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The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

Start date: April 1, 2024

Finish date: May 1, 2024

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Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf Group Read, April 2024
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Revisit the Shelf Group Read, April 2024
Previous Group Reads:
- Revisit the Shelf Group Read Oct 2021
- Revisit the Shelf Group Read Nov 2016
- Revisit the Shelf Group Read, July 2014
- Revisit the Shelf Group Read, October 2013
- Book of the Month, October 2011

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What Members Thought

Feb 25, 2010 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, audio-books, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, victorians, read-2010

A masterpiece by Oscar Wilde.

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Mar 29, 2011 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, classics, library-loan, drama, read-2011, victorians

A masterpiece by Oscar Wilde. I must agree with Bettie, how many times we will read this thrilling book?

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Apr 11, 2008 Jenny rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is definitely a disturbing book. I think there is great worth in reading it, particularly when paired with a book such as Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Contrasting Dorian's sordid downfall with with the heroic ascension of Uncle Tom or Jean Valjean is particularly beneficial.

The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with Dorian, a young and handsome gentleman who is involved with philanthropy, sitting for a portrait The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is definitely a disturbing book. I think there is great worth in reading it, particularly when paired with a book such as Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe or Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Contrasting Dorian's sordid downfall with with the heroic ascension of Uncle Tom or Jean Valjean is particularly beneficial.

The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with Dorian, a young and handsome gentleman who is involved with philanthropy, sitting for a portrait while his new friend, Lord Henry, a sarcastic and hedonistic man of society, watches on. Dorian is described as being “unspotted from the world” and his beauty inspires the artist to his very best work. Lord Henry exclaims how lovely the portrait has turned out, but laments that it is too bad that the picture will stay young forever, whereas Dorian will eventually age and lose his youth and beauty. A vexed Dorian makes a wish that he will stay timeless and the picture will age instead of him.

Taking Lord Henry as a mentor, Dorian sets out to apply Lord Henry's selfish and narcissistic worldview into nearly every facet of his life. In time, Dorian realizes that his wish has magically come true. He remains beautiful, while his painting takes on all the consequences of his wicked actions. As the debased Dorian sins more and more, the picture becomes more hideous and tortures Dorian's soul.

Despite being filled with Wilde's signature wit, this is a haunting story showing the consequence of selfish character and the downfall of the soul due to despicable and hideous behaviors. Dorian loses his inner beauty long before he realizes that his soul's ugliness will destroy him.

It's interesting to note that he chooses a French novel as his own Core Book, a personal classic which guided him throughout his life. In comparison, Uncle Tom and Jean Valjean both chose the Bible as their Core book. Near the end of the book, Dorian laments, "You poisoned me with a book once. I should not forgive that. Harry, promise me that you will never lend that book to any one. It does harm." Wilde clearly shows that books exert an amazing influence over our lives. We must be wise in our choice of what we read. As Thoreau once said, "Read the best books first, or you may not have the chance to read them at all." I would only add to that, "Read the best books most often, for they will color your soul." ...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Maggie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: boxall-1001, horror, guardian-1000, fiction, fantasy, classics, gothic, irish

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book just didn't draw me in. Perhaps it's because I knew the basic premise of the book before I read it, so the plot didn't hold many surprises for me. However there were some parts that I liked very much – I enjoyed in particular Lord Henry's epigrams, which were paradoxical and politically incorrect, but often embarrassingly true. His cynical views on the hypocrisy of aristocrats continue to hold some truth in today's world, where we so often keep up good appearances as a mask for shadier This book just didn't draw me in. Perhaps it's because I knew the basic premise of the book before I read it, so the plot didn't hold many surprises for me. However there were some parts that I liked very much – I enjoyed in particular Lord Henry's epigrams, which were paradoxical and politically incorrect, but often embarrassingly true. His cynical views on the hypocrisy of aristocrats continue to hold some truth in today's world, where we so often keep up good appearances as a mask for shadier things in our hearts. Much has been made about Wilde's homosexuality and the homoerotic undertones between Dorian Gray, Lord Henry, Basil Hallward, and to a lesser extent other male characters in the novel as well. I won't delve into that subject. But what surprised me was that although booksellers initially refused to stock the book because it was "not made sufficiently clear that the writer does not prefer a course of unnatural iniquity to a life of cleanliness, health, and sanity", I found that the book held powerful lessons on morality.

Firstly, we see the dangers of trying to please the senses without pleasing the conscience. Dorian keeps pursuing new sensations and emotions merely to excite his senses, regardless of whether this pursuit leads to good or evil. This hedonism leads him down a road of evil after evil, with more desires fulfilled and more people compromised. Even his decision to be good at the end is fuelled partly by a desire for a new experience. Yet Dorian is never happy. He constantly struggles with guilt. This is partly due to his hatred of the ugliness of the portrait, but he is also genuinely plagued by his conscience. Because of his guilt he cannot attain the satisfaction he expects, while his soul gets progressively darker. In living for himself, he ironically ends up fighting against his true nature and its promptings.

We also see the emptiness of chasing superficial beauty. One chapter is composed almost entirely of lists of exquisite luxuries like perfume, music and jewelry. Yet there is a sense that Dorian’s obsession with beauty is driven by insatisfaction, that no matter how much fine art he indulges in, he can never be satisfied. He wants greater heights of beauty, and what he gets is never enough. Whether Wilde intended it or not, there is a spiritual message here, that there is only emptiness if we strive for material gains on earth; only the eternal riches that we gain through Christ can ever satisfy us completely.

Related to this is the folly of man’s desires. All of Dorian’s problems stem from his rash wish that the portrait that Basil painted of him would grow old, but that he himself would never age in appearance. Isn’t that what we all want, the freedom of doing whatever we want without facing the consequences of our actions? But when Dorian sees that this freedom leads him to monstrosity, he changes his mind, and one of my favourite quotes from the book follows: “There was purification in punishment. Not ‘Forgive us our sins,’ but ‘Smite us for our iniquities’ should be the prayer of a man to a most just God.” Truly the desires of man’s heart are foolish compared to the wisdom of God!

There were other biblical parallel too, and again I don’t know if these were intended. The portrait reminded me of Jesus: it is perfect, Basil’s finest work of art. Just like how Jesus bore the punishment for our sins, the portrait bears the punishment for Dorian’s sins. And when Dorian destroys the portrait at the end, it becomes clean and beautiful again, just like how Jesus’ death was followed by his resurrection. Another biblical parallel is Lord Henry to the serpent of Genesis. Just like how the serpent tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge and thus introduced them to sin, Lord Henry opened Dorian’s eyes to the knowledge of his youth and beauty and thereby introduced him to the world of sin.

I found it interesting too that Wilde seldom stated explicitly what Dorian’s sins are. We know that his closest friends end up either being destroyed or hating him, but we are not told why. We know that he goes to shady houses, but apart from his trip to the opium den, we don’t know what happens in these houses. Many would look at Wilde’s background and assume that homosexuality is involved in these sins, but Wilde’s purpose is revealed in the preface: “It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.” The activities that we imagine Dorian to be engaging in are meant to be reflections of our conception of evil.

There are many other interesting themes in this book, including art for the sake of art, appearance versus reality, how life and art influence each other. I won’t pretend to understand all that Wilde tried to convey, but I find him an interesting character.I ...more

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