Oscar Wilde - The Portrait of Dorian Gray

Life of Oscar Wilde

Wild was born in Dublin in 1854 and died in Paris in 1900. Wilde studied at
Trinity College in Dublin where he was an excellent student;
After that there was a period of travel in which the writer committed himself
to teaching.
He soon married and had two children but despite this marriage he was
denounced and imprisoned on charges of being homosexual, which at the
time was considered a true crime for the conduct of a man of his rank.
The central theme of the novel The Portrait of Dorian Gray is the deep desire
to obtain and keep eternal youth.
The portrait of Dorian Gray is considered by many critics and scholars to be
a symbol in the literary movement of aestheticism.
This is one of Wild most popular works.
It was published in 1890, but some scenes were censored so there was also
a second edition in 1891.

The novel
The novel begins with Dorian Gray, a young man of exceptional beauty, who
is portrayed by his painter friend Basil Hallward in a painting of extraordinary
resemblance.
Basil was a calm man and he loved Dorian gray very much.
Basil con des that he put his soul into that painting.
Fascinated by the cynical Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian discovers his beauty
but realizes it won't last forever.
A phrase that struck me very much in the novel is “beauty is superior to
genius as it needs no explanation”.
So Dorian lets himself go to a life of pleasure without any moral scruple,
making those who love him su er.
He also decides to give up his soul in exchange for eternal youth.
Dorian and Wotton become very close friends. Dorian becomes passionate
about theater where he meets Sybil, a very beautiful girl who falls in love with
him.
He lefts his girlfriend Sybil after she tell him how much she was in love with
him.
Sybil commited suicide after that.
Later Dorian meets again Basil, after 18 years, who judges him and tells him
that he didn’t agree with the life he had chosen to lead.
So he was very angry and kills basil.
No trace of such depravity remains on Dorian's face. He doesn’t age.
His beauty never fades. By a strange secret the portrait aged in his place.
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 After regretting all his actions, he returns to Wotton to tell him he wanted to
change his life. Lord Wotton makes jokes of the fact that it’s impossible for
him to change his life now.
Dorian comes home very sad.
Here he starts to think about whether it is possible to change his life right
now.
The frightening face of the picture, which Dorian goes to look at in secret,
becomes so heavy for him, to the point that he can no longer stand it.
In a moment of desperation he cuts himself in the painting with a knife.
But hitting the painting, which contains his soul, means hitting himself and
Dorian dies.
A double metamorphosis takes place: the painting returns to that of a
splendid young man while on Dorian's face the signs of old age and his
horrible life appear.

In my opinion…
This story is very particular because Oscar Wilde puts his three personalities
inside.
First of all Dorian Gray- who is the person that Oscar Wilde would like to look
like.
Then there is Lord Watton- who is as everyone sees Oscar Wilde: a man who
cares only about ideals and art.
And nally Basil, the painter with Oscar Wilde identi es himself.
It can be considered a philosophical, fantastic and even a little gothic novel.
I enjoyed reading this book because it taught me how insigni cant physical
beauty is.
I think that the beauty of the soul is the only thing that is really worth growing
for a long time.
And it also taught me that the least important things can be the most
destructive.
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