English Literature

At the beginning of the novel, we see Dorian as an impressionable young man who is susceptible to what others say of him and about life in general. Basil Hallward, an artist, makes a portrait of Dorian Gray and reveals his true beauty and charm to him. And Lord Henry, an aristocratic socialite, reveals to Dorian about lifes mysteries over conversations. Hallward becomes instrumental in releasing Dorian Grays latent narcissism and vanity, while Lord Henry succeeds in instilling in Dorian his dubious philosophy of unbridled hedonism. Suddenly, a deep yearning arises in Dorian that his youth and beauty should not wither away with time but should endure permanently even as it is the case with the portrait.

The surreal aspect enters into the story now. Somehow Dorians wish has transformed and transmuted him. He has a superpower now though he does not realize it yet. However, inspired by Lord Henry, Dorian has decided to maximize the pleasure factor in his life. As he begins to explore avenues to have most fun out of life, he meets a theater actress called Sibyl. Her beauty and talent impel him to propose to her. Sibyl falls in deep love with her aristocratic Prince Charming, though her brother is very suspicious of the man who has entered into Sibyls life. The brother vows retribution should any harm befall her.  By now Dorian perhaps has some misgivings about getting committed to the actress, since obviously marriage does not go along with a lifestyle of hedonism which he has only recently adopted. So when Dorian sees a faltering performance by Sibyl, who must have become self-conscious being watched as she is by the one whom she considered the true love of her life, this becomes an excuse for Dorian to jilt her rashly. After this event, Dorian notices a very strange thing, that his portrait by Hallward has actually changed, it now has an ugly expression on the face. Dorian quickly realizes that a most weird thing has happened, his earlier wish that he be not subjected to the ravages of time has materialized, but his portrait is taking the brunt instead of him. Dorian intuitively perceives that the ugliness of his mind and the sinfulness of his acts would be reflected in the painting, while he himself would remain untouched. To make amends for his recent unfair action, he decides to go to Sibyl and ask to be forgiven. But before he could do so, he learns that Sibyl has committed suicide.

This news kills the last vestige of humanity inside Dorians heart, forcing him to turn into a monster who only lives for his selfish pleasure. Meanwhile Lord Henry gives Dorian a French book which consolidates Dorians newly acquired hedonistic views and further entrenches him in the lifestyle of sin and pleasure. Dorian begins to indulge in a life of depravity regardless of all moral constraints. Years pass, while his physical beauty remains miraculously preserved his portrait has kept on becoming more and more repulsive. By now his reputation in the London society has been tarnished by his rumored exploits.

One day Hallward confronts Dorian expressing his concern as to what is going on with him. Dorian finally shows Hallward the hideously deteriorating portrait of him. Hallward is shocked and thinks that Dorian should immediately make efforts to change his ways. But Dorian seems to be in mood for repenting, instead he seems to be interested only in committing more sin. He kills Hallward in a fit of rage. Meanwhile, Sibyls brother starts chasing Dorian, bent upon vengeance. Dorian eventually manages to get rid of Sibyls brother, but he is tired of the game he is playing. In an impulsive act, he pierces a knife into the portrait. Soon thereafter servants of the house find a horribly disfigured old man lying dead, a knife plunged into his heart, next to the beautiful portrait of their master.

Irony

This book, Oscar Wildes first and only novel, is heavily tinged with the element of irony. Wilde was not only an avid hedonist himself but was the leader of a movement in the Victorian era that promulgated materialism and a lifestyle of more or less unrestrained pleasure-seeking. It was a cause he was fighting for in the highly repressive Victorian society during the latter decades of the nineteenth century. In fact, Lord Henrys philosophy as expressed in this book closely matches with that of the books author. But most strangely, The Picture of Dorian Gray is essentially a moral story that equates pleasure-seeking to sin, and sin to degradation, futility and ultimately perdition. Though this novel is not overtly didactic such as Ayn Rands novels, it conveys some strong messages that try to attack the philosophical underpinnings of a hedonistic lifestyle. This story sounds like something written by an author who has a strong affiliation to the Church, such as C.S. Lewis. Oscar Wilde should have been the last person to have written a novel like this. It is like one is cutting off the branch of a tree on which one is sitting. Therefore it is not only ironical but very mysterious that such a story should have come from Oscar Wilde. 

Personal Opinion

Because it is so atypical of the authors work and goes against all his general views of life, this novel fundamentally lacks focus and conviction. It is as if Nietzsche, a contemporary of Wilde, were to write on peace and love or T.H. Huxley were to write an exegesis on Genesis of the Bible. One can imagine what a watered-down affair such a thing would have been. The Picture of Dorian Gray definitely makes for good literature, and beyond that has a great psychological depth which perhaps inspired Freud to come up with his psychoanalytic concepts of id, ego, and the superego. The novel is indeed uniquely amenable to Freudian analysis, and Freuds British disciple Ernest Jones explored at length the psychoanalytic angle of this novel. Not withstanding such merits, the novel is based on some very ridiculous premises, such as the one that can found in the opinion expressed by Basil Hallward, when he remarks in the latter half of the story Sin is a thing that writes itself across a mans face. It cannot be concealed If a wretched man has vice, it shows itself in the lines of his mouth, the droop of his eyelids, the moulding of his hands even. (Wilde, 172) This is to say that, aging and disfiguring of ones beauty is normally an outcome of sinning If this were so, most of the Hollywood actresses would have become old crones by their third movie.  And furthermore, the author implicitly associates pleasure-seeking with sin and moral depravity. Every human being is in pursuit of happiness and pleasure, there is nothing wrong with seeking pleasure or even a life of pleasure. Pleasure can approached in quite a healthy and wholesome manner too. Of course everyone has his own notions of pleasure, but Dorian Grays approach to seeking pleasure is the most weird.  In fact, he seems more like punishing himself for his lack of imagination or even commonsense, than seeking pleasure. Like H.G.Wells invisible man, Dorian has an exciting superpower which he could have used in an optimal way to benefit himself and others, but he simply squanders it in a most pathetic and lugubrious manner imaginable. It is very difficult to identify or empathize with Oscar Wildes protagonist or to learn anything meaningful from the novel. However, this book has a great value in the study of certain components and qualities of the human mind such as conscience, repression, and vanity.