" I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die. I am jealous of the portrait you have painted of me. Why should it keep what I must lose? Every moment that passes takes something from me, and gives something to it. Oh, if it were only the other way! If the picture could change and I could be always what I am now..."
- so spake Dorian Gray.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) is Oscar Wilde's only novel. The book was greeted by protests...for it mirrored the society, and society was not yet ready to see its own reflection. As Wilde wrote in the Preface to the book- "The nineteenth century dislike of Realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass". In one part of the novel, he offers an argument to his critics- "The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame."
The story that the book tells is quite simple- An extremely handsome young man, Dorian Gray, realizes that life will slowly strip him of his beauty and youth. In one emotionally charged moment, he wishes that his portrait would grow old instead of him, that his portrait should bear the imprint of life's lessons and he himself should remain unscathed, young and handsome forever. He is willing to give his soul in order to fulfill this wish. And this is just what happens. How the portrait metamorphoses not only according to Dorian's physical deterioration but also because of the degradation of his personality forms the crux of the story. The portrait here is a metaphor for the conscience.
Wilde creates some very strong personalities. The artist Basil Hallward, seems to be a fictional representation of Wilde himself. Interestingly, Wilde once wrote, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be--in other ages, perhaps." Hallward finds inspiration for his art in Dorian, he loves Dorian. I couldn't help but connect this to Wilde's own homosexual tendencies. At one point Wilde writes about Basil's love for Dorian that-
- so spake Dorian Gray.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) is Oscar Wilde's only novel. The book was greeted by protests...for it mirrored the society, and society was not yet ready to see its own reflection. As Wilde wrote in the Preface to the book- "The nineteenth century dislike of Realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass". In one part of the novel, he offers an argument to his critics- "The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame."
The story that the book tells is quite simple- An extremely handsome young man, Dorian Gray, realizes that life will slowly strip him of his beauty and youth. In one emotionally charged moment, he wishes that his portrait would grow old instead of him, that his portrait should bear the imprint of life's lessons and he himself should remain unscathed, young and handsome forever. He is willing to give his soul in order to fulfill this wish. And this is just what happens. How the portrait metamorphoses not only according to Dorian's physical deterioration but also because of the degradation of his personality forms the crux of the story. The portrait here is a metaphor for the conscience.
Wilde creates some very strong personalities. The artist Basil Hallward, seems to be a fictional representation of Wilde himself. Interestingly, Wilde once wrote, "Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be--in other ages, perhaps." Hallward finds inspiration for his art in Dorian, he loves Dorian. I couldn't help but connect this to Wilde's own homosexual tendencies. At one point Wilde writes about Basil's love for Dorian that-
"The love that he bore for him-for it was really love-had nothing in it that was not noble and intellectual.It was not that mere physical admiration of beauty that is born of the senses, and that dies when the senses tire." Basil idolizes Dorian.
The strongest, most clearly etched character is Lord Henry Wotton, a man who believes that all conscience is cowardice. He cares nothing for morality- and argues for hedonism-
"Don't squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you. Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing....A new Hedonism- that is what our century wants". Lord Henry plays a sort of double role throughout the book- on one hand he is a devil's advocate, exposing the hypocrisy of society, while on the other hand he is acts as the devil...leading Dorian into temptation. It is under his influence that Dorian sets out "to cure the soul by means of the senses".
Dorian is presented to us initially as a young, innocent young man, who is hardly aware of his own beauty and the influence it has on others. When Lord Henry makes him aware of it, and the fact that he will someday lose it, he loses his innocence. Lord Henry takes him under his wing, and slowly but surely Dorian ceases to be what he was...turning into a drug addict, and even a murderer, in his pursuit of material, sensual pleasures. Curing the soul by means of the senses- this becomes his mantra. He becomes feared in social circles as a bad influence, and those who become attached to him are indeed doomed by his influence. The book deals with this metamorphosis of Gray.
And all this while, the portrait changes. Dorian is initially afraid of the changes that he sees occuring in the picture, and he vows to reform. But as time passes, he delights in looking at the portrait deteriorate...because each wrinkle, and each stain that appears on the portrait is an affirmation that Dorian himself will remain untouched by time. For each act of cruelty that he commits, a cruel expression appears on the face of the painting; every time that he consumes drugs, it is not his own body, but the body in the painting that suffers the consequences. This gives Dorian a freedom to act as he pleases as he knows he will not pay for his actions. He is free from guilt, remorse or regret.
The strongest, most clearly etched character is Lord Henry Wotton, a man who believes that all conscience is cowardice. He cares nothing for morality- and argues for hedonism-
"Don't squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you. Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing....A new Hedonism- that is what our century wants". Lord Henry plays a sort of double role throughout the book- on one hand he is a devil's advocate, exposing the hypocrisy of society, while on the other hand he is acts as the devil...leading Dorian into temptation. It is under his influence that Dorian sets out "to cure the soul by means of the senses".
Dorian is presented to us initially as a young, innocent young man, who is hardly aware of his own beauty and the influence it has on others. When Lord Henry makes him aware of it, and the fact that he will someday lose it, he loses his innocence. Lord Henry takes him under his wing, and slowly but surely Dorian ceases to be what he was...turning into a drug addict, and even a murderer, in his pursuit of material, sensual pleasures. Curing the soul by means of the senses- this becomes his mantra. He becomes feared in social circles as a bad influence, and those who become attached to him are indeed doomed by his influence. The book deals with this metamorphosis of Gray.
And all this while, the portrait changes. Dorian is initially afraid of the changes that he sees occuring in the picture, and he vows to reform. But as time passes, he delights in looking at the portrait deteriorate...because each wrinkle, and each stain that appears on the portrait is an affirmation that Dorian himself will remain untouched by time. For each act of cruelty that he commits, a cruel expression appears on the face of the painting; every time that he consumes drugs, it is not his own body, but the body in the painting that suffers the consequences. This gives Dorian a freedom to act as he pleases as he knows he will not pay for his actions. He is free from guilt, remorse or regret.
In the end however, Dorian becomes a slave of the same hypocrisy that he condemns. He pretends to be noble, he believes that he is noble.....it is the portrait that shows him the truth. He hopes that the portrait will have changed for the better...after all he is "good" now, but-
" He could see no change, save that in the eyes there was a look of cunning, and in the mouth the curved wrinkle of the hypocrite. The thing was still loathsome- more loathsome, if possible, than before..."
Thus, through the book Wilde seems to argue that the weapon against hypocrisy is not a complete sacrifice of morality. Instead, the key is to be truly noble. As Basil says to Dorian-
" England is bad enough, I know, and English society is all wrong. That is the reason why I want you to be fine". The truly noble man will remain untouched by time, because his soul is clear of guilt. But hypocrites and immoral people are essentially the same..and will have the same end.
Wilde however does not define morality, nor does he describe acts that are moral. He does not state that the norms of society constitute morality. It is left to the reader to decide what is moral or immoral.
The book is relevant even today- the moral dilemmas of 19th century England, are the same that we face in the 21st century. The book makes one contemplate. I only wish that Wilde had given the book an open ending, characteristic of modern novels, instead of giving the book a definite end. In this, the book appears to be dogmatic. An open ending would give more power to the reader, rather than becoming purely a vehicle for the author's views.
People not very familiar with the English language of the nineteenth century, may find the book a little difficult to read. It takes time to get used to. Those looking for a fast-paced mystery will be disappointed. But those who like to debate and contemplate about moral issues will find the book very interesting.
All in all, I got what I expected from the book and am satisfied with it. This blog entry describes my views on the book, and they may or may not be the same as yours. I welcome others who have read the book to leave your views about it, as a comment. Other comments about this blog entry are also welcomed.
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