THE picture of dorian gray
by oscar wilde
the novel
Published: 1890
Chapters: 20
Genre: gothic and philosophical novel
Setting: 1890s, London
Narrator: 3rd person narrator
Basil Hallward
friends
lovers
siblings
The painter of the picture that gives the name to the book, he worships Dorian and his beauty, making him the main ispiration for his paintings."I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself."
james vane
Sibyl vane
Dorian’s first love, a young, beautiful actress performing at a cheap theater in London’s East End."The painted scenes were my world. I knew nothing but shadows, and I thought them real. You came—oh, my beautiful love!—and you freed my soul from prison. You taught me what reality is."
A burly and strong sailor who seeks revenge for his sister.“I wish I had, for as sure as there is a God in heaven, if he ever does you any wrong, I shall kill him.”
friends
Lord Henry Wotton
A charming and witty talker, with a brilliant intellect. He influences Dorian with his radical ideas, causing his downfall."Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world’s original sin. If the cave-man had known how to laugh, History would have been different."
dorian gray
The protagonist, he's the archetype of beauty and youth. At first he's innocent, but as he grows scared of losing his beauty, he wishes for his portrait to grow old and ugly in his place. When his wish becomes true, he begins to live an immoral life. "How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrid, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June. . . . If it was only the other way! If it was I who were to be always young, and the picture that were to grow old! For this–for this–I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give!”
friends
main CHARACTERS
the preface
The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim. [...]Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
[...] The artist can express everything. Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art. Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art. [...] All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself. [...] All art is quite useless.
Aestheticism was a philosophy that claimed that art exists for the sake of art alone, rather than serving a social, moral or political purpose.
Wilde reflects upon
- art
- the role of the artist
- the role of the critic
- the value of beauty over morality
plot
Chapter 1
Basil discusses his latest portrait with his friend, the clever and cynic Lord Henry Wotton. The subject of the painting is a gorgeous, golden-haired young man. Basil describes how he met his young subject, whose name is Dorian Gray, at a party. Dorian has become an object of fascination and obsession for Basil, who declares the young man to be his sole inspiration.While they're talking, the butler announces that Dorian Gray has arrived, and Lord Henry insists on meeting him. Basil reluctantly agrees but begs his friend not to try to influence the young man.
Chapter 2
Basil introduces Dorian to Lord Henry, and Dorian begs Lord Henry entertain him while he sits for Basil, who has to finish the portrait. Basil warns Dorian that Lord Henry is a bad influence, but Dorian seems intrigued by this idea. Lord Henry discusses his personal philosophy and praises Dorian’s youth and beauty, warning him how those qualities will eventually fade. He suggests Dorian to live life to its fullest, to spend his time “always searching for new sensations”. The portrait is now complete and beautiful, but looking at it makes Dorian unhappy. Remembering Lord Henry’s warning about the advance of age, he reflects that his portrait will remain young even as he himself grows old and wrinkled. He curses this fate and pledges his soul “If it were only the other way.” Basil tries to comfort the young man, and promises to destroy the painting. Dorian stops him, saying that he loves the painting, and Basil gives it to him as a gift. Dorian and Lord Henry, despite Basil’s objections, go to the theatre that evening
Chapter 3
plot
Lord Henry visits his uncle, Lord Fermor, who tells him Dorian Gray’s past. Dorian comes from an unhappy family: Dorian’s mother, a noblewoman, had a relationship with a poor soldier, who was killed by the woman’s father, just before Dorian was born. Lord Henry finds the story romantic and delights in the thought that he might influence the young man, making “that wonderful spirit his own.”
The following days, at a dinner Lord Henry makes a speech about the virtues of hedonism, insisting that one’s life should be spent appreciating beauty and seeking out pleasure rather than searching for ways to alleviate pain and tragedy. Many of the guests are appalled by his selfishness, but Dorian is particularly fascinated.
Chapter 4
Dorian has fallen in love with Sibyl Vane, an actress who plays Shakespeare’s heroines in a cheap London theater. Dorian admits to discovering her while wandering through slums: inspired by Lord Henry’s advice to “know everything about life,” he had entered a playhouse. After several trips to the theater Dorian meet Sybil, who refers to him as her “Prince Charming.”
Lord Henry muses on his influence over the young man, reflecting on how fascinating the psychology of another human being can be. He then finds a telegram from Dorian that states that he is engaged to be married to Sibyl Vane.
Chapter 5
Sibyl Vane is deliriously happy over her romance with Dorian Gray, but her family is worried about Dorian’s intentions, in particular Sibyl’s brother, James.
James swears that if Dorian ever wrongs her, he will track down her “Prince Charming” and kill him.
plot
Chapter 6
That evening over dinner, Lord Henry announces to Basil Dorian’s plan to marry Sibyl. Basil expresses concern that Dorian has decided to marry so far beneath his social position. Lord Henry claims that he is simply interested in observing the boy and his experiences, regardless of the outcome. Dorian enters, and states that his love for Sibyl has shown him the falsehood of all of Lord Henry’s theories about the virtues of selfishness. Lord Henry defends his point of view by claiming that it is nature, not he, who dictates the pursuit of pleasure. The three men make their way to a theater in the slums, where Sibyl Vane is to perform that night.
Chapter 7
The play begins: Sibyl is terrible, and her acting has worsened. Unable to understand the change that has come over his beloved, Dorian is heartbroken. Sibyl, explains that as she met Dorian and experienced true love, these pretend emotions of cating no longer interest her, since they pale in relation to her real feelings for Dorian. As a result, she declares that her career on the stage is over. Dorian, horrified by this decision, realizes that he was in love not with her but with her acting. He rejects her cruelly and tells her that he wishes never to see her again.
After a night spent wandering the streets of London, Dorian returns to his home. There, he looks at Basil’s portrait of him and notices the painting has changed—a smirk has appeared at the corner of his mouth. He is astonished. Remembering his wish that the painting would bear the burden and marks of age and lifestyle for him, Dorian is suddenly overcome with shame about his behavior toward Sibyl. He pulls a screen in front of the portrait and goes to bed, resolving to make amends with Sibyl in the morning.
plot
Chapter 8
Lord Henry arrives with terrible news: Sibyl committed suicide the previous night. Lord Henry urges Dorian not to wallow in guilt but, rather, to regard Sibyl’s suicide as a perfect artistic representation of undying love and appreciate it as such. Dorian, who feels numb, is convinced and agrees to go to the opera with him that very night. When Lord Henry is gone, Dorian reflects that this incident is a turning point in his existence, and he resolves to accept a life of “eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joy and wilder sins,” in which his portrait, rather than his own body, will bear the marks of age and experience.
Chapter 9
The next day, Basil comes to offer his condolences to Dorian, but Dorian dismisses the memory of Sibyl lightly and easily, remarking, “What is done is done. What is past is past.” Horrified at the change in Dorian, Basil blames Lord Henry for Dorian’s heartless attitude. Basil asks Dorian if he can borrow the portrait at an exhibition, and tries to remove the screen with which covers the painting. Dorian’s composure cracks: he insists that the work should never appear in public and refuses to ever sit for him again.
Chapter 10
Dorian opens his unused schoolroom in the attic of the house, covers the portrait with an ornate satin coverlet and hides it from the world. After locking the room, he returns to his study and settles down to read a book that Lord Henry has sent him. The book traces the life of a young Parisian who devotes his life to “all the passions and modes of thought that belonged to every century except his own.” After reading a few pages, Dorian finds the work to be “a poisonous book”, one that confuses the boundaries between vice and virtue.
plot
Chapter 11
Years pass and Dorian remains young and beautiful, but his character changes drastically. He devotes himself to the study of beautiful things: perfumes, music, jewelry, embroideries, and tapestries. Dorian continues to watch the painted image of himself age and deteriorate: sometimes the sight of the portrait fills him with horror, while other times he reflects joyfully on the burdens that his body has been spared.
Chapter 12
On his thirty-eighth birthday, Dorian runs into Basil after years. Basil is about to leave for Paris, but felt it necessary to stop by and warn Dorian about the terrible rumors heard about him. In fact many Dorian’s friendships have ended disastrously: one boy committed suicide, and others had their careers or reputations ruined. Basil wonders if he knows Dorian at all and wishes he were able to see the man’s soul, wish that Dorian fullfils.
Chapter 13
Dorian leads Basil to the room in which he keeps the painting locked and side reveals the portrait. Basil stares at the horrifying painting in shock, asking how such a thing is possible. Dorian reminds him of the day he met Lord Henry, whose words caused Dorian to pledge his soul for eternal youth. Basil curses the painting as “an awful lesson,” believing he worshipped the youth too much and is now being punished for it. He begs Dorian to pray for forgiveness, but Dorian claims it is too late. Glancing at his picture, Dorian feels hatred welling up within him. He seizes a knife and stabs Basil repeatedly, killing him. He hides Basil’s belongings in a secret compartment in the wall, then slips quietly out to the street.
plot
Chapter 14
The next morning, Dorian calls for Alan Campbell, a young scientist and former friend. Dorian confesses him that there is a dead man locked in the uppermost room of his house, and asks Campbell to use his knowledge of chemistry to destroy the body, but Campbell refuses, as he has no interest in becoming involved. Dorian blackmails Campbell, threatening to reveal a secret that would bring great disgrace on him. With no alternative, Campbell agrees to dispose of the body. Dorian goes upstairs to cover the portrait and notices that one of the hands on the painting is dripping with red. Campbell works until evening, then leaves. When Dorian returns to the room, the body is gone, and the odor of nitric acid fills the room.
Chapter 15
That evening Dorian goes to a dinner party. Lord Henry casually asks about Dorian’s whereabouts the night before; Dorian’s calm facade cracks and he snaps out a strange, defensive response, and hr decides to go home early. Once Dorian arrives home, he burns Basil’s belongings. At midnight, he dresses in common clothes and hires a coach to bring him to a London neighborhood where the city’s opium dens prosper.
Chapter 16
As the coach heads toward the opium dens, Dorian decides that if he cannot be forgiven for his sins, he can at least forget them. At the den a woman addresses him as “Prince Charming”, catching a sailor attention. He's James Vane, Sibyl’s brother, who has been tracking Dorian for years in hopes of avenging Sibyl’s death. James seizes Dorian, but Dorian claims that he's not the man he's looking for, as eighteen years have passed since his sister's death, and Dorian has the face of a twenty-year-old man, James releases him, but an old woman tells him that Dorian has been coming there for eighteen years and that his face has never aged a day in all that time. Furious at having let his prey escape, James resolves to hunt him down again.
plot
Chapter 17
A week later, Dorian entertains guests at his estate: they discuss the nature and importance of beauty and love. Dorian looks out of the window, and he sees that James Vane has found him again.
Chapter 18
The following day, Dorian does not leave the house, as the fear of James Vane dominates him. Three days after he joins a shooting party in the park. While strolling along with the hunters, Dorian begs his companions not to shoot a hare. Dorian’s companions laugh at Dorian’s silliness and shoot, but the gunshot is followed by the cry of a man in agony. In fact a man has been shot and has died instantly. The man’s identity remains a mystery. As soon as he learns that the man is an
anonymous sailor, Dorian demands to see him. He recognises the corpse James Vane. He rides home with tears in his eyes, feeling safe.
Chapter 19
Dorian claims that he wants to reform himself and be virtuous. Lord Henry dismisses Dorian’s intentions to reform, and he turns the conversation to other subjects—Alan Campbell’s recent suicide and the mystery of Basil Hallward’s disappearance. Dorian asks if Lord Henry has ever considered that Basil might have been murdered. Lord Henry dismisses the idea, as Basil had no enemies. Dorian then asks: “What would you say, Harry, if I told you that I had murdered Basil?” Lord Henry laughs and responds that murder is too vulgar for a man like Dorian.
Then Lord Henry asks Dorian a question he heard from a street preacher: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul’?” Lord Henry finds the question stupid, but Dorian states that the soul is very real. Lord Henry laughs at the suggestion, wondering aloud how Dorian has managed to remain so young after all these years.
plot
Chapter 20
That night, Dorian goes to the locked room to look at his portrait. He hopes his decision to amend his life will have changed the painting. But when Dorian looks at his portrait, he sees there is no change. He realizes his pitiful attempt to be good was no more than hypocrisy, an attempt to minimize the seriousness of his crimes that falls far short of atonement. Furious, he seizes a knife—the same weapon with which he killed Basil—and attempts to destroy the portrait. From below, Dorian’s servants hear a scream. Breaking into the room, they see the portrait, unharmed, showing Dorian Gray as a beautiful young man. On the floor is the body of an old man, horribly wrinkled and disfigured, with a knife plunged into his heart. It is not until the servants examine the rings on the old man’s hands that they identify him as Dorian Gray.
Themes
The negative consequences of influence
The cult of beauty
The double
Beauty is considered a supreme value in opposition to morality, even though it's destined to fade with time
Basil’s idolatry of Dorian lead to his murder, Sybil's love for Dorial lead to her loss of talent and Dorian’s devotion to Lord Henry’s hedonism precipitate his own downfall.The sacrifice of one’s self leads to one’s destruction.
Hiding a dark private side under an innocent public appearance
Vanity as sin
The purpose of Art
Homosexuality
Once a sense of the preciousness of his own beauty has been instilled in Dorian, his decision to embrace vanity lead him to corruption
Wilde opposes the Victorian society, which saw art as a tool to influence people and create uniform ideas about morality and sensibility. For Wilde Art reflects Beauty and is a way of living. The purpose of Art is having no purpose at all.
Wilde was forced to edit and remove various passages that alluded to homosexuality, but tendencies remain between the three main characters.
Conflict between good and evil
meaning and symbols
James Vane James Vane is the personification of Dorian's guilt, symbolizing the past he wants to escape.
What does Wilde want to comunicate with his novel?No one can be truly indifferent to the passing of time.The only way to remain young could be, according to Wilde, to sell our soul, but this choice does not lead to a happy ending.
The portraitThe portrait of Dorian becomes a kind of mirror through which the protagonist can monitor the corruption of his soul. The portrait forces Dorian to look upon the consequences of his actions and prevents him from fully releasing himself to a life of sin, acting as a conscience.
The Yellow Book Lord Henry gifts Dorian a scandalous French novel referred to as "The Yellow Book". Wilde used the book to symbolize how people can attach too much meaning to art, and how this can poison someone's soul. Dorian's fate seems to lie at the hands of this book, serving as a warning to readers about the potential of art to corrupt if it is taken in the wrong spirit.
Opium densIn respectable Victorian society, opium dens were considered places of sin, but that doesn't mean they weren't frequented by gentlemen.
Wilde uses the opium den to reflect the corrupt state of Dorian’s mind and soul, as Dorian uses opium to escape guilt.
"there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about"
To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.
aphorisms
concise statements that express a general truth.
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
"But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins"
"To define is to limit"
"I cannot repeat an emotion. No one can, except sentimentalists."
"The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned, or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us. I know it"
"Knowledge would be fatal. It is the uncertainty that charms one. A mist makes things wonderful."
"Ah! realize your youth while you have it. [...] 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."
"Because to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of someone else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly—that is what each of us is here for."
"To be in love is to surpass one's self"
"The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame."
"We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities."
"Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval. When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy."
"Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul."
"Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face. It cannot be concealed. People talk sometimes of secret vices. There are no such things. If a wretched man has a vice, it shows itself in the lines of his mouth, the droop of his eyelids, the moulding of his hands even."
"Is insincerity such a terrible thing? I think not. It is merely a method by which we can multiply our personalities"
"Art is always more abstract than we fancy. Form and colour tell us of form and colour-that is all. It often seems to me that art conceals the artist far more completely than it ever reveals him"
"The reason we all like to think so well of others is that we're all afraid for ourselves. The basis of optimism is sheer terror."
THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
ARIANNA GIARDIELLO
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Transcript
THE picture of dorian gray
by oscar wilde
the novel
Published: 1890
Chapters: 20
Genre: gothic and philosophical novel
Setting: 1890s, London
Narrator: 3rd person narrator
Basil Hallward
friends
lovers
siblings
The painter of the picture that gives the name to the book, he worships Dorian and his beauty, making him the main ispiration for his paintings."I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself."
james vane
Sibyl vane
Dorian’s first love, a young, beautiful actress performing at a cheap theater in London’s East End."The painted scenes were my world. I knew nothing but shadows, and I thought them real. You came—oh, my beautiful love!—and you freed my soul from prison. You taught me what reality is."
A burly and strong sailor who seeks revenge for his sister.“I wish I had, for as sure as there is a God in heaven, if he ever does you any wrong, I shall kill him.”
friends
Lord Henry Wotton
A charming and witty talker, with a brilliant intellect. He influences Dorian with his radical ideas, causing his downfall."Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world’s original sin. If the cave-man had known how to laugh, History would have been different."
dorian gray
The protagonist, he's the archetype of beauty and youth. At first he's innocent, but as he grows scared of losing his beauty, he wishes for his portrait to grow old and ugly in his place. When his wish becomes true, he begins to live an immoral life. "How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrid, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June. . . . If it was only the other way! If it was I who were to be always young, and the picture that were to grow old! For this–for this–I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give!”
friends
main CHARACTERS
the preface
The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim. [...]Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all. [...] The artist can express everything. Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art. Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art. [...] All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself. [...] All art is quite useless.
Aestheticism was a philosophy that claimed that art exists for the sake of art alone, rather than serving a social, moral or political purpose.
Wilde reflects upon
plot
Chapter 1
Basil discusses his latest portrait with his friend, the clever and cynic Lord Henry Wotton. The subject of the painting is a gorgeous, golden-haired young man. Basil describes how he met his young subject, whose name is Dorian Gray, at a party. Dorian has become an object of fascination and obsession for Basil, who declares the young man to be his sole inspiration.While they're talking, the butler announces that Dorian Gray has arrived, and Lord Henry insists on meeting him. Basil reluctantly agrees but begs his friend not to try to influence the young man.
Chapter 2
Basil introduces Dorian to Lord Henry, and Dorian begs Lord Henry entertain him while he sits for Basil, who has to finish the portrait. Basil warns Dorian that Lord Henry is a bad influence, but Dorian seems intrigued by this idea. Lord Henry discusses his personal philosophy and praises Dorian’s youth and beauty, warning him how those qualities will eventually fade. He suggests Dorian to live life to its fullest, to spend his time “always searching for new sensations”. The portrait is now complete and beautiful, but looking at it makes Dorian unhappy. Remembering Lord Henry’s warning about the advance of age, he reflects that his portrait will remain young even as he himself grows old and wrinkled. He curses this fate and pledges his soul “If it were only the other way.” Basil tries to comfort the young man, and promises to destroy the painting. Dorian stops him, saying that he loves the painting, and Basil gives it to him as a gift. Dorian and Lord Henry, despite Basil’s objections, go to the theatre that evening
Chapter 3
plot
Lord Henry visits his uncle, Lord Fermor, who tells him Dorian Gray’s past. Dorian comes from an unhappy family: Dorian’s mother, a noblewoman, had a relationship with a poor soldier, who was killed by the woman’s father, just before Dorian was born. Lord Henry finds the story romantic and delights in the thought that he might influence the young man, making “that wonderful spirit his own.” The following days, at a dinner Lord Henry makes a speech about the virtues of hedonism, insisting that one’s life should be spent appreciating beauty and seeking out pleasure rather than searching for ways to alleviate pain and tragedy. Many of the guests are appalled by his selfishness, but Dorian is particularly fascinated.
Chapter 4
Dorian has fallen in love with Sibyl Vane, an actress who plays Shakespeare’s heroines in a cheap London theater. Dorian admits to discovering her while wandering through slums: inspired by Lord Henry’s advice to “know everything about life,” he had entered a playhouse. After several trips to the theater Dorian meet Sybil, who refers to him as her “Prince Charming.” Lord Henry muses on his influence over the young man, reflecting on how fascinating the psychology of another human being can be. He then finds a telegram from Dorian that states that he is engaged to be married to Sibyl Vane.
Chapter 5
Sibyl Vane is deliriously happy over her romance with Dorian Gray, but her family is worried about Dorian’s intentions, in particular Sibyl’s brother, James. James swears that if Dorian ever wrongs her, he will track down her “Prince Charming” and kill him.
plot
Chapter 6
That evening over dinner, Lord Henry announces to Basil Dorian’s plan to marry Sibyl. Basil expresses concern that Dorian has decided to marry so far beneath his social position. Lord Henry claims that he is simply interested in observing the boy and his experiences, regardless of the outcome. Dorian enters, and states that his love for Sibyl has shown him the falsehood of all of Lord Henry’s theories about the virtues of selfishness. Lord Henry defends his point of view by claiming that it is nature, not he, who dictates the pursuit of pleasure. The three men make their way to a theater in the slums, where Sibyl Vane is to perform that night.
Chapter 7
The play begins: Sibyl is terrible, and her acting has worsened. Unable to understand the change that has come over his beloved, Dorian is heartbroken. Sibyl, explains that as she met Dorian and experienced true love, these pretend emotions of cating no longer interest her, since they pale in relation to her real feelings for Dorian. As a result, she declares that her career on the stage is over. Dorian, horrified by this decision, realizes that he was in love not with her but with her acting. He rejects her cruelly and tells her that he wishes never to see her again. After a night spent wandering the streets of London, Dorian returns to his home. There, he looks at Basil’s portrait of him and notices the painting has changed—a smirk has appeared at the corner of his mouth. He is astonished. Remembering his wish that the painting would bear the burden and marks of age and lifestyle for him, Dorian is suddenly overcome with shame about his behavior toward Sibyl. He pulls a screen in front of the portrait and goes to bed, resolving to make amends with Sibyl in the morning.
plot
Chapter 8
Lord Henry arrives with terrible news: Sibyl committed suicide the previous night. Lord Henry urges Dorian not to wallow in guilt but, rather, to regard Sibyl’s suicide as a perfect artistic representation of undying love and appreciate it as such. Dorian, who feels numb, is convinced and agrees to go to the opera with him that very night. When Lord Henry is gone, Dorian reflects that this incident is a turning point in his existence, and he resolves to accept a life of “eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joy and wilder sins,” in which his portrait, rather than his own body, will bear the marks of age and experience.
Chapter 9
The next day, Basil comes to offer his condolences to Dorian, but Dorian dismisses the memory of Sibyl lightly and easily, remarking, “What is done is done. What is past is past.” Horrified at the change in Dorian, Basil blames Lord Henry for Dorian’s heartless attitude. Basil asks Dorian if he can borrow the portrait at an exhibition, and tries to remove the screen with which covers the painting. Dorian’s composure cracks: he insists that the work should never appear in public and refuses to ever sit for him again.
Chapter 10
Dorian opens his unused schoolroom in the attic of the house, covers the portrait with an ornate satin coverlet and hides it from the world. After locking the room, he returns to his study and settles down to read a book that Lord Henry has sent him. The book traces the life of a young Parisian who devotes his life to “all the passions and modes of thought that belonged to every century except his own.” After reading a few pages, Dorian finds the work to be “a poisonous book”, one that confuses the boundaries between vice and virtue.
plot
Chapter 11
Years pass and Dorian remains young and beautiful, but his character changes drastically. He devotes himself to the study of beautiful things: perfumes, music, jewelry, embroideries, and tapestries. Dorian continues to watch the painted image of himself age and deteriorate: sometimes the sight of the portrait fills him with horror, while other times he reflects joyfully on the burdens that his body has been spared.
Chapter 12
On his thirty-eighth birthday, Dorian runs into Basil after years. Basil is about to leave for Paris, but felt it necessary to stop by and warn Dorian about the terrible rumors heard about him. In fact many Dorian’s friendships have ended disastrously: one boy committed suicide, and others had their careers or reputations ruined. Basil wonders if he knows Dorian at all and wishes he were able to see the man’s soul, wish that Dorian fullfils.
Chapter 13
Dorian leads Basil to the room in which he keeps the painting locked and side reveals the portrait. Basil stares at the horrifying painting in shock, asking how such a thing is possible. Dorian reminds him of the day he met Lord Henry, whose words caused Dorian to pledge his soul for eternal youth. Basil curses the painting as “an awful lesson,” believing he worshipped the youth too much and is now being punished for it. He begs Dorian to pray for forgiveness, but Dorian claims it is too late. Glancing at his picture, Dorian feels hatred welling up within him. He seizes a knife and stabs Basil repeatedly, killing him. He hides Basil’s belongings in a secret compartment in the wall, then slips quietly out to the street.
plot
Chapter 14
The next morning, Dorian calls for Alan Campbell, a young scientist and former friend. Dorian confesses him that there is a dead man locked in the uppermost room of his house, and asks Campbell to use his knowledge of chemistry to destroy the body, but Campbell refuses, as he has no interest in becoming involved. Dorian blackmails Campbell, threatening to reveal a secret that would bring great disgrace on him. With no alternative, Campbell agrees to dispose of the body. Dorian goes upstairs to cover the portrait and notices that one of the hands on the painting is dripping with red. Campbell works until evening, then leaves. When Dorian returns to the room, the body is gone, and the odor of nitric acid fills the room.
Chapter 15
That evening Dorian goes to a dinner party. Lord Henry casually asks about Dorian’s whereabouts the night before; Dorian’s calm facade cracks and he snaps out a strange, defensive response, and hr decides to go home early. Once Dorian arrives home, he burns Basil’s belongings. At midnight, he dresses in common clothes and hires a coach to bring him to a London neighborhood where the city’s opium dens prosper.
Chapter 16
As the coach heads toward the opium dens, Dorian decides that if he cannot be forgiven for his sins, he can at least forget them. At the den a woman addresses him as “Prince Charming”, catching a sailor attention. He's James Vane, Sibyl’s brother, who has been tracking Dorian for years in hopes of avenging Sibyl’s death. James seizes Dorian, but Dorian claims that he's not the man he's looking for, as eighteen years have passed since his sister's death, and Dorian has the face of a twenty-year-old man, James releases him, but an old woman tells him that Dorian has been coming there for eighteen years and that his face has never aged a day in all that time. Furious at having let his prey escape, James resolves to hunt him down again.
plot
Chapter 17
A week later, Dorian entertains guests at his estate: they discuss the nature and importance of beauty and love. Dorian looks out of the window, and he sees that James Vane has found him again.
Chapter 18
The following day, Dorian does not leave the house, as the fear of James Vane dominates him. Three days after he joins a shooting party in the park. While strolling along with the hunters, Dorian begs his companions not to shoot a hare. Dorian’s companions laugh at Dorian’s silliness and shoot, but the gunshot is followed by the cry of a man in agony. In fact a man has been shot and has died instantly. The man’s identity remains a mystery. As soon as he learns that the man is an
anonymous sailor, Dorian demands to see him. He recognises the corpse James Vane. He rides home with tears in his eyes, feeling safe.
Chapter 19
Dorian claims that he wants to reform himself and be virtuous. Lord Henry dismisses Dorian’s intentions to reform, and he turns the conversation to other subjects—Alan Campbell’s recent suicide and the mystery of Basil Hallward’s disappearance. Dorian asks if Lord Henry has ever considered that Basil might have been murdered. Lord Henry dismisses the idea, as Basil had no enemies. Dorian then asks: “What would you say, Harry, if I told you that I had murdered Basil?” Lord Henry laughs and responds that murder is too vulgar for a man like Dorian. Then Lord Henry asks Dorian a question he heard from a street preacher: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul’?” Lord Henry finds the question stupid, but Dorian states that the soul is very real. Lord Henry laughs at the suggestion, wondering aloud how Dorian has managed to remain so young after all these years.
plot
Chapter 20
That night, Dorian goes to the locked room to look at his portrait. He hopes his decision to amend his life will have changed the painting. But when Dorian looks at his portrait, he sees there is no change. He realizes his pitiful attempt to be good was no more than hypocrisy, an attempt to minimize the seriousness of his crimes that falls far short of atonement. Furious, he seizes a knife—the same weapon with which he killed Basil—and attempts to destroy the portrait. From below, Dorian’s servants hear a scream. Breaking into the room, they see the portrait, unharmed, showing Dorian Gray as a beautiful young man. On the floor is the body of an old man, horribly wrinkled and disfigured, with a knife plunged into his heart. It is not until the servants examine the rings on the old man’s hands that they identify him as Dorian Gray.
Themes
The negative consequences of influence
The cult of beauty
The double
Beauty is considered a supreme value in opposition to morality, even though it's destined to fade with time
Basil’s idolatry of Dorian lead to his murder, Sybil's love for Dorial lead to her loss of talent and Dorian’s devotion to Lord Henry’s hedonism precipitate his own downfall.The sacrifice of one’s self leads to one’s destruction.
Hiding a dark private side under an innocent public appearance
Vanity as sin
The purpose of Art
Homosexuality
Once a sense of the preciousness of his own beauty has been instilled in Dorian, his decision to embrace vanity lead him to corruption
Wilde opposes the Victorian society, which saw art as a tool to influence people and create uniform ideas about morality and sensibility. For Wilde Art reflects Beauty and is a way of living. The purpose of Art is having no purpose at all.
Wilde was forced to edit and remove various passages that alluded to homosexuality, but tendencies remain between the three main characters.
Conflict between good and evil
meaning and symbols
James Vane James Vane is the personification of Dorian's guilt, symbolizing the past he wants to escape.
What does Wilde want to comunicate with his novel?No one can be truly indifferent to the passing of time.The only way to remain young could be, according to Wilde, to sell our soul, but this choice does not lead to a happy ending.
The portraitThe portrait of Dorian becomes a kind of mirror through which the protagonist can monitor the corruption of his soul. The portrait forces Dorian to look upon the consequences of his actions and prevents him from fully releasing himself to a life of sin, acting as a conscience.
The Yellow Book Lord Henry gifts Dorian a scandalous French novel referred to as "The Yellow Book". Wilde used the book to symbolize how people can attach too much meaning to art, and how this can poison someone's soul. Dorian's fate seems to lie at the hands of this book, serving as a warning to readers about the potential of art to corrupt if it is taken in the wrong spirit.
Opium densIn respectable Victorian society, opium dens were considered places of sin, but that doesn't mean they weren't frequented by gentlemen. Wilde uses the opium den to reflect the corrupt state of Dorian’s mind and soul, as Dorian uses opium to escape guilt.
"there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about"
To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.
aphorisms
concise statements that express a general truth.
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
"But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins"
"To define is to limit"
"I cannot repeat an emotion. No one can, except sentimentalists."
"The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned, or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us. I know it"
"Knowledge would be fatal. It is the uncertainty that charms one. A mist makes things wonderful."
"Ah! realize your youth while you have it. [...] 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."
"Because to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of someone else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. The aim of life is self-development. To realize one’s nature perfectly—that is what each of us is here for."
"To be in love is to surpass one's self"
"The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame."
"We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities."
"Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval. When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy."
"Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul."
"Sin is a thing that writes itself across a man's face. It cannot be concealed. People talk sometimes of secret vices. There are no such things. If a wretched man has a vice, it shows itself in the lines of his mouth, the droop of his eyelids, the moulding of his hands even."
"Is insincerity such a terrible thing? I think not. It is merely a method by which we can multiply our personalities"
"Art is always more abstract than we fancy. Form and colour tell us of form and colour-that is all. It often seems to me that art conceals the artist far more completely than it ever reveals him"
"The reason we all like to think so well of others is that we're all afraid for ourselves. The basis of optimism is sheer terror."