Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray has me feeling a wee bit befuddled, to be completely honest. I still don’t know how to feel about it, despite finishing it a few weeks ago, and I’m frustrated with myself that my brain can’t determine whether or not I truly enjoyed it, although I do wonder if that was Wilde’s intention.
Here is a description of the book, via goodreads.com:
“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. The Picture of Dorian Gray was a succès de scandale. Early readers were shocked by its hints at unspeakable sins, and the book was later used as evidence against Wilde at the Old Bailey in 1895.”
Like the summary states, this book follows a young man named Dorian Gray who is described as utterly remarkable – handsome, intelligent, talented and rich as hell. In the beginning of the book, he befriends two men named Basil and Harry. Basil is a painter, and upon painting a portrait of My. Gray, Basil asserts it is by far the best work he has ever done, with Dorian and Harry agreeing.
Dorian states how he yearns for his youth and beauty to remain eternal, and instead wishes for the painting of him to reflect things that are inevitable in life, such as aging. He gets his wish, although he is not rewarded in the way he originally anticipates.
I do think this story offers an important message to those of us who read it, emphasizing the dangers of greed and gluttony and the consequences that will come as a result. I do consider it a read, and not a rid, but it does leave you feeling a bit flummoxed.
