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The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde,

Jeffrey Eugenides (Introduction)

4.08 · Rating details · 973,160 ratings · 31,103 reviews

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it ﬁrst appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting inﬂuence, he responded that there is, in fact, ...more

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Paperback, Modern Library Classics, 272 pages

Published June 1st 2004 by Random House: Modern Library (first published July 20th 1890)

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Oct 02, 2007 Scoobs rated it it was amazing

Oh Dorian. Oh Dorian.

When I first read this book in the fruitless years of my youth I was excited, overwhelmed and a blank slate (as Dorian is, upon his first encounter with Lord Henry) easily molded, persuaded, influenced, etc.

Certain Wildisms (Wildeisms?) would take my breath away. Would become my mottos to believe in. To follow. To live.

Lines like:

"It is silly of you, for there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."

"But beauty, real ...more

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Mar 15, 2010 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, horror, literature, audiobook, love-those-words, classics-european, easton-press, horror-classic, rogues-and-scoundrels

Arguably literature's greatest study of shallowness, vanity, casual cruelty and hedonistic selfishness, Wilde lays it down here with ABSOLUTE PERFECTION!! This was my first experience in reading Oscar Wilde and the man’s gift for prose and dialogue is magical. This story read somewhat like a dark, corrupted Jane Austen in that the writing was snappy and pleasant on the ear, but the feeling it left you with was one of hopelessness and despair.

The level of cynicism and societal disregard that Wilde’s characters display towards humanity is simply staggering. Despite the dark (or more likely because of it) this is one of the most engaging, compelling and lyrical pieces of literature I have read. The quality of the prose is nothing short masterful.

I assume most people know the basic outline of the plot, but I will give you a few sentences on it. The three main characters are Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton and Dorian Gray. Basil Hallward is an artist who after painting a picture of Dorian Gray becomes obsessed with him because of his beauty (the homosexual vs. art object love Basil feels towards Dorian are left vague, likely because of the time it was written). Dorian then meets a friend Basil’s, Lord Henry, and becomes enthralled with Lord Henry’s world view, which is a form of extreme hedonism that posits the only worthwhile life is one spent pursuing beauty and satisfaction for the senses.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.

Well at one point, Dorian utters the famous words quoted at the beginning of my review and the “Faustian” bargain is struck.

While this story is often mentioned among the classics of the Horror genre (which I do have a problem with) this is much more a study of the human monster than it is some boogeyman. My favorite parts of the story were the extensive dialogues between the characters, usually Dorian and Lord Henry. They were wonderfully perverse and display a level of casual cruelty and vileness towards humanity that make it hard to breathe while reading. Oh, and Lord Henry reserves particular offense for the female of the species, to wit:

My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals.

YES folks...he absolutely did.

One of the most intriguing quotes I have seen from Oscar Wilde regarding this book is his comparison of himself to the three main characters. He said that he wrote the three main characters as reflections of himself. Wilde said, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry is what the world thinks me: Dorian is what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.”

I was somewhat floored by this as I found Dorian to be a truly stark representation of evil and could not see how Wilde could find an idealized form within the character. When I say evil, I don't mean just misguided or weak-minded, someone bamboozled by the clever lectures of Lord Henry. I found Gray to be selfish, vain, inhumanly callous and sadistically cruel. I intend to try and learn more about Wilde’s outlook on this character as it truly escapes me.

Regardless, this is a towering piece of literature. Beautifully written and filled with memorable characters and a deeply moving story. A novel deserving of its status as a classic of English Literature. 5.0 stars. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!!

P.S. For of audiobooks. I listened to the audio version of this read by Michael Page who has become one of my favorite narrators. His performance here was amazing.
...more

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Feb 10, 2008 Paula rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book reminded me why I hate classics.

Like Frankenstein, it starts out with a great premise: what if a portrait bore the brunt of age and sin, while the person remained in the flush of youth? How would that person feel as they watched a constant reminder of their true nature develop? And like Frankenstein, it gets completely bogged down in uninteresting details and takes forever to get to the interesting bits. Seriously, in a 230-page novel, the portrait doesn't even start to change until 10 ...more

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Sep 30, 2018 chai ♡ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classics, read-in-2020

Facts that I know for sure:

1. I got this edition because I'm a slave to the aesthetics and that's exactly the kind of motive the ghost of Oscar Wilde would approve of

2. It’s safe to assume that no matter what I’m doing, at any given moment in time, at least 20% of my brain capacity is perpetually dedicated to making sure I’m clever enough, flamboyant enough, petty enough, gay enough, dramatic enough to earn the approval of the ghost of Oscar Wilde

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Aug 15, 2012 Emily May rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, 2012, clothbound-own

"The sitter is merely the accident, the occasion. It is not he who is revealed by the painter; it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself. The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul."

And so begins this tale of art and sin.

I would highly recommend first watching the movie Wilde, a film which takes the audience on a journey through the life of the tormented writer, from the beginnings of h ...more

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Feb 06, 2014 Barry Pierce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, read-in-2015

So I read all of Wilde's plays a couple of years ago but for some reason I never read this at the time. This is probably the number one most requested book for me to read. So I read it. Are ya happy now!? ARE YA!?

I really rather enjoyed this. Well, obviously. I mean, did you honestly think I wasn't going to like The Picture of Dorian Gray? It's by Oscar Wilde for fuck's sake. His prose is like spilled honey flowing across a wooden table and waterfalling onto the floor beneath. The viscous liquid ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

”He grew more and more enamoured of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul.”

I think I must have been about fifteen when I read “The Picture of Dorian Gray” for the very first time and I was totally blown away by it. There was this book, written in such a beautiful way, using such colourful and flowery language and there were those three amazing characters that made me feel and wonder and question their lives and decisions!

You might say that up until I picked ...more

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Jun 17, 2014 Sean Barrs rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star-reads, classics, darkness-horror-gothic, love-and-romance

I finished reading this last night, and afterwards I spent an entire hour staring into space so I could contemplate over the majesty of this work. It left me speechless. This book is exquisite; it is an investigation into the human soul, the power of vanity and the problems of living a life with not a single consequence for your actions. It’s truly powerful stuff.

It begins with a simple realisation, and perhaps an obvious one. But, for Dorian it is completely life changing. He realises that bea ...more

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Aug 28, 2017 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is the first time I've read this classic book....but I've loved Oscar Wilde for as long as I can remember.

There is much to take away from this book. Themes exploring shallowness, selfishness, superficiality, hedonism, morality, and flaws of life and being human.

The dialogue is witty and humorous.
Oscar Wilde had great insights on beauty....
I love this quote:
"But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins. Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys t ...more

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May 12, 2013 Henry Avila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"A face without a heart", so said Shakespeare in Hamlet, but it applies to the portrait of Dorian Gray even better.... When the young gentleman Dorian Gray from a wealthy aristocratic family in Victorian England, has his picture completed something is missing, Basil Hallward, the painter senses it and insists that no one sees his greatest work, except a few people ... The witty Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian's soon to be best friend seems amused, a shy artist! All three are fascinated by the painting "A face without a heart", so said Shakespeare in Hamlet, but it applies to the portrait of Dorian Gray even better.... When the young gentleman Dorian Gray from a wealthy aristocratic family in Victorian England, has his picture completed something is missing, Basil Hallward, the painter senses it and insists that no one sees his greatest work, except a few people ... The witty Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian's soon to be best friend seems amused, a shy artist! All three are fascinated by the painting, discussing it at length in Mr.Hallward's house. The lord is a notorious man, with a well- deserved evil reputation, warned by many to stay away from him. Nevertheless Gray's a lonely orphan, needs excitement in his dreary life, Wotton tells Dorian to have fun while he is still young, it will not last long. Mr.Gray has good looks, and like a moth to a flame the boy can't resist. Dorian wishes that the portrait ages while he remains young, as time goes by, Dorian would give his soul for this, Lord Henry laughs at the oath, strangely his request is fulfilled shortly afterwards. Dorian meets a beautiful seventeen- year- old actress, both fall madly in love, later the nervous Sibyl Vane, gives a really bad performance in front of Gray , and his two friends, Wotton, Hallward, the young gentleman is crushed , and so disappointed he leaves her. Sibyl then kills herself, James her brother had pledged to annihilate anyone who harms his sister, he will cause Mr.Gray much concern subsequently. The wicked lord tells the distraught youth to forget about it, "Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secrets, wild joy and wilder sins". All this and only the picture to show its evil, a great bargain Dorian feels. Rumors abound about Dorian, they the people look at his face and see only purity, Gray continues his hedonistic life, murder , another suicide and a killing results ... In a locked, quiet, dark room upstairs at his home, where the curious Mr.Gray keeps the picture, it Grotesquely Changes, whenever more wickedness is committed by the owner. The ugly side of Dorian, only he sees... Later into the shadows , Dorian goes to get opium, he wants salvation through drugs, blackout his memories but gloom is everywhere, a thick atmosphere of foreboding, intense desperation and immense helplessness, prevails. Reaching for something, that will save his poor soul, make him feel worthwhile that life has some meaning, is all lost? A mournful torrent rushes Dorian forward always forward, into the abyss, the darkness, the endless unknown regions, next oblivion? The light is going out, Dorian must face his destiny, he couldn't escape himself ... ...more

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Jan 16, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress (Back to the Books) rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Readers who enjoy well-crafted, psychologically-chilling stories

Shelves: classic-horror, owned-copy, moral-decadence, psychological-horror, oct-scare-fest-2010, immortality, gothic-fiction, faustian-bargain, victorian, unsympathetic-main-characters

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a hard book to review. After reading such eloquent, beautiful, and rich writing, I am at a loss for how to command my comparatively paltry ability to use words to express how I felt about this book.

Forgive me as I go back to AP English for a few moments. I asked myself what were the themes of this novel. Here is my list:

Identity
Experience
Beauty
The triumph on senses over reason
Accountability

I will attempt to build my review, in part, around the discussion of these t ...more

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Nov 11, 2011 Jim Fonseca rated it it was amazing

Shelves: irish-authors

Even if we haven’t read the book everyone knows the plot. A painter paints a portrait of a beautiful young man. The portrait ages while he keeps his beauty. But the portrait also reflects his evil, not just aging, but turning eventually into a portrait of a devil.

There are thousands of reviews so I’ll just copy the next paragraph from the GR book blurb:

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is ...more

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Sep 16, 2019 Anne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, paranormal, classics, read-in-2019

I should probably admit that most of what I thought I knew about Dorian Gray came from pop culture references. In my defense, I'm actively trying to branch out and read more than comics and trashy romance novels, but it's slow going and I've got a lot of catching up to do.
Shockingly, I didn't bother to read the blurb, and it turns out this was a bit more complex than I thought it would be.

description

Point is, I had no idea it was about gay dudes!
And I'm always thinking that the guys in classic novels seem ...more

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Jan 05, 2018 Melanie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, read-in-2018, fantasy, buddy-reads, paranormal, horror

“Some day, when you are old and wrinkled and ugly, when thought has seared your forehead with its lines, and passion branded your lips with its hideous fires, you will feel it, you will feel it terribly.”

So, I wanted 2018 to be the year that I try to get back into classics! In the past, I’ve found some of them daunting to read, or just too boring to ever feel invested in. But I feel like The Picture of Dorian Gray was the perfect start.

Beautiful art by saku-chann on Tumblr

I originall ...more

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Jun 13, 2008 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, british, gothic, classics, novels, 1001-book, fiction, 19th-century, irish

809. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical novel by Oscar Wilde, first published complete in the July 1890 issue of Lippincott's Monthly Magazine.

The Picture of Dorian Gray begins on a beautiful summer day in Victorian era England, where Lord Henry Wotton, an opinionated man, is observing the sensitive artist Basil Hallward painting the portrait of Dorian Gray, a handsome young man who is Basil's ultimate muse.

While sitting for the painting, Doria ...more

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Nov 27, 2018 jessica rated it it was amazing

‘behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.’

and boy, this story was an exquisite tragedy. wilde admits that the books which the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame. and this is one of the most immoral books i have ever read.

this is a story about the loss of innocence, of revelling in sin and debauchery, and everything in between. but its also an examination of the human soul, its struggle with vanity, and a life lived without any sort o ...more

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Jun 13, 2008 Petra-X rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-read-a-long-time-ago, fiction, reviewed, 2016-150-reviews

Possessing eternal youth and beauty produces exactly the same effect as sentencing a man to life without the possibility of parole. Both have nothing to lose and morals disappear before the desire for immediate self-gratification in all things. And so it is with Dorian Gray. It's a moral story so eventually his evil catches up with him and he dies, as does the criminal.

Is Oscar Wilde saying that it is man's essential nature, to be so internally psychopathic and selfish that so long as he can ke ...more

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Mar 23, 2008 Trevor rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature

This is another of those books I’ve been meaning to read for ages and kept putting off. Although I’ve a particularly good reason for putting this one off, as a very good friend of mine, who died a couple of years ago, spoke to me about this book and I was worried that might make it hard to read for quite other reasons.

He said that when he read this book as a young man it made him certain that he was not homosexual. Now, that in itself was enough to make me curious about the book. This is a book This is another of those books I’ve been meaning to read for ages and kept putting off. Although I’ve a particularly good reason for putting this one off, as a very good friend of mine, who died a couple of years ago, spoke to me about this book and I was worried that might make it hard to read for quite other reasons.

He said that when he read this book as a young man it made him certain that he was not homosexual. Now, that in itself was enough to make me curious about the book. This is a book that could only have been written by a homosexual male and it is a book about homosexuality in very many ways. The obsession with youth and beauty is almost a cliché of homosexual obsessions – though the ‘dandy’, the vanity of men, is much more common now, I think. We are increasingly a culture obsessed with appearance. I wonder if reading the book and seeing this obsession was the thing that convinced my friend he was not homosexual, if that was the thing that made him say, ‘no, that’s not me’. Or rather if it was the expression of desire very early in the book for Dorian Gray by Basil, his painter and ardent admirer, that convinced him.

Lord Harry is one of those talking desk calendars, in fact, other than Hamlet, I think it would be hard to find a book with more quotable quotes per page. Some of them are deliciously funny and others are just the sort of illumination that a match struck in a dark room makes.

There were moments in this book, as there are in other works by Wilde, when one gets a feeling of premonition of his fate – it is hard to think of a sadder story than that of the last years of his life, or one that makes more plain how incredibly stupid are societies that punish people for their sexuality. There would be very little I could not forgive Wilde for, particularly after he wrote The Importance of Being Earnest – this book, his only novel, is nearly as good.

Our sins are not quite displayed as clearly on our faces as is assumed here, but our lives do mark us – it is a pity that in our obsession with youth that we forget how beautiful our scars can be and that love, real love, the love that touches us most deeply, is when another accepts our scars and loves us for them, rather than in spite of them.

One of the most quotable quotes in this book is an attack on realism in fiction – “That is the reason I hate vulgar realism in literature. The man who could call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one. It is the only thing he is fit for.” I understand this is hardly a ‘realistic’ story – I mean, it is really a myth and takes liberties with ‘reality’ so as to comment on the world through the form of a myth – but like all such stories centred on something that is clearly ‘over-the-top’ it is contained in a shell that struck me as remarkably realistic. There was no time when I felt Wilde was calling a spade an implement for cultivation or some such silly phrase. His writing is always clear and to the point. The most ‘flowery’ language is perhaps when he is describing the perfumes Gray becomes fascinated in and seeks to understand ‘what there was in frankincense that made one mystical, and in ambergris that stirred one’s passions’, but even this is hardly as romantic or less real than TS Eliot’s (that most ‘modern’ of writers) “In vails of ivory and coloured glass / Unstoppered, lurked her strange synthetic perfumes,” Even at his most flowery, Wilde is hardly ‘unrealistic’.

I came to this book expecting it to be much ‘sillier’ than it turned out to be. I’ve no idea why I thought this – perhaps because I knew that the central idea of the book was that a man has an odd relationship with a painting in that he stays young while the painting gets old. But the book wasn’t nearly as silly as I thought it would be. I really did enjoy it.
...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Paul Bryant rated it really liked it

Shelves: novels

I don't know what I was quite expecting here. It's a psychological horror story with a lot of comic relief, in the form of the endless witty paradoxes. After page 30 you are thinking that if Lord Henry makes just one more crack you're going to knock his monocle off his family crest and grind it underfoot. Oscar often clearly thinks he's being hilarious with his wit with a capital W – and maybe it's me, but Oscar Wilde often sounds like a parody of Oscar Wilde, like in the Monty Python sketch

WHIS ...more

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Oct 19, 2018 Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥ rated it it was amazing

I really don't know why goodreads deleted the rating of my favourite book, but as it seems it happened?! O_o

WTH? *lol*
Well anyway, of course it's a five star, did you expect any different? XD

I'll definitely reread it one day and will write a proper review, because this book deserves such an awesome in-depth review that 3.500 words certainly won't be enough! *lol*

One day, this screen page is going to crack with my gushing.
That's a promise! ;-P

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Dec 05, 2017 Johann (jobis89) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

"Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic."

Under the influence of a captivating aristocrat, Dorian Gray sells his soul in exchange for prolonged youth and vitality. Part of the deal is that a full-length portrait of Dorian will age and record his sins, whereas he remains unblemished.

Picking one quote from this book was like being asked to read just one book for the rest of your life - nigh-on impossible. I hadn't even thought about how difficult it would be until Tes "Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic."

Under the influence of a captivating aristocrat, Dorian Gray sells his soul in exchange for prolonged youth and vitality. Part of the deal is that a full-length portrait of Dorian will age and record his sins, whereas he remains unblemished.

Picking one quote from this book was like being asked to read just one book for the rest of your life - nigh-on impossible. I hadn't even thought about how difficult it would be until Tes (instagram @paperbackbones) pointed this out and then I got sucked into a vortex of reading different Wilde quotes online... that man was a goddamn genius.

This book has achieved a significant title in my reading life; the title of "Favourite Classic". It totally blew me away. To be honest, I only vaguely knew the storyline before picking this one up having encountered Dorian Gray in the TV show Penny Dreadful, but not the specific story that Wilde had created. I didn't think it would be so dark, so I was pleasantly surprised. The writing itself was just another level, quite possibly the most beautiful writing that I've had the pleasure of reading. As my buddy reader Abbie (instagram @ab_reads) and I discussed with each other, we quickly recognised so many quotes that are widely known and can easily be found on places like Pinterest.

The three main characters are really interesting, it seems to be that Dorian Gray represents a "normal person," Lord Henry is the bad influence, and Basil is the voice of reason. Dorian Gray himself is incredibly intriguing, at the beginning he is presented as the perfect specimen, and he is vain, but this vanity is only worsened following conversations with Lord Henry wherein he reminds Dorian that his favourable characteristics won't last forever. He wishes that he could forever resemble the picture of youth that Basil has captured in his painting, which is where things begin to go downhill...

Although Dorian is indeed captivating, I felt like a lot of my attention was actually placed on Lord Henry. He is the standout character from this story for me. His sass, his insights, his wit, his intelligence, it felt like Lord Henry was a representation of Oscar Wilde himself. And Dorian quickly falls under his spell. It's also interesting that although Lord Henry speaks of pursuing immoral behaviour, he himself never partakes in any. Perhaps towards the end of the book, he may lose some of his likability for other readers, but I still was a fan (I can't help but smile at his insights).

I honestly could talk about this book forever and the different themes that are found within, but this is not school and I'm not trying to achieve extra credit, so I'll keep those thoughts to myself! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this classic and I'm particularly thankful that my boyfriend bought this book for me, as otherwise I'm not sure I ever would have picked it up. And now he'll be smug *rolls eyes* But this gets all the stars!! I loved it! ...more

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Jun 25, 2014 Lisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die

We are living the life of Dorian Gray.

We sacrifice our souls to the illusion of beauty and youth. We are using surgery and photoshopping to hide the real portrait of ourselves growing older and darker as our pleasures feel more and more hollow by sheer repetition. The likes of Bret Easton Ellis, who try to depict the "sinful" lives of modern-day Dorians, are less shocking than tedious and boring.

We are constantly looking for instant gratification to soothe our nerves: new foods, new clothes, ...more

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Jan 31, 2020 Val ⚓️ Shameless Non-Snowflake ⚓️ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 0-in-my-library-read, clear-my-bookshelf-challenge, 4-stars, classics-challenge

Last year, I challenged myself to read one classic a month...

...And it pretty much took me all of last year to finish just this book...and Peter Pan - AKA the two shortest classics I have in my library. So there's that...

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Now lesser mortals might be embarrassed by this; but, thankfully, I am completely and utterly secure in the magnificence of my mediocrity...and so I shall merely endeavor another try.

I'm sure the classic I select for 2020 (see how I've adjusted my standards and accepted that it ...more

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Feb 03, 2014 Fabian rated it it was amazing

Perfect, exquisite, everything that was promised to you. This one has quite a high degree of FOLLOW THROUGH. "Gray" is majestic, about the superficial love for oneself. It poses many questions, & as a book of ideas, perhaps the most innovatory in the latter part of the 19th century of them all, it is exactly what a reader wants. Absolute flawlessness, like the young Dorian himself. It's ESSENTIAL. Indeed, at the pinnacle of Gay Lit. Comes to us in the rare tradition of too-good-to-be-trueness, a ...more

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Jun 17, 2020 Greta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, best-reviews

“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”

The simple plot of the most immoral Victorian novel:
A painter paints a portrait of a beautiful young man named Dorian Gray, who exchanges his soul for eternal youth. The portrait starts to age for him, while he keeps his beauty. But the portrait doesn‘t just age, it reflects all his sins and evil. Thereby the portrait eventually turns to the devil, while Dorian stays indifferent to his actions.

The book in a pict ...more

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Nov 22, 2017 Leo . rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great story. Imagine being immortal. Wow! To still be around after hundreds of years. One thing is true, you would know what really happened in the past. Let's face it you would have witnessed something first hand. And today you would read the modern history books and maybe, just maybe...Lol!

All history is just what it means. His. Story. History was predominantly written by men. Left brain and in a draconian way. Most History was written by monks on behest of the Vatican!
History to me, whomever Great story. Imagine being immortal. Wow! To still be around after hundreds of years. One thing is true, you would know what really happened in the past. Let's face it you would have witnessed something first hand. And today you would read the modern history books and maybe, just maybe...Lol!

All history is just what it means. His. Story. History was predominantly written by men. Left brain and in a draconian way. Most History was written by monks on behest of the Vatican!
History to me, whomever wrote it, is theory, opinion and conjecture. How one perceives history is down to the individual. One does not know what happened if one was not there to witness it. Yes it can be read in a book but, who wrote it? There are conflicting views of history in all books. Different cultures have differing stories of how events happened. Who knows which is telling the truth? Normally the victors would write whatever they wanted, who could argue? It is only his story after all. That is all well and good but, when it is taught in schools and becomes the mainstream then any other debate that says other wise is ridiculed, attacked and (excommunicated) pushed to one side as pseudoscience. It goes against the grain. Information has to stay linear in a civilized society. It has to be taught in schools and universities so the pupils can graduate, owe the state bucket loads of money, and become good civil servants and carry on with the flow of information they have learned, and repeat it over and over. And teach it to the next generation, and the next. All going the right way. The official way. That is what information is. IN. FORMATION. Linear. Ordered. Left brain. Masculine.
My story is a mystery, unless I tell somebody else, then it becomes His Story. It is still just a story after all.

I always wondered if the word Heresy derives from Her Say, like a woman's view point. It makes sense considering women were persecuted and not allowed to speak back then. The church was a male dominance over the female. How times have changed. Women were not allowed to do anything. They were basically property. There is a reason why the male orientated church suppressed the female, because they are aware that women are the creative of the two genders. The sacred feminine. This is why our history and the world is so riddled with war and violence. Having said that, it is more a spiritual trait. Take Oscar Wilde. He had the more feminine spirit inside of him and he was persecuted for being gay. He was a man but he had the creative essence of the female.🐯👍

Oscar Wilde, he was a gentle man, a creative mind

A genius, a story teller, great prose, he left behind

Persecuted, hounded, sentenced, for being gay

A masterpiece, The Picture Of Dorian Gray

How times have moved on! One might say

How ironic, how this brilliant mind, is revered and celebrated today. 👍🐯 ...more

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Jan 13, 2018 Peter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literary-fiction, classic

Consequence
The Picture of Dorian Gray, apart from being a classic work of literature and written by one of the greatest writers of all time, is a book that has readers searching for meaning and it opens up a debate on the consequences of our actions. The consequence of remaining young and transferring the ageing process to a portrait was more than just the outward reflection of Dorian Gray, it also affected his internal soul and moral compass. Along with the painter Basil Hallward and his asso ...more

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Apr 11, 2014 Kalliope rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: britain, art, 2014, france, ireland

Funny how books are moulded by the circumstances in which they have been read.

In Dorian Gray, some of its aspects are very easy to grasp and do not need great explanations.

For example, Wilde’s epigrammatic style is so very distinct. I have had a lot of fun selecting quotes and peppered with them my reading progress.

His sentences are like small diamonds. They can be held and set against the light and moved around so that their different facets will shine and reflect the world around them. They a ...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Jonathan Terrington rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: classic readers, those who enjoy morals

Shelves: personal-favourites, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, classic-literature, gothic

The Picture of Dorian Gray could also be titled A Portrait of the Human Soul, for in his dark and tragic commentary Oscar Wilde spares no liberties in discussing morality, religion, society and the depths of the human condition. It is a deeply moving and inspired novel centering around the defining power of art. It is not an easy novel to read with its dark elements. For in paying heed to Dorian Gray's demise one is drawn into a reflection of their own spiritual condition.

For those who have no i ...more

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Mar 20, 2018 Khush rated it it was amazing

A wonderful book. Wilde was anything but subaltern.

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Reading the Classics: The Picture of Dorian Gray - Nov 8-14: C5-9	4	8	Nov 15, 2020 03:36PM
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About Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde

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Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories, and one novel. Known for his biting wit, and a plentitude of aphorisms, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially The Importance of Being ...more