The Picture of Dorian Gray

The author of The Picture of Dorian Gray

The author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde was in London at the time of writing the novel. Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1854, Wilde studied at Trinity College in Dublin and later at Magdalen College in Oxford, where he became known for his wit and flamboyant personality.

After graduating, he moved to Victorian London and became a prominent figure in the city's literary and cultural scene. The Picture of Dorian Gray was Wilde's only novel and is considered a classic of Gothic literature. The novel was initially published as a serial in a magazine, but Wilde later revised and expanded the novel for publication as a book.

Wilde's personal life was also controversial, and he was famously put on trial and imprisoned for homosexuality in 1895, shortly after the publication of The Picture of Dorian Gray. The trial and subsequent imprisonment had a profound impact on Wilde's life and career, and he died in exile in Paris in 1900.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: summary

The novel commences in the artist Basil Hallward's studio. He discusses his most recent painting with his witty friend Lord Henry Wotton. Henry insists that the painting should be displayed. However, Basil is worried that his obsession with the subject is too apparent. The portrait is of Dorian Gray, a young man with extraordinary beauty. He arrives later and joins the conversation.

Dorian becomes fascinated with Lord Henry's hedonistic and amoral beliefs, especially when discussing youth and beauty's fleeting nature. Young and impressionable, Dorian subsequently wishes on his soul that the portrait should become old and ugly in his place. Basil then gives him the portrait.

In the following weeks, Dorian indulges in Lord Henry's "new hedonism," wherein he pledges to live his life fully in the pursuit of pleasure. He tells of a young actress he has fallen in love with, Sybil Vane, because of her incredible acting talent and convinces Basil and Henry to go to a seedy theatre to watch her perform in Romeo and Juliet. However, overcome by her love for Dorian, Sybil performs poorly.

Embarrassed by this, Dorian cruelly breaks off their engagement and returns home to see the portrait changed: it now possesses a cruel expression. After seeing this change in the portrait, Dorian resolves to seek Sybil's forgiveness the next day. However, Lord Henry arrives with news of her suicide. Lord Henry convinces Dorian that he should not feel guilty. Sybil's death was a tragedy comparable to the various Shakespearean heroines she played on stage; Dorian eventually agrees. He then hides the portrait in the attic of his house so that no one can witness its transformation.

Henry sends Dorian a book about the hedonistic exploits of a young Frenchman. Dorian soon becomes obsessed with it. Under its influence for the next 18 years, Dorian devotes his life to the pursuit of excess and corruption with no acknowledgement of the consequences of his actions. He soon becomes more drawn to evil, which is reflected in the portrait: it shows signs of ageing in horrifying ways. However, Dorian himself remains unblemished. Rumours about his exploits spread in London society, and Dorian's reputation suffers greatly.

Dorian runs into Basil one foggy night, who confronts him about these rumours. Dorian refuses to accept blame and takes Basil to his attic to show him the portrait, which has become hideous. Basil is horrified and begs Dorian to repent; however, Dorian soon becomes enraged and stabs Basil in a fit of anger. The following day, Dorian blackmails a former friend, a doctor, to dispose of the body.

The night after Basil's murder, Dorian goes to an opium den where a vengeful James Vane, Sybil's brother, attempts to take Doran's life, but he manages to escape. Dorian is wracked with fear and retreats to his country home, where he hosts a hunting party for various guests, including Lord Henry.

James Vane follows him there but is killed by the hunting party. Feeling safe again, Dorian decides to repent for his life of sin. He returns to his home in London to see if there is any change in the portrait, but it remains horrifying and has now acquired a look of cunning. In a rage, Dorian stabs the painting. His servants hear a scream and run to the attic, where they see Dorian, now a disfigured old man, dead on the floor and the painting restored to its former beauty.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: characters

Dorian Gray is the protagonist of the novel. He is wealthy and comes from an aristocratic background. Dorian is extraordinarily beautiful and naive. However, he soon becomes enraptured by hedonism and sin.

Basil Hallward is an artist infatuated with Dorian, claiming him as his muse. Basil is a moral man, so Dorian's actions and corruption horrify him.

Lord Henry Wotton is Basil's friend, introduced to the novel through his quick wit and self-proclaimed theory of 'new hedonism', which he introduces to Dorian. Lord Henry is an aristocrat who lives a lavish lifestyle and spouts radical theories about morality and pleasure.

Oscar Wilde famously made the following remark about the novel's three main characters, which are often seen as interlinked in the exploration of hedonism, pleasure, and beauty. Wilde also said that each of the three main characters are facets of his own personality.

Other characters in the novel have various roles that range from representing societal expectations and norms to highlighting the consequences of Dorian's actions.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: themes and main ideas

Let's discuss some of the main themes and ideas in The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Fig. 2 - Amongst the Victorian upper-class, reputation was everything. Wilde worked to resist Victorian morality.

The purpose of art

Throughout the novel, Wilde explores his personal philosophy, which follows closely from, and is largely rooted in, aestheticism.

This philosophy stood at odds with the Victorian society that Wilde lived in, which largely saw art as a tool to influence society and create uniform ideas about morality and sensibility. Those involved in the movement sought to free art from these moral and social responsibilities, instead simply allowing it to be beautiful for its own sake.

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, this philosophy is embodied by Lord Henry, whose aphorisms throughout the novel serve to question bourgeois ethical certainties.

However, the titular piece of art, Basil's portrait of Dorian, seems to oppose this philosophy. It becomes altered, and its meaning changes based on Dorian's actions, thereby acting as a barometer for morality. The painting becomes a mirror in which art reflects the self and is altered by immorality.

Although this opposes the tenets of aestheticism, we can consider that Wilde purposefully breaches the philosophy to point out the dangers of assigning art a moral responsibility.

Through art, Dorian is forced to (literally) face the consequences of his actions, imparting a didactic lesson not only to him but also to the reader. Dorian's obsession with the moral ramifications of his portrait ultimately becomes the reason for his demise.

The value of beauty and youth

From the beginning of the novel, Lord Henry emphasises his belief in the invaluable power of youth and beauty. Dorian's subsequent devotion to this belief allows him to evade responsibility for his actions.

He sees himself as free from society's moral constraints because of his perfect appearance, valuing this above the degradation of his soul, exposed by the changes in his portrait. This misaligned moral prioritisation causes Dorian's eventual demise. The dangers of overvaluing superficiality are made obvious by Wilde by the end of the novel.

Homosexuality

After the criticism the novel faced when it was first published in 1980 in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, Wilde was forced to edit and remove various passages that alluded to homosexual desire. However, in the final novel, some veiled allusions to homosexual tendencies remain between the three main characters, Dorian, Lord Henry and Basil.

The bonds between the men serve to structure most of the novel. Basil's adoration of Dorian is the reason for the painting, and Lord Henry's influence over Dorian is rooted in an attempt to seduce him. Wilde's personal struggle, living as a homosexual man in an intolerant society, manifests itself throughout the novel and arguably is integral to its ultimate meaning.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: analysis

The Picture of Dorian Gray explores themes of morality, vanity, and the corrupting influence of pleasure and beauty. The novel is frequently analysed as a gothic cautionary tale.

Genre and literary devices

The novel is classified as part of the Gothic genre and thus, contains many of the tropes popularised by other works in the genre.

Indeed, The Picture of Dorian Gray's central narrative event is based on a supernatural occurrence, which is Dorian's wish upon the portrait and his following immortality. Wilde uses contemporary Gothic motifs to comment on society, art and Victorian morality.

Symbolism

Some of the important symbols of the novel include the portrait of Dorian himself, which becomes a kind of mirror through which he can monitor the corruption of his soul. However, the portrait forces Dorian to look upon the consequences of his actions and prevents him from fully releasing himself to a life of sin, acting almost as a conscience.

Opium Dens

In respectable Victorian society, opium dens were considered pits of sin. They often operated as brothels and drug markets in the city’s slums, close to the docks. Sailors, addicts, and even upstanding Victorian gentlemen frequented the dens to indulge in various sins.

Wilde uses the opium den to reflect the corrupt state of Dorian’s mind and soul. Dorian uses opium to escape the guilt of having murdered Basil. The opium den is also where his past sin confronts Dorian in the form of Sybil Vane’s brother, James.

James Vane

James Vane is the personification of Dorian's guilt. Appearing at the opium den, James is presented as a ghostly figure that haunts Dorian. Symbolizing the past Dorian wants to escape, James threatens to destroy him. Interestingly, the character did not appear in the original draft and was later added to the plot to offset the novel’s initial controversy and introduce an element of class tension.

The Yellow Book

Lord Henry gifts Dorian a scandalous French novel referred to as The Yellow Book. The Yellow Book’s tales of debauchery and pleasure-seeking act as a guide for Dorian’s years of hedonism. Wilde used the book to symbolize how people can attach too much meaning to art, and how this can poison someone's soul. Dorian's fate seems to lie at the hands of this book, serving as a warning to readers about the potential of art to corrupt if it is taken in the wrong spirit.

As Dorian buys dozens of copies over the years, the text becomes more than art, taking on an almost religious significance to Dorian. Wilde most likely based The Yellow Book on the scandalous novel À Rebours (1884) by Joris-Karl Huysmans.