The Picture of Dorian Gray

Originally published in 1890 in the Philadelphia Lippincott monthly magazine, The Picture of Dorian Gray stands as the sole novel penned by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. After revisions and adjustments, the book was released in its complete form in 1891, eliciting mixed reviews due to its controversial content.

At the center of the narrative is Dorian Gray, a wealthy and handsome man whose portrait ages instead of him, bearing the marks of his sinful deeds. As Dorian descends into cruelty, his outward appearance remains youthful and attractive.

Exploring themes of eroticism and hedonism, the novel also offers a commentary on aestheticism, an art movement prevalent in the 19th century. Throughout the story, Wilde both celebrates and critiques this artistic philosophy.

Plot

The story begins with a conversation between two young people — Lord Henry Wotton and the cult and successful painter Basil Hallward.

The picture of the handsome Dorian Gray in the studio of Hallward awakens Lord Henry’s curiosity. So, Hallward expresses his first encounter with the young man who has taken him to the edge of a crisis of his life. For the painter, Dorian Gray takes him to a new artistic movement, which must include all the romantic passion and all the Greek spirit perfection. Although, Basil has doubts about introducing Dorian to his friend Lord Henry. Since he fears there could be a negative influence of Henry on the young man.

The hedonistic influence of Lord Henry on Dorian leads him to explore his sensuality. When Dorian sees his portrait for the first time, he realizes his beauty. And this becomes like a great revelation for him. At the same time, he fears the decline of his charm and feels jealous of the image. For this reason, he wants his portrait to age in his place.

One night after cruelly canceling his marriage proposal with Sibyl, he realizes for the first time of a change in his portrait. Since then, the picture will reflect the sins that Dorian commits. And he will keep his physical appearance without any modification. For Dorian, the portrait becomes a magic mirror that will reveal the essence of his soul.

Licensing

Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Publisher: Ward Lock and Co (London, New York & Melbourne), 1891. Originally published in 1890. This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. Text from Wikisource: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray_(1891)
This digital edition is provided by Ebooks-net in 2024 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. The full text of the license is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.