Biting wit, a well-told tale, and a
spiritual truth perfectly outlaid, these are the hallmarks of Oscar Wilde’s one
and only excursion into novel land. The Picture of Dorian Gray initially
published in 1890, Wilde played off the Faust legend to write his own tale of
moral decay, beauty, and vice.
Controversial upon its release, the book is bland by today’s publishing
standards. Its message, however, remains
as timeless as word itself.
Set at the time of the novel’s
publication, the story opens with Dorian Gray posing for the artist Basil
Hallward at the home of Lord Henry Wotton.
Basil’s tongue sharper than any knife, the conversation he has with Lord
Wotton intrigues Dorian. Coming to
believe that beauty and sensuality are the only virtues worth pursuing, Dorian
swears by the portrait Hallward produces that it will grow old, not
himself. Emerging into society a
different person, Dorian proceeds to live the life he’d sworn by, indulging in
women and the excesses of luxury at will.
The end of his hedonistic endeavors, however, is not the product of his
dreams.
