the picture of dorian gray: beauty and sin
- paigenherbooks
- Sep 20, 2022
- 4 min read
5/5
It seems I've been on a classics kick here, so here we are with Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and can I just say "wow". I truly didn't think I was going to absolutely adore this novel, but here I am giving her five stars, and she deserves every single one of them. This novel is one that speaks about the power of Beauty (capital "b") and how people can hide behind it, how we find it hard to think beautiful things as "bad". A story that dives deep into the madness that can come with the depletion of one's soul, as well as a story that had some quite stunning quotes. My copy is all highlighted, which if you know me, I do NOT do often. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a story that resonated deep and sucked me in from page one.
Synopsis: Dorian Gray, who, enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman. in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his depravity.
Dorian Gray
What a man, what a character. Dorian Gray is a man who has it all, the looks, the money, the reputation. He is charismatic and funny, just witty enough to be able to contribute in conversation, and handsome enough to get away with anything. We meet Dorian in a scene where he is greeted by a tender friend, Basil and Basil's friend, Lord Henry Wotton. Within a scene the trajectory of Dorian's life changes, in a way that he is never able to fix. Basil describes Dorian as a tender friend, speaking highly of how much he means to him. "Whose mere personality was so fascinating that if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself". Basil therefore paints a picture of Dorian, a picture that showcases so intricately his beauty, that upon looking at it, Dorian is upset. He acknowledges that he will never be as young and youthful as he is in that moment and wishes silently that he could stay that way forever, and then he does.
Dorian starts to follow the influence of Henry Wotton and we watch as his life starts to turn for the sour. He stops being compassionate, he starts doing what "feels good" instead of thinking about what is right. Dorian becomes this character whom I adored to one that I started to hate. I watched as he started spiraling farther down and down into the hell hole of sin. The story ends in what could be argued as a tragedy. With the death of two main characters, the story ends after a confession and conversion of Dorian Gray, whom finally resents what he's become. His painting etching every sin into it's canvas.
Dorian Gray finally gives up and falls prey to the weight of being "ugly".
Dorian's story alongside Basil and Lord Henry Wotton made me sit and really contemplate the way it relates to life. For me personally I think Dorian represents the average person, even though is obviously above average in beauty (as described by our characters) Therefore, Basil and Henry are the angel and the devil on Dorian's shoulder. Basil is always telling Dorian and reminding him who he is, and not to listen to Henry, as Henry is a cynic and isn't always the best person to listen to when it comes to life. Henry on the other hand is always encouraging Dorian to follow how he feels and to essentially throw caution to the wind. That this is HIS life and HE'S the one living it. He influences him to live carelessly and to never reflect on the actions he's done. This creates an almost very confused and unhappy Dorian. He has this beauty but he slowly realizes that it isn't everything it's chalked up to be. The painting, which I think represents his soul but also his conscious is sitting in a room, taunting him. A constant reminder of the peril and the damnation he is ultimately facing by his choices.
It eventually becomes too much.
And our story ends.
The slow degradation of Dorian Gray's soul is an interesting topic to me. It begs the question of if he ever felt truly bad for the actions he was committing or if he was only disturbed by the picture becoming ever more ugly as each action passed. The painting mocking Dorian was intriguing to watch, as he started to become obsessed with the ugliness he was seeing reflected. It was a canvas to his soul, how rotten and ugly it had become, and in way was a conscious for him. Showing him where he was at, but ultimately giving him the choice to start over, and return the painting and his self to it's prior glory.
Oscar Wilde seems to ask questions throughout his novel that I've been contemplating...
Is being beautiful enough to pass by in this life?
Or do our actions reflect in one way or another physically in our lives?
It begs the further question of how far physical beauty can carry a person, though with the way the story ends, we see it's not far.
Dorian Gray is the definition of a morally grey character, he knows deep down what he's doing is wrong but continues to do it anyway, for fun, for something to do. The Picture of Dorian Gray confronts the topic of what beauty truly means and if our souls are truly affected by the actions that we act upon.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was a whirlwind of a story that sucked me in right from the first page, with Basil speaking about this beautifully Dorian Gray. This story provided me with a lot of things to think about and gave me plot twists I could legitimately never see coming. A story that shows beauty and loss, sin and immorality, as well as influence and deep desires. A short yet compelling read, I genuinely loved diving in and seeing the mess of Dorian Grays' life unfold.
Quotes that stuck with me:
He is all art to me now
I find him in the curves of certain lines, in the loveliness and subtleties of certain colors. That is all.
The aim of life is self-development
So you think that it is only God who sees the soul, Basil?
Read on friends,
xoxo
paige :)
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