The Picture of Dorian Gray scandalized readers when it was first published in 1890. Written in Wilde’s signature style, the story has gone on to become an enduring tale of man’s hubris and narcissism. The well-known artist Basil Hallward meets the young Dorian Gray in the stately London home of his aunt, Lady Brandon. Basil becomes immediately infatuated with Dorian, who is cultured, wealthy, and … cultured, wealthy, and remarkably beautiful. Such beauty, Basil believes, is responsible for a new mode of art, and he decides to paint a portrait of the young man. While finishing the painting, Basil reluctantly introduces Dorian to his friend Lord Henry Wotton, a man known for scandal and exuberance. Wotton inspires Dorian to live life through the senses, to feel beauty in everyday experience. Dorian becomes enthralled by Wotton’s ideas, and more so becomes obsessed with remaining young and beautiful. He expresses a desire to sell his soul and have the portrait of him age, while he, the man, stays eternally young. A tragic story of hedonism and desire, The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde’s only published novel.more
The Picture of Dorian Gray
By oscarwilde
The “Picture of Dorian Gray” is one of the greatest works of English literature with respect to plot, setting, prose, exposition, description, dialogue, pace, and every other category that makes a great story great. This story is poignant precisely because humans from every culture and time period (past, present and future) can relate to it. A key takeaway is a warning about how most human beings are only too eager to give the benefit of the doubt to those who are beautiful on the outside while doubting those whose facial features may not conform to society’s definition of good looks. For it was no less true in 1891, than it is today, that Dorian Gray was able to get away with many of his evil deeds only because people were not willing to believe someone as beautiful as him was capable of evil.
What makes the story of Dorian Gray so entertaining is that it forces the reader to ask myriad questions whose answers are not obvious. For instance, what is the true source of evil for Dorian’s debauchery. Was Dorian himself truly corrupt from the beginning or was it the suggestions and prodding of Lord Henry that caused him to become evil. The answer could go either way. Lord Henry provides a clue at the beginning of the story “I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world” suggesting that Dorian was already corrupt when Lord Henry met him, otherwise Dorian would be of no interest to Lord Henry.
Most importantly, this story is more relevant today than it was in Oscar Wilde’s time and should serve as a warning to everyone. In this day and age where the ideal of radical individualism encourages everyone to live as they please in the West, and to satisfy every urge for self-expression in order to find self-fullfilment, we must all be cautious not to fall prey to the temptations that destroyed Dorian Gray. For those advocating that unrestrained self-expression is the most important freedom that should be protected by Western society, it is important to keep in mind how these words of wisdom from Lord Henry affected the life of Dorian Gray “I believe that if one man were to live out his life fully and completely, were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream, I believe that the world would gain such a fresh impulse of joy that we would forget all the maladies of medievalism and return to the Hellenic ideal.”