The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Genre: Classic Fantasy
Blurb (on back of book):
Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.
MY OPINION: ****
*SPOILERS*
The premise of this book was so unique that I just had to pick it up (or download it) and read it! I've lately gotten into reading ebooks as the quarantine has made it impossible to buy/check out books. This was one of the first I've read online and I truly enjoyed it from beginning to end. It had its faults but overall, I stayed interested until the end.
Dorian Gray begins as the most innocent, naive, youthful character you can imagine. He starts out charming and full of energy, which artist Basil Hallward tries to captivate in his portrait of Dorian. Basil laments the idea of Dorian ever growing up and experiencing the moments in life that will taint his soul and mar his innocence. I found Basil's character quite interesting because in a way, he was like Dorian's moral compass. He tried so hard to sway Dorian's character by the end when Dorian had hit the cruel, evil part of his life, and this resulted in Dorian's murder of Basil. In an effort to get rid of the remorse and guilt that Dorian has been feeling about his actions, he murders the one person who has been trying to get him to remember his conscience.
Lord Henry. What a character. He was the pessimistic, cynical, devil-on-the-shoulder man that truly began the tarnishing of Dorian's soul. He has such a large influence over Dorian's character and leads him down the dark spiral that Dorian finds himself lost in, spinning down, down, down. Lord Henry begins the book by giving Dorian a conversation about youth and how Dorian will lose it when he gets older (a bit cruel to say to such a happy young soul if you ask me). Lord Henry is one of those characters who is brutally and unashamedly honest about everything, no matter who is listening. He's an intellect through and through.
The most important part of this book (for me, at least) was watching the change in Dorian as he started to commit worse and worse deeds. He sells his soul to the devil quite literally. He makes a flighty wish when Basil finishes his portrait of Dorian, wishing that the painting would take his old age and change, leaving Dorian untouched and beautiful still. By some... witchcraft? divine power? this wish comes true (lo and behold) and Dorian has to live with the terrifying consequences.
Dorian sees a female actress and proceeds to fall in love and propose. However, her entire character changes after falling in love and she finds she can't act anymore, embarrassing Dorian in front of his friends. This results in a cruel Dorian criticizing Sybil and breaking her heart, ending in her suicide. This is the first awful deed in Dorian's life and when he goes to look at the portrait, it is reflected back to him in the cruelness of the expression on the figure's face.
This begins the story of Dorian's downfalls, as he follows a corrupted path and tarnishes the lives of all around him. Basil is in love with Dorian (quite obviously) and tries his best to change Dorian into the person that he knew him to be before he sold his soul. Of course, the selling the soul is a big secret so Basil doesn't know how to think of the unexplainable changes in Dorian's character.
A common idea is that Dorian and Lord Henry were in love with each other and although it is never fully elaborated on, I do agree with that theory. Though, is it really a theory? It was quite obvious in the way that they talked to, adored, and spent time with each other. Sure, we can chalk it up to fascination from older and wiser to youthful and innocent but to the rest of us, they were infatuated with each other. Smitten! Of course, Oscar Wilde himself was gay which could be an explanation for how the intimate relationship of Dorian and Lord Henry was implemented in the novel. Perhaps, Wilde didn't even know what he was doing and wasn't aware of the romantic relationship he had created between the two. We will never know.
I loved reading this book. There were passages that felt interminably long and dense but once you got through some of them, you got used to it. Of course, it is a classic novel and is bound to be full of dense writing that overall is really quite beautiful. However, I was mostly reading at deep hours of the night so sometimes the long paragraphs felt quite lengthy to my sleep-deprived brain.
I would recommend this book to readers looking for a beautifully-written and unique story of human nature.
Main Character: Dorian
Sidekick(s): Lord Henry (though also a villain), Basil, etc
Villain(s): James Vane (though he was justified), Lord Henry (though also a sidekick), corruption, murder, etc
Classic Fantasy Elements: This book featured fanatical elements such as selling your soul to the devil.
Comments
Post a Comment