The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Summary:

Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life, indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence.

About the Author:

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet, playwright and author. He was a well-known personality in Victorian England, famous for his witty conversation skills and flamboyant clothes. Oscar Wilde was sentenced to 2 years hard labour for gross indecency with other males. He was pardoned posthumously in 2017. The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in 1890.

Rating:

3 stars - ★★★☆☆

Review:

I was very excited to read The Picture of Dorian Gray, the concept seemed really unusual. However, I am disappointed to say that I didn’t love it. It is very clearly a product of its time, and Oscar Wilde was obviously working through some things in the writing of it, but it just didn’t hit the way I was expecting it to. I was hoping for a really dark gothic horror that kept me on the edge of my seat with the dark atmosphere and shocking stories of Dorian’s depravity. But it was really only hinted at throughout the book, mainly in other people’s discussions. Generally I found it too slow, there was not enough action and too much philosophical talking.

It felt like it took me ages to read The Picture of Dorian Gray. I had seen that it was a short book but it just kept going on and on. And it took ages to get to the point. The blurb said that Dorian “sold his soul” so I was expecting some kind of devil/witch kind of character to actually sell his soul to, but it was just a wish made and by chance it came true. I was expecting more drama to the whole story. It was difficult to tell when the story began. Dorian, Henry and Basil spend an awful lot of time just chatting at the beginning and not a lot happens. It’s really up until the Sybil Vane storyline that the scene is being set and we don’t even know that Dorian Gray’s wish has come true.

This is terrible and probably shows how influenced by modern writing I am now, but I found that Oscar Wilde was far too explicitly opinionated in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The story was lost in the message of the book. I’m all for expressing your opinion through your writing but make it less obvious. If you want to write an essay, why not do that instead of a story. I do feel sorry for Oscar Wilde because it felt like he had written himself as Dorian Gray and then was saying that everything Dorian was doing was wrong and immoral. So I do feel for him in that way. But I was expecting something a bit more horrific, more details of what Dorian got up to, to make his portrait so terrible. More stories and sadness for the people around Dorian.

My favourite part was the trip to the opium den near the end of the book. It gave me a bit of the insight that I wanted into the terrible things that Dorian Gray was getting up to. I didn’t love the really descriptive bit in the middle talking about fabrics and jewels. I didn’t really get the significance. Did it have a hidden meaning that I was too bored to understand? I skimmed over this bit in the end, I must confess.

The characters were memorable but almost too black and white. There were obviously good characters who were perfect (Basil and Sybil), and obviously bad characters (Dorian and Henry) who had no redeeming qualities. It would have been nice to have a little more haziness in their characters. I think the stark separation made them slightly unbelievable. My favourite character was Basil Hallward as he was really the only good character that was really trying to help. My least favourite was Henry Wotton for being so thoughtless and destructive. 

One thing I would like to know is who was the old lady who recognised Dorian Gray in the opium den and who knew his nickname of ‘Prince Charming’. I was expecting her to have some kind of significance later on in the story but she was never mentioned again. 

I didn’t think the writing was particularly atmospheric. I didn’t feel pulled into the story. I don’t think I’m capable of remembering one setting, except maybe the garden at Basil Hallward’s house in the beginning of the book. I wanted more dark and moody scenes to really get that gothic horror vibe going.

I feel like Wilde was almost trying to punish himself in The Picture of Dorian Gray which I really feel badly about. He obviously feels quite guilty about the way that he had chosen to live his life. I would like Oscar Wilde to live in our times where he wouldn’t have to feel so terrible about himself.

My modern views and experience of contemporary writing has affected my enjoyment of The Picture of Dorian Gray. I know that at the time of publication, it was probably very controversial to even be writing about drugs and such, but it just doesn’t have the same effect now. I would not consider this to be horror, it’s definitely gothic but not horror. 

The idea was really exciting, and there was a lot that I did enjoy. The story itself was very clever once you strip away the really long philosophical parts. Without giving too much away, there was an unexpected plot twist. I thought I knew from the start how it was going to end, but it didn’t so it was great to be surprised by that. 

I would recommend The Picture of Dorian Gray to intellectuals who are not looking for a super horrific story and people who want to learn more about Victorian mentality. Personally, I would not rush to read anything by Oscar Wilde again, although he’s mainly written poetry so his style may suit shorter pieces. 

Quotes:

“To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early or be respectable.”

“Knowledge would be fatal. It is the uncertainty that charms one. A mist makes things more wonderful.”