The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)

The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
Blackstone Publishing
Fiction, Horror/Literary Fiction
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: Dorian Gray is the very vision of innocent, aristocratic youth, the perfect muse to the London artist Basil Hallward - and the perfect potential protégé of the decadent Lord Henry, who visits Basil's studio during one of Dorian's sessions. When the lord's offhand comments about the fleeting nature of youth and beauty strike a chord with young Dorian, the man impulsively vows that he'd sell his very soul to remain forever as young and handsome and untouched by sin and time as his painted image. Little do any of them suspect that Dorian's wish has been granted. As Dorian falls further under Henry's corrupting influence, pushing himself to experience fully every impulse, every sensation, every desire and whim and darkness a human can aspire to, he retains the visage of purity and innocence... but the painting begins to change...

REVIEW: Once more, I attempt to experience a work of classic literature, and once more I encounter mixed results. The iconic tale of a young man who finds a way to (temporarily) cheat damnation and avoid consequences for his actions remains interesting and compelling, but once again Wilde drifts and meanders and circles around the story as often as he tells it.
From the start, there is something special about the titular portrait, as the artist Basil laments to his friend Lord Henry that Dorian Gray has become a muse, an ideal, and that consequently Basil has put "too much" of himself into the work. Almost from the moment Henry sets eyes on the young Dorian, though, the lord is determined to corrupt the innocence and beauty he sees there, not out of any particular malice or master plan but more as an experiment by a man bored of his own idle richness (and perhaps a touch of unacknowledged jealousy and resentment, his own days of youth and innocence having long since passed by). Dorian, having been sheltered much of his young life, is too easy a prey to resist, taking Henry's cynical, hedonistic, and often self-contradictory orations as gospel truth and inspiration to live his own life as fully and sensually and extremely as he can manage. He does not set out immediately to taste-test the seven deadly sins, but finds his way there soon enough, galvanized by an ill-advised crush on a low-end actress that takes a tragic turn. It is after this incident that he first notices the change in the painting, first realizes that his impulsive vow of long ago has somehow come true... and first comprehends that the painting might serve as either a guide to keep him on the moral path or a "get out of jail free" card that will allow him to indulge every impulse without consequence. The artist Basil and Lord Henry are the angel and demon on his shoulders respectively, though it's clear from that first day in Basil's studio which voice will ultimately win out over Dorian's conscience. There are a few moments where Dorian is presented with options and a chance to turn around, but he remains too convinced that he'll never have to pay the ever-mounting bill of his ever-more-depraved lifestyle, until a final and fateful reckoning.
As in other Wilde works I've read, the tale is heavily embroidered and padded with long side-trips and scenes that ultimately go nowhere but are full of rich sensory details and/or clever high-brow banter. Much of Dorian's descent is less explicitly stated and more implied and hinted at, with dark rumors and reputations gathering like storm clouds over him despite his eternal good looks and charm, the increasing toll of broken lives in his wake. I am glad I finally got around to this one, and I did enjoy the memorable imagery at several points, though once more I found myself wishing it had encountered a somewhat less timid editor at some point.

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