2007 by Shane C. Walters

3.0 out of 5 stars Hopelessly Ambiguous or Unambiguously Hopeful?
Who knows? But right-wing orthodox Catholic monarchist readers will be required to steel themselves through the first two chapters which consist of a drawn-out slap fight between... Read more

Published on July 5 2004 by Loudon Is A Fool

5.0 out of 5 stars Overflowing with insights and quotations
Wilde's only novel contains some of the greatest dialogue of any literature written in the english language. Read more

Published on Jun 22 2004 by K. Bondelli

5.0 out of 5 stars Dorian Gray
This book, which I read quite some time ago but will never cease to love, is a beautiful horror story. Read more

Published on Jun 10 2004 by Soujin

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read.
The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is set in London, England. This story is about a young man who grows to be a sinful and terribly vain man driven by love, beauty and... Read more

Published on Jun 4 2004 by Just a girl from SMS

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all-time favorites
Oscar Wilde's only novel is one of the best books I have ever read. The story is fascinating, and one that most people have heard of--that Dorian Gray, a young, beautiful man,... Read more

Published on Jun 4 2004 by S.R.W. Phillips

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic novel about the gift of eternal youth
Basil Harwood talks to his friend, Lord Henry Wotton, about his latest painting, a portrait of a striking young man named Dorian Gray to whom he has taken quite a fancy. Read more

Published on May 26 2004 by gac1003

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