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The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only novel written by Oscar Wilde, first published in 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, and then in an expanded version in 1891. The work has become a classic of English literature and a cornerstone of the Decadent movement. It blends aesthetics, philosophy, morality, and a critique of Victorian society through a story that is both mysterious and disturbing.
The plot follows Dorian Gray, a young man of remarkable beauty, who becomes the muse of painter Basil Hallward. Swayed by the cynical discourse of Lord Henry Wotton, a hedonistic aristocrat who advocates the pursuit of pleasure above all else, Dorian makes a fateful wish: that the portrait Basil painted of him would age in his place, while he himself remains eternally young. This supernatural wish comes true. As Dorian plunges into a life of debauchery, manipulation, and selfishness, his appearance remains untouched—but the portrait gradually deteriorates, reflecting the corruption of his soul.
Over the years, Dorian commits a series of moral transgressions without ever paying the physical price. He abandons lovers, causes the deaths of several people—most notably Sibyl Vane, a young actress he seduces and cruelly rejects, and Basil himself, whom he murders. The painting becomes increasingly grotesque, mirroring every act of cruelty and vice. Terrified that someone might uncover his secret, Dorian locks the portrait away in a hidden room.
Haunted by his conscience and the growing ugliness of the painting, Dorian ultimately seeks redemption. He attempts a good deed but realizes that even this gesture is rooted in vanity. Unable to escape his guilt, he stabs the portrait in a desperate act of self-destruction. His servants later discover an old man, hideously disfigured, lying dead at the foot of a now-beautiful painting. Dorian, at last, bears the physical marks of his sins.
The novel raises essential questions about beauty, morality, hedonism, the soul, and the consequences of our choices. It also exposes the hypocrisy of Victorian society, which glorifies appearances while condemning the very desires it provokes.
Oscar Wilde, born in 1854 in Dublin, was one of the most brilliant and controversial literary figures of his time. Renowned for his wit, epigrams, and flamboyant style, Wilde was a sharp critic of bourgeois morality, a champion of art for art’s sake, and a refined provocateur. The Picture of Dorian Gray reflects both his aesthetic ideals and his personal struggles with society and sexuality. In 1895, Wilde was convicted of homosexuality and sentenced to two years in prison. Upon his release, broken and disgraced, he went into exile in France, where he died in poverty in 1900.
With this novel, Wilde created a work as beautiful as it is unsettling—a mirror held up to a society that, like Dorian, chooses to ignore the damage caused by its obsession with perfection.
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