The Picture of Dorian Gray

Granted I'm sitting on a pretty small sample size, but what few ~Classics~ from Victorian England that I have read, I have enjoyed, and this was largely more of the same with an every so slight paranormal twist. Which is to say I got exactly what I wanted out of this book.

This was a book club read and two of us (including me) read the normal version with 20 chapters, whereas the other two read the Uncensored version which came out a year earlier and was much shorter. It was interesting comparing the differences in real time and the discussion added to my reading experience. Also the particular printing that I read had plenty of helpful footnotes explaining specific references Wilde was making and pointing out individual sentences or paragraphs that were revised/edited from the original uncensored version that also made the read more enjoyable for me; I don't know that I would have liked it as much without the extra context.

There is a lofty chapter right in the middle of the book that acts as a sort of time skip in the overall plot, but it is entirely too long and flowery and gothic where literally no dialogue or dramatic action is taking place. I absolutely would have enjoyed this read more without that substantial speed bump placed right in the middle, but the beginning and end of the story help lift the overall work up.

 All these many years I'd thought it [a:Oscar Wilde|3565|Oscar Wilde|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1673611182p2/3565.jpg]'s [b:The Picture of Dorian Gray|1857397|The Picture of Dorian Gray|Oscar Wilde|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1314903532l/1857397.SY75.jpg|1858012] was simply about a painting that aged while its subject didn't.
 That's not wholly accurate. What happens is that the painting shows not only age but the negative side of Dorian Gray's being. The image begins to look cruel and evil as Dorian himself continues to look like an innocent handsome young man.
 Dorian is, by the way, what would now be called an influencer, and I'm waiting for something to come out about a YouTube star whose image and real being contrast in an interesting way.
 This book is so full of quotes that the page immediately inside the front cover references several of them. On nearly every page, though, you can find a Wilde witticism. He was the [a:Fran Lebowitz|8127311|Fran Lebowitz|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1536147926p2/8127311.jpg] of his day, which was the last decades of the nineteenth century. I don't know what the literary device is called, but Wilde uses contradictory balanced exchanges often. A: What about dumb people? B: Dumb people are the smartest of all.
Excerpt:

 "Never marry a woman with straw-colored hair, Dorian," he said, after a few puffs.
 "Why, Harry?"
 "Because they are so sentimental."
 "But I like sentimental people."
 "Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious; both are disappointed."
 "I don't think I am likely to marry, Harry. I am too much in love. That is one of your aphorisms. I am putting it into practice as I do everything you say."

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde offers the reader a compelling lesson how how narcissism and hedonism lead to inevitable pain and suffering for both the pleasure-seeker and those whom he or she crosses in their lives.

The story opens as a conversation between an artist, Basil Hallward, and a minor English lord, Henry "Harry" Wotton. The subject of their conversation is Hallward's infatuation with a young, up-and-coming nobleman named Dorian Gray who, among other things, represents the ideal of male beauty and youthful innocence. Hallward has neared completion of what he considers a masterpiece—a portrait of the young Dorian Gray.

Both Hallward and Wotton perceive Dorian Gray as an "uncarved block." The "uncarved block" is a symbol in Taoism which indicates an individual who does not yet bear the stain of learning and civilization. Thus, Hallward sees Gray as embodying an artistic ideal and the potential to do unlimited good through his physical and emotional charms. Wotton, however, sees Gray as an interesting experiment in his "new hedonism" philosophy that argues life boils down to the pursuit of pleasure and the retention of youth and beauty.

As the story progresses, Wotton exerts an enormous amount of influence over the young Dorian Gray. The completion of Gray's portrait, as well as, the consistent praise Gray receives from his companions convinces him that he must preserve his physical beauty at all costs. Gray prays that his physical body might never see the slightest imperfection of age, while the painted Gray would age and bear the burden of any sinful behavior. What I found most compelling about this portion of the work is how narcissistic behavior is often encouraged and born from environmental factors. Gray was relatively unassuming and lacked any complete awareness of his physical charms. However, he soon became "hooked" on the constant hype from Hallward and Wotton and soon believed that, aside from his beauty, he possessed very little of worth. This obsession with physical qualities and constant adoration reminds me of our current social context wherein the young chase "likes" on platforms such as Instagram or Facebook that reinforce one's conception that they are uniquely endowed with beauty.

The rest of the plot unfolds predictably as Gray becomes consumed by his pursuit of pleasure. He ruins the lives of those he crosses paths with—many commit suicide, others are driven to drug use, alcoholism, or addiction. Women are besmirched by having the remotest contact with Gray. Like most behavioral addicts or substance abusers, though, the "high" that Gray receives from the pursuit of various "passions" requires evermore risky behavior. Meanwhile, he begins to suffer the mental toll of sin and guilt although his physical body remains perfect despite the passage of time.

The climax of the story occurs when Gray murders his former friend, Hallward, in a spat of emotional rage. From there, Gray descends into madness and self-absorption. In the end, even Gray's meager attempts to be "good" were mere imitations of the real thing—he was only pursuing the "good" in an effort to boost his own ego or reputation, not for the sake of being good. The final scene presents Gray hoping to reform his life and "start over." He will destroy the portrait that has caused him such grief and hopefully end his "deal with the devil." Even this act, though, Wilde presents as another manifestation of Gray's survival instincts. This final action, perhaps Gray's most magnanimous in the entire book, is still entirely motivated by selfish desire.

All in all, a very interesting thought piece on the logical results of hedonism and self-centered behavior.

Oscar Wilde is immensely quotable and witty, I’m sure you’ll all recognise some bits of his prose. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a gothic tale full of various themes, but centrally the fear of aging and the idea that our sins are visible to the outside world through our aging. What would happen if you could halt that process?

I did feel a bit sorry for Dorian in places. He does seem rather naïve at the start and is led astray by Lord Henry Wotton, who thinks being a good person is incredibly dull. It doesn’t go into detail about the sinful things Dorian gets up to but it’s inferred through the fact he ends up with a pretty awful reputation. Yet every now and then there’s a glimpse of the old Dorian and I wished for him to finally see the error of his ways.

This 1891 edition is an extended version rather than that which first appeared in a magazine, and it was also censored in places that hinted at a same sex romantic relationship. I still think it’s quite obvious that Basil fancied Dorian to a modern reader but my clothbound version included endnotes explaining what had been changed. I think I would have liked to have read the original version because I did think it went on a bit in places, it spends a long time talking about the opulence of their surroundings and a lot of conversations about art.

Not that it doesn’t have things to say about the nature of art, but really I wanted to get back to the painting and what Dorian was going to do. Another thing in the back of the clothbound, is a section containing contemporary reviews and, oh my, weren’t the critics scathing in their day? More-so that even the snarkiest blogger, and these were people writing in the national press. Oddly a Christian paper seemed to say the nicest things about the book, seeing it more as a moral tale than one of degradation.

Lord Henry Wotton is pretty sexist, I’m not sure if he’s meant to reflect Wilde’s own views or not, but in his mind women are air-headed, sub-humans. I could have done without all his mean comments but you wonder how much the way society made women act, made them come across that way. Perhaps the societal pressure around marriage was too much for Wilde, so he lashed out against the opposite sex. Maybe he was just angling for laughs.

I have a few niggly problems with this book. Oscar Wilde seems to have cut quite a few corners, Dorian figures out the painting straight away and automatically accepts that as true. His life gets a bit out of control, he has got people in trouble but no reference to that happens and somebody commits suicide and that is mention only in passing. But once Oscar gets on to describing curtains and materials he has loads to say, pages and pages in fact.

All that aside I really did like this book, there is one scene in the middle which is so sudden and violent it is really shocking, very clever stuff. Also Sir Henry and his views on marriage and women had me laughing.

My copy of the book said it was uncut, all the parts that were banned due to homosexuality had been put back in. I have the feeling that was a lie cos I didn't notice anything... Maybe I am just super-innocent.