The Picture Of Dorian Gray By Oscar Wilde

 

My views about the story 😊-

 

It is,

a story of gothic fiction,

a story of avarice for eternal beauty and eternal youth,

a story of how outside-influence, good or bad,

can swerve the direction of an innocent-naive-life,

a story of jealousy in love,

a story of debauchery, narcissism & hedonism,

a story of fight between appearance and reality,

a story which edifies- to be accountable for your own choices, keeping all distractions at bay!

a story of a yellow book, & aestheticism,

It is a story of a lovely, withering portrait,

which finally re-gains the lost charm, after exterminating, the rapacity & evil! 😊

 

 

Superficial Plot Synopsis 😊-

 

A Painter, Basil, confides in his friend, Henry, about his,

Obsession, for his muse, Dorian.

Dorian, a quintessence of youthful beauty upon seeing his portrait, falls into narcissism. Miraculously, his wish of eternal youth is granted, instead of Dorian, his portrait starts ageing, displaying cruelty, corruption and aging, but his own face stays young and innocent. Things are never constant, and begin to fall apart. He hides the painting in attic, to hide his portrait and his truth. In doing so, lot of devilish ghoulish things result - Manipulation, blackmail, murder, opium, suicide, revenge, and much more…..

         

 

The Extended Plot summary 😊–

 

The Picture Of Dorian Gray, is heavily magnificent on atmospheric-appeal and character-personification!

 

The novel begins with a preface comprising of epigrams/aphorisms, from Oscar Wilde, on the purpose of art, and role of the artist, claiming all beauty if useless, and art is purposeless.

“To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim”

“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. “ (I personally found this dubious and debatable!)

“All art is quite useless.”

 

The novel opens with a a heavy-atmospheric appeal , in the studio of the lamenting, reputable painter, Basil Hallward, who is working on finishing a portrait of “young man of extraordinary personal beauty” (Dorian Gray)- “The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn”.

Henry Wotton, his friend, basking in the adulation of Basil for Dorian’s beauty, charm and grace, persuades Basil to meet Dorian.

Basil, is overwhelmed with his muse (Dorian), both professionally and personally. Basil is simpleton, but jealous & protective for his love for his muse. On the other hand, Henry is extremely confident, rich, cynical, strongly opinionated, acerbic, astute, judgemental, with an admirable acumen for phrasing his philosophical opinions(which strongly influences the listener).

Lord Henry, it the star-champ of the story, and is the driver of the book, for what it is! With the attractive muse’s description and Henry’s opinions, the novel begins, foreshadowing, something ominous, in the future. ☹

Upon constant persuasion, from Henry to meet Dorian, and to Basil’s chagrin, Dorian unexpectedly turns up, the jealous Basil, strictly instructs his voluble friend, to stay away from Dorian –

 

"Dorian Gray is my dearest friend," he said. "He has a simple and a beautiful nature. Don't spoil him. Don't try to influence him. Your influence would be bad. The world is wide, and has many marvellous people in it. Don't take away from me the one person who gives to my art whatever charm it possesses: my life as an artist depends on him. Mind, Harry/Henry, I trust you."

 

Upon witnessing, Dorian’s overflowing-beauty, Henry, starts panegyrizing, while Basil continues to paint, searing with jealousy.

“All the candor of youth was there, as well as youth’s passionate purity”

Finally, when the envious Basil, asks Henry to leave, while Dorian, already smitten with Henry’s charm and swept away with his subtle influence, insists him to stay back! (The venture of outside influence playing havoc and threading the ominous-devastating future, has begun!). The young, naïve, immature, spoiled and sulky, Dorian, is an easy-bait for the cynical and headstrong Henry! On the revelation of Dorian’s troubled past, the strings-of-friendship between the two, grow stronger. Dorian confides in Henry, his love for the actress, Sibyl Vane, and finally gets engaged to her. With a strong influence of Henry hovering over him, he wants to impersonate Henry, and hence doesn’t want to marry the actress out of love, but with a selfish-motto of dominating, manipulating her life! (Henry’s influence has grown deep-roots in Dorian!)

James Vane, the over-protective brother of Sibyl, doesn’t approve of Dorian for her sister, and threatens to kill him “like a dog” if he harms Sibyl. Basil, is deeply saddened, upon knowing Dorian’s engagement and the change in his demeanour and feelings.  Meanwhile the high-spirited Dorian, coldly and cruelly, breaks off with Sibyl, when deeply-in-love Sibyl, loses focus and performs inferiorly in a play - “You have killed my love”. Post the breakup, Dorian, notices cruelty in the face of the portrait, while his own face remains pure and innocent! He finally manifests, the wish of leading a corrupt life, without his face showing any effects, while the portrait compensates for it, by showing all ugliness and ageing.  ☹ With the selfish motto of protecting the painting, he wishes to patch-up with Sibyl, unaware, she has poisoned herself, due to the agony of the breakup. Dorian, starts avoiding the “the poisonous theories” of Lord Henry, aware of his devilish influence!

Ruminating and repenting, noticing the ugly changes in the portrait, Dorian writes a long confession letter to Sibyl. But Henry informs her of her suicide, but Dorian remains unmoved with no-remorse, rather, is thrilled to realise that his first love-letter was addressed to a dead girl ! ALAS! How gross ☹ It is explicitly made clear, that Dorian, is not at all repentant, not-penitent for all his sins. The caring, decent, simpleton, Basil, visits Dorian, to console him, but is gob-smacked seeing his indifference. Dorian, shows disinterest, that he doesn’t want to talk about the “horrid subjects”. Basil, outrightly, blames Henry for all the ghoulish changes in Dorian.

***(PLEASE SKIP READING THIS PART AND JUMP ONTO THE END, FOR AVOIDING SPOILERS!!)***

 

Dorian, goes onto hiding the painting and its changes, and is paranoid about his servant, Victor, who has seen the painting. Dorian receives an interesting, yellow-paper book, from Henry, which he just can’t put down ( just like, I wasn’t able to put down, this book :D )

Dorian has, already embarked on leading a double life, a life of paranoia, in which he is constantly hiding the painting, and on the other hand, living a life of vanity and sin!

The story hops, 18 years forward, Dorian all under the influence of the yellow book, is a subject-of-gossip for people, the picture is all bloated, ugly and old, is over-obsessed with his looks, suffering with “mad hungers”, that become “more ravenous” as he feeds them!

Young folks idolise him for his fashionable London lifestyle, his life itself is described as a work of art. Still fearing if his secret will be revealed in public, he is a prisoner of his passions and  fears, and lives in captivity!

Dorian’s friendship has proven detrimental for several young men,  one commits suicide, another is forced to leave England with a “tarnished name”, a third one, finds a “dreadful end”, a fourth loses his career, while a fifth one,  loses his social standing!

Basil is petrified, on seeing a hideous face with an evil smile in his own painting, that he relished years ago. ☹

Hoping to save Dorian’s soul, he persists him to repent and pray. Instead, Dorian, puts the blame for his destruction on the paitnin and Basil, and with an “uncontrollable feeling of hatred for Basil Hallward”, stabs Basil, over and over , to death ☹

Instead of feeling penitent, he tries covering up the sin, by taking his old friend, Alan Campbell’s help by blackmailing him. The two, take, Ffive hours to destroy the evidence(body), with a terrible obnoxious smell lingers in attic. Dorian, wanting to forget all he sins, goes to the opium den, where he bumps onto James Vane(brother of his ex-fiancée who had killed herself), who later in course of dramatic events, mistakenly gets shot-dead.

Finally, six months later, Dorian ruminating and procrastinating, expresses the wish to change his behaviour, coz of the “too many dreadful things” in his life, to Henry, who is now divorced.

The portrait looks even more evil now. Around the eyes there is “a look of cunning and in the mouth the curved wrinkle of the hypocrite”. Blood appears all over the painting.

Deciding, to kill the past, and to come out clean, he grabs a knife and stabs the painting, hearing all the shrieks and screams, policemen are called, who discover an ugly, old man lying on the floor, while the painting now appears young and beautiful as ever!!

 

 

Stars Distribution-

 

There is a truck-load of tabbed quotes in this book, hand-picking few, wasn’t justified, so skipping sharing the quotes-part!

 

I am docking 0.5 star, due to innocent Basil’s brutal murder by his muse ☹(I wish if Oscar Wilde, could have skipped this brutality, there is already a lot in abundance)!!

Docking another 0.5 stars, due to the ambivalence of one of the quotes by Oscar Wilde, in the preface, which makes me ambiguous, and perplexed! Famous authors are generally equivocal with their remarks, and the day I am able to decode the luminosity of the epigram, will add the missing 0.5 star!

“There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written.”

 

A well-deserving 4.0stars!! 😊