The Picture of Dorian Grey

Dear Reader,

I was quite flabbergasted when I found out that “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was the only novel that Oscar Wilde has written. I have been highly smitten with his work since my school days.

“Yet each man kills the thing he loves

By each let this be heard,

Some do it with a bitter look,

Some with a flattering word,

The coward does it with a kiss,

The brave man with a sword!”

Now after having finished reading this intriguing opus, I would not shy away from declaring it is a sheer piece of perfection which is a MUST READ for every classic admirer out there.

The book revolves around 3 main characters — A handsome man named Dorian Gray who is also the protagonist disguised as an antagonist; his friend, Lord Henry Wotton also called Harry, a conniving man and a painter, Basil Hallward, the only sane character. Basil considers Dorian’s unimpeachable beauty as his muse and indulges himself in painting perfect images day in and out but things start taking a rough turn when Dorian comes in contact with Henry and his sinister advice damages Dorian’s innocence. One fine day, as usual when Basil was busy painting Dorian he captured his soul in a life-sized portrait and unintentionally fulfilled Dorian’s hedonistic desire to preserve his juvenile beauty. But as time passes, Dorian’s life and portrait get tainted with his immoral actions. The same portrait which was once his breathing space strangles him to cataclysmic demise. The unusual ending is going to leave you bitterly gutted and down in the dumps yet with a sense of consolation.

Although Gray is the protagonist, I feel Lord Henry stole the limelight throughout the novel. I found Henry’s swindling terribly amusing. Henry is that dubious character who is the mastermind of unfathomable happenings in the story. Lord Henry is to only be credited for making gullible and innocent Dorian into non-composmentis and deriving pleasure from his eccentricities. But it also makes one question, if those corrupt endeavours were always implicit in Dorian’s mind and got an excuse after Henry’s companionship and the portrait.

Apart from these 3 main characters, it also narrates Dorian’s transient saga with his lover, Sybil Vane and his struggle with her brother. The book gives an insightful expansive picture of the decadent lives of Dorian, Henry and the other nobility of 19th-century England. The novel also has a sprinkling of gay passion and admiration between these 3 men which did not materialize or maybe just a figment of my imagination! Of course, I am not going to reveal the multiple unexpected deaths in the novel, which makes it beguiling.

Wilde’s way of writing with his melodious sentences filled with satire doesn’t allow you to put it down. The book has a heavy philosophical tinge dealing with themes of epicureanism, evils of carnal pleasures, conditional love, materialistic beauty and death. Every line in itself is highly thought-provoking and you will find yourself questioning your morals.

This novel also has a fin de siècle decadence and aestheticism to it similar to his poems and plays. I would again appeal to you to allow yourself to explore the evil vain beauty of this book firsthand at least once in your life.