The Picture of Dorian Gray begins with a simple yet obvious realization, but for Dorian, this offhand comment of Lord Henry Wotton is tragic. Dorian’s youth, his beauty, his remarkable and most admired quality will fade, one day leaving him a withered old man just like all others before him and around him.

Throughout the story, Dorian is repeatedly told that he is admired and adored, and his company is sought after only because he is young and charming. In the beginning, that mattered little until the moment Basil Hallward is painting the young man and Lord Wotton sets Dorian on a path that ultimately destroys his very soul.

Making a wish that he would stay young and beautiful forever, any corruption, be it time or cruelty, transfers to the painting, leaving Dorian unblemished. This descent into hedonism leaves Dorian emotionless and uncaring for those he hurts, and he becomes little more than a hollowed-out shell of his former self. He is vain and haughty and often surrounds himself with only what he sees as worthy of his time and beauty.

“The world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curves of your lips rewrite history.”

Death seems to follow Dorian, whether it be by his own hand or by another, and it is after these deaths and the steady decay of the painting that Dorian begins to attempt change. He tries to distance himself from the corrupting influence of Lord Henry, performs various good deeds, and attempts to seek forgiveness. In the end, the painting remains a gruesome reminder of his past sins, and his futile efforts lead him to the pinnacle of desperation.

“I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.”

Oscar Wilde’s ornate and elaborate descriptions, vivid imagery, and eloquent prose make Dorian’s descent into madness all the more haunting. Wilde’s prose is elegantly poetic, always provocative, and incredibly profound. It had been on my reading list for years, and at last, I gave it a read. The suspense of this particular story is slow and haunting, building to a maddening crescendo.

“Words! Mere words! How terrible they were! How clear, and vivid, and cruel! One could not escape from them. And yet what a subtle magic there was in them! They seemed to be able to give a plastic form to formless things, and to have a music of their own as sweet as that of viol or of lute. Mere words! Was there anything so real as words?”

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 American periodical Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine issue. The novel-length version was published in April 1891.

The story revolves around a portrait of Dorian Gray painted by Basil Hallward, a friend of Dorian’s and an artist infatuated with Dorian’s beauty. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton and is soon enthralled by the aristocrat’s hedonistic worldview: beauty and sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing. Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian desires to sell his soul to ensure that the picture, rather than he, will age and fade.

The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and visually records every one of Dorian’s sins.