2021 EDIT:
I hardly remember this one - I think the homoeroticism, and the highlighting of class issues, snobbishness, narcissism and materialism among the 1% are the only things worth remembering about it. On an attempted reread, I know that some of the prose is nice and lovely, but mostly how it's written is not for me. How long, filler-y, excessive in ideas and philosophies, cynical and, dare I say, pretentious (specifically the dialogue exchanges, dear lord) this novel is. But I understand and respect its classic status; also its occasional, genuinely thought provoking ideas.
Final Score: 3/5
Original Review:
The most controversial classics are always the ones that stay in the reader's consciousness the most, aren't they? They are the ones that make us think, and look at the world in a real and grim light, and consider the depths of humanity in its wonderfully complex nature: that we live and have always lived in a grey area world.
And apparently that caused these writings to be deemed "ugly" or "immoral" or "sinful" at the time they were published.
'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is a great classic novel, and not because of its history, nor the "infamy" of its author, though they do play a part in its substance. It is a classic I would recommend to anyone, even people who view most old novels as boring or irrelevant. 'Dorian Gray' is anything but boring (though it has its moments of over-description of pointless things) and irrelevant. It is quite fascinating in many ways.
Here is what I got from it overall:
'Dorian Gray' is about the shallow virtue and pressure that is placed on the vanity of man. Yes, it is not just women who are being influenced to put so much emphasis on their looks and youth, like growing old isn't a natural and normal occurrence. It is about the obsessiveness with physical beauty, which can lead to egotism and bitterness in one's mental and social state.
When the reader first meets Dorian Gray himself, he is a happy young chap who has his whole life ahead of him. However, his ignorant and impressionable mind becomes influenced by Lord Henry 'Harry' Wotton. Harry is a friend of Dorian's painter Basil Hallward, and a cynical and pretentious man who always has something to say about everything. Harry's theories and philosophies about life and youth cause Dorian to become afraid of growing old and dying unsatisfied.
Once Basil's ambitious and passionate portrait of him is finished, the young lad gets exceedingly jealous of its longevity. He prays for the portrait to grow old (and to bear his sins and corruptions) for him, while he remain youthful and "good".
Yeah, be careful what you wish for, mate.
What follows is a story packed full of the meaning and intentions behind works of art, the dangers of living the dream, clever observations of society in the nineteenth century (which are relevant today), literary symbolism, and Harry's witty-though-pessimistic and thoughtless theories that shape Dorian's mind and actions.
Indeed Lord Henry can be interpreted as a devil figure in the story of Dorian Gray. Influence is a huge theme in this well-written and well-paced novel. There is the influence of receptive art, Harry's influence over Dorian in his "sinful" existence, Dorian's unwitting power over the artist Basil, and over his terrifying portrait and his off-page social and romantic relationships which are said to be often fatal. Upper and middle class people either admire, fear or loathe Dorian, and he vice versa, as he spends more time with them.
Influence can be a dreadful power for a human being to possess; and to be able to express in any form of medium. And every single person ever has the potential for it. In 'Dorian Gray', if you replace the word "influence" with "poison", it would be fitting.
And after all the young man's years of finding life's meaning (in a "poisonous" book and in ridiculous luxury), of misery and contempt for society and - ultimately - for himself, Dorian Gray finishes his own story in the novel's last couple of pages - in one of the most haunting endings I've ever read.
'The Picture of Dorian Gray' - a timeless tale with layers of clever subtext. My only complaints are that some passages are long-winded, but they get the point across, and the book is as short as it should be. And I would have liked to have it go further in its potential for drama. For example, Dorian could last longer than eighteen years with his eternal youth - up to a hundred years, maybe. And he finally loses his mind and sense of purpose, thus making the ending a bit more horrifying in its poignancy and tragedy.
But that is a minor criticism in the grand scheme of things. The writing is superb, and I do believe that Oscar Wilde was a genius too much ahead of his time. His life was as tragic as that of the chief character in his only published novel, and when Basil Hallward says that an artist cannot reveal too much about himself in his work, I think Mr Wilde was saying something about his writing 'Dorian Gray'; which took a part in his subsequent imprisonment for "indecency", and in the ruination of his life.
Oscar Wilde had a lot to say about art and its reflection of us as people, mainly in England but universally as well. This does attribute to 'Dorian Gray' being a marvellous book. But as a reading experience on its own, it is enjoyable and thought-provoking.
Both comedic and tragic, beautiful and horrifying, I highly recommend it. Mr Wilde has earned his place as one of the great classic writers.
Final Score: 4/5
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