The Picture of Dorian Gray: Book Review

Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray is a thought-provoking novel that vacillates between ambling, seemingly directionless conversation and a riveting narrative thread that eventually bubbles up to the surface with the intensity of a volcanic eruption. The Picture of Dorian Gray, though not much more than a century old, has already been deemed a “classic” by literature-lovers, and after reading the book, I can understand its status. Wilde’s command of the English language is almost unparalleled in recent literature. I heard about this book when I was 20, there was a local band who called themselves Dorian Gray. And, with my love of classic books, I decided it was time to snuggle up with the book. The gist of the plot is: Dorian Gray is a young man whose physical appearance is particularly handsome and innocent. A friend and aspiring artist paints a beautiful portrait of Dorian. Dorian makes a wish that he would always look like his youthful appearance in the portrait and the picture would age with time. The wish is realizes and Dorian remains the same – youthful and charming, while the portrait begins to transform itself into the image of his soul. When Dorian embraces a life of hedonism, he uses his good looks and charm to obtain whatever he desires in life. Over a period of twenty years, Dorian becomes a monster on the inside (which is reflected by the portrait of his soul) even as he remains youthful and innocent on the outside. Dorian’s hedonism is triggered by his first meeting with Lord Henry Wotton, who says to him that the only way to rid oneself of a temptation is to give in to it( because if we resist it our soul will grow sick with longing for forbidden desires). The book is like a snowball if you will, it starts out small and slow going, the deeper into the book you get, the bigger and faster the snowball gets. The beginning of the book is filled with curious ideas and sayings from the devious Lord Henry, but then the book goes onto vague descriptions of Dorian’s self indulging behaviors. Near the end I did not want to put the book down.
Side notes:::


Favorite sayings by Lord Henry: “The advantage of emotions is that they lead us astray, and the advantage of science is that it is not emotional.” Regarding the secret to life, “To cure the soul be means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul.” “Skepticism is the beginning of faith.” “Every effect that one produces gives one an enemy. To be popular one must be a mediocrity.”

Thought questions: What does the life of unbridled hedonism look like? What does it do to the soul? What happens to the human being who seeks to fulfill his every passion and desire? How does sin affect us physically?Do we age because we sin? Is the only way to get rid of temptation to give in to it? These and more are the questions that Oscar Wilde raises in The Picture of Dorian Gray Book review modified from Trevin Wax.