The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Series: Standalone
Published by Recorded Books Inc. on 2011 March 28
Genres: Fantasy, Horror
Pages: 8
Format: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed from Public Library
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A Picture of Dorian Gray is widely considered to be one of the great classics in contemporary Western literature. Dorian Gray, the subject of artist Basil Hallwards painting becomes obsessed with his own vanity, adopts a brand of hedonism that ultimately leads to his own misery and demise. Performed by the Wisdom Bridge Theatre Company for L.A. Theatre Works series Chicago Theatres on the Air . Starring Steve Juergens as Dorian Gray.
There is no other way to put this, but the Picture of Dorian Gray is tantalizingly despicable. Tagged as horror in Goodreads, I was not prepared that this is even darker than Frankenstein. The reader might at first find comfort at reading the almost poetic prose but as you delve deeper into the story, you will find that it’s almost perverse. How can the writing exude such lyricism when the story is about this boy whose life story is as deplorable as it can be? Can you imagine looking at something so horrid that it’s mesmerizing and that you cannot just stop watching as your mouth is gaping open? This is what happened to me while listening to the Picture of Dorian Gray.
Everything started nice and I was at first contented with my presumption that this book is just about a tragic romance between Dorian and his first love, Sybil Vane. And so I read, prepared to be heartbroken should tragedy befall our young lovers. I was not prepared, however, to have my stomach turned as the chapters went on and realize that this book is not just about a love affair gone wrong afterall.
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a fictionalized version of what the ugly parts of humanity is all about. This is Oscar Wilde’s expression of how the other side of humanity looks like. There’s no patchwork of human-invented monsters to be found here, only the gradual corruption of what has been once a beautiful soul. Dorian Gray, an impossibly handsome noble who’s contented with the simple pleasures of life, became so charmed by the dogma of hedonism that he forgot what matters most in life. His once regretful heart became so wrapped in vanity and arrogance that over the years that he had lived in debauchery, there was not a single thought of guilt or an iota of repentance that he felt for himself. He, himself, had normalized that debauchery, vanity, self-entitlement are just the right way to do things particularly that everyone around him is so charmed by his good looks.
The other interesting characters in this book, Lord Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward, are definitely portrayals of good and evil. Both have significantly influenced Dorian Gray’s life for the better and for the worst. Apparently, if a man is being given free reign, no proper guidance, and no sturdy moral foundation, he will give in to his baser instincts. And this is what happened to Dorian Gray. Instead of overcoming his losses and his pain, he spiraled into something more repulsive than trash.
And that ending, that ending is another lesson to be learned. Just because we are dying or on the verge of death does not mean that we instantly find in ourselves the desire for redemption. Some people are just so lost and hopeless that they even forgot that the word even existed.
To sum it all up, this was an amazing read, a journey to the complexities of humanity and that all of us are not safe from going into that twisted path that Dorian Gray took. And yes, before I forgot, the quotes that you will find in this book are just so noteworthy like this one: “The only difference between a caprice and a lifelong passion is that the caprice lasts a little longer.”