January Classics Read - The Picture of Dorian Gray

[Srividya]

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, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.”


Let's begin 2015 with this wonderful classic. Join in to discuss and post your thoughts. Do use spoiler tags where necessary to help other readers.

[Ahtims]

Will be starting from this Sunday, as my book and I are separated for the time being. :/

[RachelvlehcaR]

I'm going to start it soon too. I love this book. One of my favorite books of all time. I am reading the uncensored version of it. The way it's intended to be read. :)

[Zaara]

I will start this next fortnight

[Purvika]

I will be starting this after Jan 6th.

[~~Poulomi Sylphrena Tonk$~~]

I'm in for this too. :)

[David]

This was actually the first book I read this year, and I was a bit disappointed. Am I missing out of something, or maybe I read it at the wrong time? I was just wondering what everyone else loved about the book...

[Ahtims]

Real beauty ends where an intellectual expression begins - In Lord Henry's opinion.
I beg to differ. I have seen beauty combined with intellect many a time.

[Ahtims]

The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world -
another exclamation which is thought provoking.
Am done with only a couple of pages, but already am drawn into the writing.

[Ahtims]

The one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties involved...
A SCARY POINT TO PONDER

[Anirudh]

How many of you have started reading the book?

[Ahtims]

Me (obviously, as I am spouting quotes)
it's chocful of quotes. Am on page 25 - just getting acquainted with the characters.

[Anirudh]

No one else?

[Zaara]

Nope Ani....im expecting this to be quick so i will get to it next week or so....

[Hajarath Prasad]

And people thought we'll just vote for Rose and leave it at that :P :P :P

I'll try to start this.. Soon

[Sarah]

I'll be reading this one in the week or so.

[Purvika]

I am starting this tomorrow....

[Anirudh]

Where are the nine people who voted for Gray? -_-

[IShita]

Dwmalu- I'm on it with you too. Though the book is brilliantly written I, personally, didn't quite find it "epic". No offense to anyone- I did enjoy the book immensely, I just think it's a bit overhyped although it deserves all the credit its got.

Rachel- are you reading an eBook? Could you please mail me a copy of that version, I've failed to find it anywhere!

[IShita]

PSmith- I can totally understand where you stand. The book is full of amazing, amazing quotes- My paperback is filled with pencil marks! Most of them by Lord Henry. His wit, as his character, is very amusing! And intriguing. I kept finding myself wanting to know what smart-ass reply he'd come up with to every situation. And his monosyllabic replies were plain brilliant! Am I the only one who finds him quite charming too? Although I won't wish a friend like him on anyone, it'd be so much fun to have an acquaintance like him!

[Ahtims]

Yes, Ishita, he's a gifted conversationist. Waiting to get more acquainted with his mind and thoughts.
so far, Dorian appears to be a limpid, insipid, chocolate hero type -the one known only for his looks. .

[IShita]

And I think that's about it, about Gray. He is bleak, gullible. Hardly uses his own mind. There were times when I just wanted to smack him for that- always acting on Henry's mind. I somewhere disliked him, as a person, for the way he treated Basil. Like he was someone he could just cut out of his life for a sudden interest in Henry!
But on the whole, I think the characters Wilde created were all masterpieces in their own unique way. It must've taken all his might for him to create Henry.

[Anirudh]

This book has some nice quotes :)

[Ahtims]

No wonder this book was banned. It really has explosive material which can wreck havoc on young and impressionable minds. Lord Henry is to be feared ; more by his friends than by his foes
Faithfulness is simply a confession of failure.
People who love only once in their lives are really shallow -
these are a few of his words which confound me and provide food for thought.

[Ahtims]

We were not sent in to this world to air our moral prejudices (Lord Henry )

[Ahtims]

52% through
(view spoiler)[
A few doubts prevail:
1. Does this belong to the genre magical realism?
2. Is there a strong element of homosexuality? implied, if not overt? the way Basil and Dorian, as well as Dorian and Henry talk doesn't seem like normal platonic talk. Or was this the way it was in the 19th century?
3. I have encountered the point where Dorian is slowly being transformed into a malevolent creature from a docile, sweet, handsome young guy. The picture is bearing the brunt of it.
4. Poor Sybil. She was foolish. Why should she commit suicide just because a foolish young man spoke rubbish! (hide spoiler)]

[Ahtims]

Why am I soliloquying here? ;-)
70 % through. Chapter 11 is full of descriptions -musical instruments, jewellery, tapestry, embroidery, world history etc. It slowed me down, but no regrets.
Oscar Wilde must have done enormous research in that era to be so knowledgeable about a variety of things.

[Anirudh]

I am on page 35. It's pretty interesting so far :-)

[Ahtims]

@ Abhay, mostly engrossing, occasionally boring.
@ Anirudh, glad to know that you find it interesting.

[Ahtims]

Chapter 11
(view spoiler)[ why does he simply sit and cry? He could burn the picture and be done with it. .or is he so embroiled in the sinful life that he wants to continue with it? (hide spoiler)]

[Ahtims]

Started with paperback, shifted to kindle. The fonts were small. (otherwise, any day paperback over ebook)

[Anirudh]

No wonder this book was controversial when it was released!

[Ahtims]

Finis
wish GR had options for cool smileys.
overall, a very readable book
total -****
quotes-*****
story -***
ending -*****

[Shinjini]

I ran here after seeing Smitha's review. :D

So tell me Smitha, what did you think about the ending? I absolutely loved it and am wondering what you felt about it. I see the 5 stars so I'm almost sure you didn't hate it. :P

[Shinjini]

I read this book in July last year. (view spoiler)[ I don't remember every detail vividly but something I do remember is that I didn't really feel for any character in the book, except maybe Basil and the actress that Dorian falls in love with. Sybil, is it? I seem to have forgotten her name.

Oscar Wilde probably made his characters as unlikable as possible but each character has something good about them. Lord Henry is obnoxious and a sexist and yet he is the one with the most quotable dialogues in the book. Dorian is pathetic, insipid, shallow and really infuriating and yet at the very beginning, he had some good in him. Henry came and destroyed all that, of course. With Basil, I think he was the nicest character in the book. Selfless and loving, he was the Good Guy. In a book that cannot be clearly marked black or white and has a lot of instances of gray(no pun intended), Basil was probably the only beacon of light. And even then I was a little annoyed that he didn't take the hint and just leave Dorian alone. But maybe it really was love...

What this book has given me is a fascinating portrayal of life in that century. It vividly described the times and I was completely engrossed in it. (hide spoiler)] Is it evident that I really loved this book? :P

[Ahtims]

Hi Shinjini,
(view spoiler)[
Overall I liked this book, though at some places in the middle I felt it could have been better.
The ending was brilliant, but I had sort of guessed it.
The other ending I envisaged was Dorian mends his ways, the picture slowly becomes less old and less vicious and he slowly ages gracefully
I liked Basil the best, as an individual.
I don;t know why Dorian is blaming him for his degradement. What can a mere portrait do?
And why in the world he did not improve himself when he saw his avarice and ills reflected upon the portrait. If it was me and my portrait, I would have daily closely studied the portrait and mend my ways so that the portrait ages healthily and gracefully, and I would have made sure that it retained atleast a considerable amount of the original innocence.
I don't even blame Henry for Dorian's downfall. Henry had his own opinions and tried to influence Dorian. But Dorian could have resisted. What spineless soul he is, if he gets influenced by Tom, Dick and Harry
Sybil, the actress too was weak. Why commit suicide if a man who did not even know you for long ditched you. I would have screamed back obscenities at Dorian and also would have caused him bodily harm.
And why on earth did all those people get spoilt by Dorian? All those young men and women! Did the author mean to say they were made drug addicts or something like that? If it is mere mental influence, it is easy to withstand.
Another thing I wondered about is whether Basil was a homosexual and Dorian and Lord Henry bisexuals, thus adding to the confusion.
Another question - Dorian was rich? I thought he was a genteel poor who had to depend on his grandparent who was just well off. But the way Dorian squanders money in his later years, without any means of occupation astonishes me.
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]
All in all a very intriguing book.
I also loved the chapters describing various art forms and places, though not much relevant to the story. (hide spoiler)]

[Anirudh]

Careful with spoilers please! :P

[Anirudh]

I like the comparison between Dorian and his portrait. As to which one is the real him.

Crying that he will get old and the portrait will not is a bit lame though :P

[Anirudh]

"Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing. "

Great Quote

[Anirudh]

I don't think I like the actress character. Quite annoying.

[Shinjini]

Anirudh wrote: "I don't think I like the actress character. Quite annoying."

Sybil is annoying but Gray isn't? :O

[Anirudh]

Shinjini wrote: "Anirudh wrote: "I don't think I like the actress character. Quite annoying."

Sybil is annoying but Gray isn't? :O"

Gray is also annoying :D So far I like Henry. We share some similar views on life :P:D

[IShita]

Anirudh wrote: "I don't think I like the actress character. Quite annoying."

That, I agree with totally!

[IShita]

(view spoiler)[ DG might have been good in the beginning but I hated him for the way he treated Basil although I don't even dislike him for what he did to him. And I think I liked him as a character because I could dislike him as a person. But of course not as much as Henry! And I kind of pitied Basil because of the same reason- he was the Good Guy. He was treated like the 'underdog' who gets ignored and gradually alienated when no one really understands his actual value. (hide spoiler)]

[Anirudh]

@Ishita, So far she is. But I am still in chapter 6

[Purvika]

I started it..and I must say.. Grey surprised me... lol.. (view spoiler)[With so much hype about him..I thought he will be some big shot of highly intimidating character. .. but he turned out to be a youngster. . So far I like Henry... The way he talks and think.. He is quite thoughtful character. I think all he talks becomes quote (hide spoiler)]

[IShita]

Anirudh wrote: "Shinjini wrote: "Anirudh wrote: "I don't think I like the actress character. Quite annoying."

Sybil is annoying but Gray isn't? :O"

Gray is also annoying :D So far I like Henry. We share some sim..."

That makes me wanna get to know you better :P XD

[IShita]

@Purvika (view spoiler)[ I think he's the perfect age keeping in mind the plot and the content of the book. He's a pretty, young lad (quite aware of the fact himself which in turn leads to him doom) who's not as smart as he thinks he is, naive and well.. gullible(?)! It's not very difficult to influence people at that age and that so happens to be Henry's forte- he's a master manipulator. I'd say Henry is more like a bureaucratic, opinionated person than thoughtful. He's evidently the best character in the book. (hide spoiler)]

[Shinjini]

Smitha, (view spoiler)[ Somewhere while I was reading the book, I felt that Dorian found some kind of sadistic pleasure in watching the portrait. He seemed to revel in being evil. In seeing the portrait like that. Yes, he was shocked but even then, I felt like he liked knowing that he is capable of doing evil things.

I really did not like Henry as a character. He has some really good quotes to his name but still, I got a little annoyed by his blatant sexism. Dorian and he really drove me mad!

Basil surely was the best of all the characters but he had a sad fate. And that too by the person he loved best. That has got to be the worst thing that happened to him.

There is a certain amount of overdescribing in the book that wasn't really required but I still liked it because it gave me a picture of society at the time.

Dorian had a lot of leverage over the other characters which is why those people did the things for him. Like taking care of the disposal of Basil's body, etc.

What is understandable about Sybil's suicide was the time this book was based in. At the time, women had very few privileges and they didn't have the courage to speak up because they were bound by familial and societal pressures. This is the only reason why Sybil's weakness didn't make me angry. I understood what she must have gone through. She was public about her love to her family and friends and at that time, getting jilted was not only looked down upon but was also taken as a testament to a person's character. No one would have ever accepted her if they came to know about it.

Sexuality was a debatable topic here. Basil, Dorian and Henry all showed homosexual tendencies and I think Wilde put that into the storyline on purpose. He himself was gay and yet he had a wife and children. Maybe Lord Henry chose the same way?

Dorian is probably neither rich nor poor in the story. His grandfather's money helps him get by but the family name helps him mingle with the upper class.

I think I have touched on all the points you mentioned. Yes, this one was a very intriguing book and one of my favourites for sure. (hide spoiler)]

[Purvika]

@Ishita (view spoiler)[ I just started so Henry seemed that way to me... let's see how he is after few chapters fly by... but yeah... One fact is sure...I don't like Dorian... (hide spoiler)]