Who's your favourite character from Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray"?

[Lindsay]

Most definitely one of the most captivating books I've read in a while although most of the characters were not at all likeable (which obviously adds to the irony) but I feel like this would be an interesting discussion and I'd like to see some objective thinking.

[Ola]

This is my favorite book, but I hate all the characters in it. Every one of them represents something that is bad in human beings. Dorian for example is naïve and greedy. Basil has an obsessive personality. Sybil is gullible and delusional. And don't even get me started on Lord Henry! But, this is what makes this book interesting.

[Lindsay]

Yes I completely agree that's the same impression I got from it, I think of all the characters I hated Dorian the most and he was the protagonist, I think this may be the only book I've read where every character was horrible in some way.

[Read On!]

I loved Lord Henry by far. There's a lot of the real Oscar Wilde in him.

[Katrina♡••]

My favourite character was Dorian.I think he was a good person but due to very bad influence he was misled.

[Jc]

I like Lord Henry...

[Delphic]

I am half way through the book at the moment, so maybe I don't have the right to express any opinion as yet, but I am totally amazed by this book -- I love it. So, it is my excitement writing now. I don't know why my feelings are contradicting the common feelings so much, but I like all three main characters because they all seem to have the "faults" of human beings: the introvert artist, the I-know-everything Lord Henry and Dorian who is in search of his identity. All three in their own charm are great philosophers of life.

[Phani Tholeti]

Most disgusting characters - I mean it's not tough to hate anyone in it (except the brother of the theatre artist? Don't remember his name - been quite a time since I read it). Most dark book. And yet, it has some magic.
Dorian is probably my pick.

[Tina]

Phani Tholeti wrote: "Most disgusting characters - I mean it's not tough to hate anyone in it (except the brother of the theatre artist? Don't remember his name - been quite a time since I read it). Most dark book. And ..." I agree with you. James Vane is probably the most positive character in this book.

[Prarthi]

Is it weird that I like Lord Henry? He is not moral or likeable but nearly every sentence he says makes you think.

[Lindsay]

Yes I think Lord Henry was certainly likeable because of his charm and I found everything he said really quite fascinating. I do think that's what Wilde was trying to do though, make him likeable even though everything he was saying to Dorian was like poison.

[Alex]

I think that somehow Oscar Wilde can be found in Dorian Gray as in Harry Wotton as well.

I guess that the positive characters from this book are Sybil Vane and the painter Basil.

It is very hard to pick a favorite but I think I would choose Dorian....because he's charming. Also, he is the only character that we can see evoluating from that shy and pure young soul to the position of a murderer and after that the position of a man that admits that his evil part has poached his soul and try to escape from guilt by committing suicide.

[Osman]

Dorian, of course! It's been a while since I read this, but the one character I still remember most clearly is him. I never thought of him as being good, not even at first. He just didn't have a real chance to be bad, like most of us. And I think that's why he's so memorable. Evil can sometimes be good, at least in a read.

[John]

Dorian, what a spoiled brat!
Lord Henry, the lord of clever, humorous quips!

[Prarthi]

Mary wrote: "Yes spoiled but interesting."

Why do you say spoiled?

[Prarthi]

yes, but he was also very unspoiled in the way that he was not ignorant. Spoiled people are ignorant about the problems in society - Lord Henry brought to light the problems through his interesting remarks

[Naomi]

I'm going to admit, I really love Dorian. Though he is an awful human.

[Katrina♡••]

Naomi wrote: "I'm going to admit, I really love Dorian. Though he is an awful human."

I feel the same!

[Budd]

I detested every character. Sybil's brother maybe.

[Prarthi]

Budd wrote: "I detested every character. Sybil's brother maybe."

I would say her brother was chauvinistic since he was so domineering but I think every male in the novel was - Basil wasn't so bad

[Budd]

Prarthi wrote:"I would say her brother was chauvinistic since he was so domineering but I think every male in the novel was - Basil wasn't so bad"

Given the time period of the novel the brother was in the norm with his chauvinism. He may have been a nod to Ahab. Spent his life searching for something and in the process destroys himself.

[Prarthi]

Budd wrote: "Prarthi wrote:"I would say her brother was chauvinistic since he was so domineering but I think every male in the novel was - Basil wasn't so bad"

Given the time period of the novel the brother wa..."

Interesting thought, never related The Picture of Dorian Gray to Moby Dick

[NzingaMarie]

My favorite was actually Basil. He was a passionate artist. Of course, he was a little obsessive over Dorian, but it was because Dorian's presence gave him back a passion for his work.

[Yu]

Does anyone know wny similar characters like lord Henry?

[Kelly]

I loved Dorian as a character (not necessarily as a person lol) To be honest, I thought for a very long time in the book that Lord Henry was the Devil. He was always telling Dorian to do things and to live his life and when Dorian was upset over... the woman... Lord Henry was just all get over it. So yeah, Yu, any book that has a 'devilish' character might be great for someone like Lord Henry.

The only thing coming to mind right now is Dracula and that doesn't exactly fit. I'm drawing a blank, but I'll keep it in mind and see if I can think of any.

[Yu]

I love Henry Wotton, he is very charming

[Mohamad]

I believe that Lord Henry was the Engine of this book, besides his philosophy and deep understandings of the other characters and situations is what made him the center of attention...

[Segh]

Mohamad wrote: "I believe that Lord Henry was the Engine of this book, besides his philosophy and deep understandings of the other characters and situations is what made him the center of attention..."

Kelly wrote: "I loved Dorian as a character (not necessarily as a person lol) To be honest, I thought for a very long time in the book that Lord Henry was the Devil. He was always telling Dorian to do things and..."

I hadn't thought of it until your comment, but yes, Lord Henry reminds me of the the devil in the Garden of Eden using his charm and slippery words to open the eyes of the unspoiled Dorian to the 'delights' of a selfish and decadent life style.

[Reh]

Lord Henry is by far my favorite character in this book. Although he is the one who triggers the plot and makes Dorian "turn evil" (and still, Dorian's moral change is not that simple), Lord Henry is the only one who really knows what is going on. He does not interfere much, but rather observes in order to see how Dorian's story will end. Finally, his irony and wit are just perfect, characters like this are one of the reasons why I love reading Oscar Wilde.

[Wang]

Lord Henry.
I never completely understand what a devil may be in reality until I read this book. For me Lord Henry seems like a patient hunter who sets various traps to allure Dorian and makes him to corrupt himself.
His philosophy of life is somewhat vile and is difficult to comprehend. As a ESL reader comprehending those cryptic opinions expressed by Lord Henry takes me a lot of time but the whole process is quite satisfying.

[Lottie]

I feel bad for Basil. Poor guy just wanted to do a nice painting of his friend/secret crush and ended up making his life hell. Lord Henry's an interesting character but his constant 'I'm so witty' dialogue got on my nerves - which I think is the point.