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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty.
In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.
In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.
272 pages, Paperback
First published June 1,1890
This edition
- Format
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272 pages, Paperback
- Published
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June 1, 2004 by Random House: Modern Library
- ISBN
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- ASIN
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B0CPCB8FJQ
- Language
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English
Characters More characters
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Basil Hallward
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Sibyl Vane
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James Vane
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Alan Campbell
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About the author
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Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his criminal conviction for gross indecency for homosexual acts.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
Wilde's parents were Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. In his youth, Wilde learned to speak fluent French and German. At university, he read Greats; he demonstrated himself to be an exceptional classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the emerging philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.
Wilde tried his hand at various literary activities: he wrote a play, published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on "The English Renaissance" in art and interior decoration, and then returned to London where he lectured on his American travels and wrote reviews for various periodicals. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress and glittering conversational skill, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day. At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into what would be his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Wilde returned to drama, writing Salome (1891) in French while in Paris, but it was refused a licence for England due to an absolute prohibition on the portrayal of Biblical subjects on the English stage. Undiscouraged, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late-Victorian London.
At the height of his fame and success, while An Ideal Husband (1895) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) were still being performed in London, Wilde issued a civil writ against John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry for criminal libel. The Marquess was the father of Wilde's lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. The libel hearings unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and criminal prosecution for gross indecency with other males. The jury was unable to reach a verdict and so a retrial was ordered. In the second trial Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years' hard labour, the maximum penalty, and was jailed from 1895 to 1897. During his last year in prison he wrote De Profundis (published posthumously in abridged form in 1905), a long letter that discusses his spiritual journey through his trials and is a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. On the day of his release, he caught the overnight steamer to France, never to return to Britain or Ireland. In France and Italy, he wrote his last work, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life.
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(1)
اللوحة : الـفـكرة تخرج من رأس صاحـبهـا
تبهره تلك التفاصيل الدقيقة في هذا الـوجه
الذي ينز طفولة ورقة وعـذوبة. هو مـشـروع
ناجح بالنسبة للرسام الذي ألتقط الـفـكرة ....
قرأت هذا العمل في بريطانيا – لندن. ولمن يعرف تفاصيل العصر الفكتوري وماقبله وبعده بخمسين عام سيعرف أثر هذه الأجواء على قراءة أوسكار وايلد لنص يعود للقرن التاسع عشر ميلادي علمًا أن أوسكار هو أخر ما أنتجته الفترة الفكتورية ونهضتها الأدبية التي كانت ضمن سلسلة طويلة من الحـضارة كانت أوروبا قد برزت فيه بعد أن أفلت شمس العرب.
كنت أتخيل كل شخصيات العمل أثناء قراءة الرواية. أتخيل "بازل / بازيل هولوورد" الرسام الذي هو عند أوسكار وايلد مكتشف الجمال الذي يمر بحياتنا دون أن نلتفت إليه حتى يخبرنا أحدهم أنه هو.. كنت أتخيل في أي لحظة الشر الذي يغلفه الجمال "دوريان قراي" الوسيم – حفيد كيلسو – يخرج في أي لحظة ممسك بقبضته عصاه النحيلة.. كنت أتخيل "اللورد هنري" وعنجهيته في إستخدام ثقافته على الناس ومعرفته بتاريخ المقربين من طبقته.. كنت أتخيل المارة من السيدات إيهن ستكون ضحية دوريان التالية، وأنا أنظر في المباني ذات الطراز المعماري الأوربي ومثلثات الأسطح والقرميد الأحمر حتى بقيت التفاصيل عالقة في ذاكرتي منذ (2009م) وبعد مشاهدة فيلم (بن بارنز، وكولين روث) الذي جعل الكثير يعودون للأصل - الرواية - عرفت أن الفيلم نجح لفنتازية النص. رغم أن قلة أحداث الرعب القوطي الذي لا يتجلى في غير بعض مشاهد القتل ونهاية الرواية التي وفّق أوسكار في إحكام خاتمتها بروعة.
(2)
الألوان : هاهي الآن تخـرج من كل عـبواتها
يعصرها الرسام ويوزّعـهـا بإحـترافية عالية
حسب هذه التـقاسيم لهذا الـوجه القادم من
الريف بعد أن سـحرته المدينة مثلما سحرت
الرسام هذه الملامح الملائكية. تمتزج الألوان....
عندما نويت قراءة العمل كنت أعلم أن قصته ستعجبني لمعرفتي بجوهر القصة دون التفاصيل وأنها لن تكون مثل رواية "ستوكر" الشهيرة، دراكولا، أوعمل ماري شيلي الشهير، فرانكشتاين وهما عملين بالمناسبة أعجبت بهما لكلاسيكتهما وجمال حبكتهما أكثر من القصة. بينما نص أوسكار ساحر وساخر ويحاول مخاطبة الناس من خلال الحياة في الجماد والطبيعة أكثر من الحياة التي في الجسد.
(3)
العقـد : الصفقة التي تولّد عنها خـلقٌ جديد
خلاصة الفكرة/ الرغبة، والألوان/ الحياة في
السعي لكسر كل وحشية العمر الذي يحرم
الجمال سره، الآن لن يبلغ منه هذا الوحش
شيء ولـكن سـوف يسكـنهُ شيطان اللـوحة....
كانت أمنية دوريان قراي وهو يتأمل صورته وهي تفيض شبابًا وجمال أن قال مندهشًا "إذا استطعت أن أبقى شابًا وهذه الصورة تشيخ. سأبذل كل شيء، سأمنح روحي من أجل ذلك"، وقد أستجابت له الصورة / الشيطان فوهبته الشباب ووهبها روحه. ليصبح جسده مرآة الطبقة المخملية في كل بريطانيا وليس فقط مثالًا على "دبلن" مسقط رأسه. لذا بقيت الصورة . اللوحة القاتمة محل جدل بين كل طبقات لندن إبان نشر الرواية على مراحل – فصول – فكان يخاطب تلك الطبقة التي لا تعمل ولكن مكانتها تمنحها حق العيش مما تحتفظ به من ممتلكات وإقطاعات وما يأتي من دخلها الكبير. فكان هذا النقد موجهه لهم بقسوة فكانوا عند أوسكار كلهم دوريان وكان هنري الشيطان – كما أراه – هو ذلك المجتمع الراقي السياسي الذي منحهم هذه السلطة في العربذة والإنحراف واللامبالاة والإنغماس في لذة العيش.
طبقة النبلاء كما كان يطلق عليها في العصور الوسطى أضحت في التاريخ الحديث هي الطبقة المخملية حملة لقب اللوردات وكبار التجار وهم الطبقة المخملية الذين وجه لهم أوسكار نقدًا لاذعًا حد الوجع وهو يُعرّي مجتمعهم وتفاصيلهم الصغيرة وكأنهم أتفقوا جميعًا على ممارسة السخط على الطبقة الكادحة – البلوتاريا – ونظرتهم الإستعلائية ودناءة سلوك أكثرهم إن لم يكونوا كلهم بالجملة وفق نظرة وايلد حيث كان يسخر منهم على طريقته الخاصة في أكثر من شخصية؛ الفنان وصاحب الإقطاع والطبيب والتاجر وسيدات القصور اللواتي يبحثهن عن إرضاء شهواتهن.
(4)
هاهي اللـوحة تأكل بـعضها الأخر. الألوان
تحيل نفسها لسوادٍ قـاتم وغـضب، يسمعها
تصرخ عليه في اللـيل وتسلبهُ الرضا. لـكن
الرغبة تسيطر عـليه يـباركـها منظره الآسر
في العيون الأخرى. واللوحة تـصرخ أكـثر....
الشر الذي يسكن اللوحة يغادر بقسوة نحو فضاء الواقع متمثلًا في الجنس والشذوذ وكل أكسسوارات الرذيلة التي تحدث للإنسان ليشبع رغباته حد النزق والجريمة / القتل. لم يعد دوريان يستطيع كبح جماح الشهوة وقد علم يقينًا أنه لا يشيخ طالما اللوحة سرها باقٍ بينه وبين حدود الإطار.
المجتمع الذي يمثله دوريان وبازل وهنري وكل السيدات هو عصر كان رغم رفضه للرذيلة من خلال الكتابات والمعاراك الأدبية التي نقرأ شيئًا عنها في أدب العصر الفلكتوري وحتى ما قبل هذا العصر هو عصر جنون في كل شيء بقدر جنونه في النهضة بقدر جنونه في الأدب الذي يمثل تلك الحقبة ذات القرن الواحد وقد ساهم أمثال أوسكار في سبر أغوارها وكشف تفاصيلها كما تناول "جوروج أورويل" في الكثير من نقده في كتابه (لماذا أكتب) ولكن بنظرة متحفظة وذلك لطابعه المتعالي رغم عكس ما يظهر في كتاباته!، ويبدو أنه مزاجية الفرد الإنجليزي مثال صارخ في الرواية البريطانية والإيرلنيدية خصوصًا.
(5)
المواجهة : نـهاية الـعقد. نتانة الجسد يهرب
خارج إطـار اللـوحة. يأبى البـقـاء أكـثر من
ذلك. غادرته كـل حياته الماضية. هاهو الآن
يعيش أكثر من حياة لكنه يخسر أكثر. كان
الشيطان قد خسر جولة والإنسان قد سقط....
المعارك لا تقبل خاسران أو منتصران رغم إيماني بأن كلا طرفيها خاسران. لكن الشيطان دومًا يكسب جولاته الأولى. الصورة التي أبدع فيها أوسكار كانت الفصول الأخيرة التي يبدأ فيها الإنسان دوريان من التفلت من هنري وأصبح شيطان نفسه. في إشارة على قدرة المرء أن يخلق شيطانه الذي يمثله مستغنيًا عن أي شيطانٍ آخر.
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أخيرًا وإختصارًا
هذه رائعة أوسكار قصة دوريان الإنجليزي الذي يرسمه فنان في بروتريه فيعجب بصورته ويتمنى أن يبقى شابًا لا يشيخ فيعقد صفقة مع الشيطان فيتم له ويبقى شابًا لا يتقدم عمره، وبالمقابل اللوحة هى من تشيخ وتظهر عيلها التغضنات والتجاعيد عطفًا على الآثام والشر الذي تفرزه تصرفات دوريان، وكان حتمًا عليه أن يواجهها وينتهي كل شيء، وهذا ليس حرقًا للأحداث فهذه رواية روعتها في تفاصيلها وحوارتها أكثر من حبكتها.
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فاصلة أولى :
هاري تخفيف "هنري" كان هو الشيطان الأكبر – مع حفظ الحقوق لعقلية الكراهية الإيرانية – في هذا النص الإبداعي، ولا أعلم هل كان أوسكار وايلد متدينًا؟.. على الأقل هل كان يذهب كل أحد للكنيسة كالمسلمين الذين يعرفون الدين يوم الجمعة!!.. كان هنري الشيطان الآخر خارج حدود اللوحة وخارج عقلية دوريان. كان هنري الشيطان الذي أحاط بدوريان من الخارج ثم عندما وقع تركه.
لم يكن أوسكار مصلحًا دون شك – لكنه كان يتذرع دومًا بالتبرير من يقرأ بعض أعماله وشيءٌ من سيرته سيجد عنصر دفع التهم حاضرٌ في كل أعماله (صورة دوريان روايته الوحيدة) وكذلك حتى في حياته الشخصية. يقع في الذنب / الخطيئة – وفق عقلية القرن التاسع عشر ميلادي – ثم يبدأ في التبرير ونفض الإثم عنه.
أوسكار كان يمثل معادلة الخير والشر وثمن كلاهما في الحياة. لذا تأتي أعماله (عند القراءة المتأنية) أشبه بصراع بين قابيل وهابيل بين الشيطان والإنسان. لذا كرؤية أخيرة يبدو لي أن أوسكار هو هنري وهو دوريان وهو الفنان، وإن كان هو نفسه يُصرّح عن طبيعة أعماله بالمجمل إنها ثورة كليبان وآريل كما يتصوّر ثورة القرن التاسع عشر على الأدب الواقعي والخيالي.
دون شك كان أوسكار يحاول جاهدًا من خلال قصائده وروياته الدفاع عن شذوذه الجنسي مع الرجال (أصلًا من لمن شفت صورة سيقانه لابس هيلا هوب والجزمة كولي هان فلات نسائي وأنا غاسل يدي منه) وحتى بعد خروجه من السجن بسبب قضايا أخلاقية – شذوذه – عاد من جديد لممارسة رذائله حتى توفي صغيرًا دون الخمسين، ولا نغفل عن تجريم هذه الأفعال في تلك الحقبة الماضية من القرن التاسع عشر في كثير من بلدان أوروبا
هذه صورته من صديقه الحميمي الذي أشتهر بعلاقاته الجنسية معه
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فاصلة ثانية:
نسخة ترجمة لويس عوض (دار الخيال) من أعظم الترجمات لكن تنقصها عن النسخة الإنجليزية الأصل مقدمة أوسكار وايلد عن الفن وعن هذه الرواية وهي غاية في الروعة.
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فاصلة ثالثة :
أنظر فيلم :
The Picture of Dorian Gray : 1945 / George Henry Sanders
Dorian Gray : 2009 / Ben Barnes , Colin Firth
اللوحة : الـفـكرة تخرج من رأس صاحـبهـا
تبهره تلك التفاصيل الدقيقة في هذا الـوجه
الذي ينز طفولة ورقة وعـذوبة. هو مـشـروع
ناجح بالنسبة للرسام الذي ألتقط الـفـكرة ....
قرأت هذا العمل في بريطانيا – لندن. ولمن يعرف تفاصيل العصر الفكتوري وماقبله وبعده بخمسين عام سيعرف أثر هذه الأجواء على قراءة أوسكار وايلد لنص يعود للقرن التاسع عشر ميلادي علمًا أن أوسكار هو أخر ما أنتجته الفترة الفكتورية ونهضتها الأدبية التي كانت ضمن سلسلة طويلة من الحـضارة كانت أوروبا قد برزت فيه بعد أن أفلت شمس العرب.
كنت أتخيل كل شخصيات العمل أثناء قراءة الرواية. أتخيل "بازل / بازيل هولوورد" الرسام الذي هو عند أوسكار وايلد مكتشف الجمال الذي يمر بحياتنا دون أن نلتفت إليه حتى يخبرنا أحدهم أنه هو.. كنت أتخيل في أي لحظة الشر الذي يغلفه الجمال "دوريان قراي" الوسيم – حفيد كيلسو – يخرج في أي لحظة ممسك بقبضته عصاه النحيلة.. كنت أتخيل "اللورد هنري" وعنجهيته في إستخدام ثقافته على الناس ومعرفته بتاريخ المقربين من طبقته.. كنت أتخيل المارة من السيدات إيهن ستكون ضحية دوريان التالية، وأنا أنظر في المباني ذات الطراز المعماري الأوربي ومثلثات الأسطح والقرميد الأحمر حتى بقيت التفاصيل عالقة في ذاكرتي منذ (2009م) وبعد مشاهدة فيلم (بن بارنز، وكولين روث) الذي جعل الكثير يعودون للأصل - الرواية - عرفت أن الفيلم نجح لفنتازية النص. رغم أن قلة أحداث الرعب القوطي الذي لا يتجلى في غير بعض مشاهد القتل ونهاية الرواية التي وفّق أوسكار في إحكام خاتمتها بروعة.
(2)
الألوان : هاهي الآن تخـرج من كل عـبواتها
يعصرها الرسام ويوزّعـهـا بإحـترافية عالية
حسب هذه التـقاسيم لهذا الـوجه القادم من
الريف بعد أن سـحرته المدينة مثلما سحرت
الرسام هذه الملامح الملائكية. تمتزج الألوان....
عندما نويت قراءة العمل كنت أعلم أن قصته ستعجبني لمعرفتي بجوهر القصة دون التفاصيل وأنها لن تكون مثل رواية "ستوكر" الشهيرة، دراكولا، أوعمل ماري شيلي الشهير، فرانكشتاين وهما عملين بالمناسبة أعجبت بهما لكلاسيكتهما وجمال حبكتهما أكثر من القصة. بينما نص أوسكار ساحر وساخر ويحاول مخاطبة الناس من خلال الحياة في الجماد والطبيعة أكثر من الحياة التي في الجسد.
(3)
العقـد : الصفقة التي تولّد عنها خـلقٌ جديد
خلاصة الفكرة/ الرغبة، والألوان/ الحياة في
السعي لكسر كل وحشية العمر الذي يحرم
الجمال سره، الآن لن يبلغ منه هذا الوحش
شيء ولـكن سـوف يسكـنهُ شيطان اللـوحة....
كانت أمنية دوريان قراي وهو يتأمل صورته وهي تفيض شبابًا وجمال أن قال مندهشًا "إذا استطعت أن أبقى شابًا وهذه الصورة تشيخ. سأبذل كل شيء، سأمنح روحي من أجل ذلك"، وقد أستجابت له الصورة / الشيطان فوهبته الشباب ووهبها روحه. ليصبح جسده مرآة الطبقة المخملية في كل بريطانيا وليس فقط مثالًا على "دبلن" مسقط رأسه. لذا بقيت الصورة . اللوحة القاتمة محل جدل بين كل طبقات لندن إبان نشر الرواية على مراحل – فصول – فكان يخاطب تلك الطبقة التي لا تعمل ولكن مكانتها تمنحها حق العيش مما تحتفظ به من ممتلكات وإقطاعات وما يأتي من دخلها الكبير. فكان هذا النقد موجهه لهم بقسوة فكانوا عند أوسكار كلهم دوريان وكان هنري الشيطان – كما أراه – هو ذلك المجتمع الراقي السياسي الذي منحهم هذه السلطة في العربذة والإنحراف واللامبالاة والإنغماس في لذة العيش.
طبقة النبلاء كما كان يطلق عليها في العصور الوسطى أضحت في التاريخ الحديث هي الطبقة المخملية حملة لقب اللوردات وكبار التجار وهم الطبقة المخملية الذين وجه لهم أوسكار نقدًا لاذعًا حد الوجع وهو يُعرّي مجتمعهم وتفاصيلهم الصغيرة وكأنهم أتفقوا جميعًا على ممارسة السخط على الطبقة الكادحة – البلوتاريا – ونظرتهم الإستعلائية ودناءة سلوك أكثرهم إن لم يكونوا كلهم بالجملة وفق نظرة وايلد حيث كان يسخر منهم على طريقته الخاصة في أكثر من شخصية؛ الفنان وصاحب الإقطاع والطبيب والتاجر وسيدات القصور اللواتي يبحثهن عن إرضاء شهواتهن.
(4)
هاهي اللـوحة تأكل بـعضها الأخر. الألوان
تحيل نفسها لسوادٍ قـاتم وغـضب، يسمعها
تصرخ عليه في اللـيل وتسلبهُ الرضا. لـكن
الرغبة تسيطر عـليه يـباركـها منظره الآسر
في العيون الأخرى. واللوحة تـصرخ أكـثر....
الشر الذي يسكن اللوحة يغادر بقسوة نحو فضاء الواقع متمثلًا في الجنس والشذوذ وكل أكسسوارات الرذيلة التي تحدث للإنسان ليشبع رغباته حد النزق والجريمة / القتل. لم يعد دوريان يستطيع كبح جماح الشهوة وقد علم يقينًا أنه لا يشيخ طالما اللوحة سرها باقٍ بينه وبين حدود الإطار.
المجتمع الذي يمثله دوريان وبازل وهنري وكل السيدات هو عصر كان رغم رفضه للرذيلة من خلال الكتابات والمعاراك الأدبية التي نقرأ شيئًا عنها في أدب العصر الفلكتوري وحتى ما قبل هذا العصر هو عصر جنون في كل شيء بقدر جنونه في النهضة بقدر جنونه في الأدب الذي يمثل تلك الحقبة ذات القرن الواحد وقد ساهم أمثال أوسكار في سبر أغوارها وكشف تفاصيلها كما تناول "جوروج أورويل" في الكثير من نقده في كتابه (لماذا أكتب) ولكن بنظرة متحفظة وذلك لطابعه المتعالي رغم عكس ما يظهر في كتاباته!، ويبدو أنه مزاجية الفرد الإنجليزي مثال صارخ في الرواية البريطانية والإيرلنيدية خصوصًا.
(5)
المواجهة : نـهاية الـعقد. نتانة الجسد يهرب
خارج إطـار اللـوحة. يأبى البـقـاء أكـثر من
ذلك. غادرته كـل حياته الماضية. هاهو الآن
يعيش أكثر من حياة لكنه يخسر أكثر. كان
الشيطان قد خسر جولة والإنسان قد سقط....
المعارك لا تقبل خاسران أو منتصران رغم إيماني بأن كلا طرفيها خاسران. لكن الشيطان دومًا يكسب جولاته الأولى. الصورة التي أبدع فيها أوسكار كانت الفصول الأخيرة التي يبدأ فيها الإنسان دوريان من التفلت من هنري وأصبح شيطان نفسه. في إشارة على قدرة المرء أن يخلق شيطانه الذي يمثله مستغنيًا عن أي شيطانٍ آخر.
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أخيرًا وإختصارًا
هذه رائعة أوسكار قصة دوريان الإنجليزي الذي يرسمه فنان في بروتريه فيعجب بصورته ويتمنى أن يبقى شابًا لا يشيخ فيعقد صفقة مع الشيطان فيتم له ويبقى شابًا لا يتقدم عمره، وبالمقابل اللوحة هى من تشيخ وتظهر عيلها التغضنات والتجاعيد عطفًا على الآثام والشر الذي تفرزه تصرفات دوريان، وكان حتمًا عليه أن يواجهها وينتهي كل شيء، وهذا ليس حرقًا للأحداث فهذه رواية روعتها في تفاصيلها وحوارتها أكثر من حبكتها.
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فاصلة أولى :
هاري تخفيف "هنري" كان هو الشيطان الأكبر – مع حفظ الحقوق لعقلية الكراهية الإيرانية – في هذا النص الإبداعي، ولا أعلم هل كان أوسكار وايلد متدينًا؟.. على الأقل هل كان يذهب كل أحد للكنيسة كالمسلمين الذين يعرفون الدين يوم الجمعة!!.. كان هنري الشيطان الآخر خارج حدود اللوحة وخارج عقلية دوريان. كان هنري الشيطان الذي أحاط بدوريان من الخارج ثم عندما وقع تركه.
لم يكن أوسكار مصلحًا دون شك – لكنه كان يتذرع دومًا بالتبرير من يقرأ بعض أعماله وشيءٌ من سيرته سيجد عنصر دفع التهم حاضرٌ في كل أعماله (صورة دوريان روايته الوحيدة) وكذلك حتى في حياته الشخصية. يقع في الذنب / الخطيئة – وفق عقلية القرن التاسع عشر ميلادي – ثم يبدأ في التبرير ونفض الإثم عنه.
أوسكار كان يمثل معادلة الخير والشر وثمن كلاهما في الحياة. لذا تأتي أعماله (عند القراءة المتأنية) أشبه بصراع بين قابيل وهابيل بين الشيطان والإنسان. لذا كرؤية أخيرة يبدو لي أن أوسكار هو هنري وهو دوريان وهو الفنان، وإن كان هو نفسه يُصرّح عن طبيعة أعماله بالمجمل إنها ثورة كليبان وآريل كما يتصوّر ثورة القرن التاسع عشر على الأدب الواقعي والخيالي.
دون شك كان أوسكار يحاول جاهدًا من خلال قصائده وروياته الدفاع عن شذوذه الجنسي مع الرجال (أصلًا من لمن شفت صورة سيقانه لابس هيلا هوب والجزمة كولي هان فلات نسائي وأنا غاسل يدي منه) وحتى بعد خروجه من السجن بسبب قضايا أخلاقية – شذوذه – عاد من جديد لممارسة رذائله حتى توفي صغيرًا دون الخمسين، ولا نغفل عن تجريم هذه الأفعال في تلك الحقبة الماضية من القرن التاسع عشر في كثير من بلدان أوروبا
هذه صورته من صديقه الحميمي الذي أشتهر بعلاقاته الجنسية معه
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فاصلة ثانية:
نسخة ترجمة لويس عوض (دار الخيال) من أعظم الترجمات لكن تنقصها عن النسخة الإنجليزية الأصل مقدمة أوسكار وايلد عن الفن وعن هذه الرواية وهي غاية في الروعة.
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فاصلة ثالثة :
أنظر فيلم :
The Picture of Dorian Gray : 1945 / George Henry Sanders
Dorian Gray : 2009 / Ben Barnes , Colin Firth
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“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
I present to you: Oscar Wilde, master of adding gay undertones that are so obviously homoerotic that they cannot be called undertones anymore.
Reading this book was long overdue. It's almost like a gay bible. What homosexual man does not want to stay forever young, with perfect skin, seductive lips and hair right out of a shampoo commercial. Just please do not take the murder part too literally. We might be overdramatic, but we're a peaceful community. Mostly.
Jokes and clichés aside, The Picture of Dorian Gray was alluring - especially the writing. I could swear there is an almost scandalously beautiful rose bush just outside my window whose heavy odour fills the whole apartment. I can basically hear the bees sing an ode to it. The characters were intriguing and the moral downfall of Dorian Gray was most fascinating. There were a few moments that I didn't find too exciting, but I devoured the dialogues. I really wish there was some kind of BBC limited series of this. I'm not a fan of the Ben Barnes film, and if I remember correctly, it also wasn't exactly close to the book.
Anyway, I'm glad that I have finally managed to read this. If you have always wanted to read a classic or two but were too intimated by old-fashioned and demanding writing, Dorian Gray is a good start.
Find more of my books on Instagram
I present to you: Oscar Wilde, master of adding gay undertones that are so obviously homoerotic that they cannot be called undertones anymore.
Reading this book was long overdue. It's almost like a gay bible. What homosexual man does not want to stay forever young, with perfect skin, seductive lips and hair right out of a shampoo commercial. Just please do not take the murder part too literally. We might be overdramatic, but we're a peaceful community. Mostly.
Jokes and clichés aside, The Picture of Dorian Gray was alluring - especially the writing. I could swear there is an almost scandalously beautiful rose bush just outside my window whose heavy odour fills the whole apartment. I can basically hear the bees sing an ode to it. The characters were intriguing and the moral downfall of Dorian Gray was most fascinating. There were a few moments that I didn't find too exciting, but I devoured the dialogues. I really wish there was some kind of BBC limited series of this. I'm not a fan of the Ben Barnes film, and if I remember correctly, it also wasn't exactly close to the book.
Anyway, I'm glad that I have finally managed to read this. If you have always wanted to read a classic or two but were too intimated by old-fashioned and demanding writing, Dorian Gray is a good start.
Find more of my books on Instagram
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A reread that was just as enjoyable the second time around!
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Books like this are why I love classics. They may be old as hell, but in another, much more real way, they never get old.
We as a society will never outgrow the need for a beautifully written book about being hot and evil.
End review.
Bottom line: Valiantly resisting the urge to make this book my entire personality.
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pre-review
"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable."
and who says the classics aren't relatable.
review to come / 4 stars
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currently-reading updates
nice eternal youth and beauty you got there. i sure hope you don't descend into mortal sin with it
We as a society will never outgrow the need for a beautifully written book about being hot and evil.
End review.
Bottom line: Valiantly resisting the urge to make this book my entire personality.
----------------------
pre-review
"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable."
and who says the classics aren't relatable.
review to come / 4 stars
----------------------
currently-reading updates
nice eternal youth and beauty you got there. i sure hope you don't descend into mortal sin with it
...
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صورة دوريان جراي
لو طلب مني إعداد قائمة بأهم الكتب التي قرأتها في حياتي، ستكون رائعة أوسكار وايلد على رأس القائمة، ومهما صغرت قائمتي، ومهما تطايرت منها العناوين، ستبقى (صورة دوريان جراي) لأنها رواية عبقرية كتبها فنان عملاق.
قرأت هذه الرواية في مراهقتي، نسخة مختصرة منها بالأصح وأبهرتني، أبهرتني فلسفتها، أبهرتني تحولاتها، وها أنا بعد أعوام طويلة أعود لأقرأ نسخة كاملة منها، ومع ذلك لا يتشتت الانبهار ولا يخفت جمال النص ولا قوته.
دوريان جراي شاب وسيم، فاتن، بريء، يرسم له صديقه الفنان لوحة مذهلة، تلتقط تلك اللوحة بشكل ما روح دوريان، هكذا كل التغيرات التي ستجري عليه، كل القسوة، والوحشية، كل الفجور الذي سينغمس فيه لاحقاً، لن ينعكس على ملامحه البريئة الطفولية، سيحتفظ دوريان جراي بوجهه الطفولي، وحدها اللوحة التي سيخفيها دوريان في علية منزله عن الناس، وحدها اللوحة ستحمل خطاياه، وستذكره دائماً إلى أي درك وصل، سيحفر الزمن والفجور خطوطه على اللوحة، وسيبقى وجه دوريان صافياً، جميلاً، خادعاً.
إلى جوار شخصية دوريان وقصته المذهلة، تبرز شخصية اللورد هنري ويتون، بفلسفته وذكائه وسخريته، تبدو لي شخصية هنري مجرد ستار لأوسكار وايلد، لقد كان هنري بكلامه وبكتاب ما أعاره لدوريان جراي أول معول هوى على براءة دوريان فحطمها، هكذا سيخوض دوريان جراي في العوالم السفلية، هكذا ستسوء سمعته وسيعرف في الأوساط الاجتماعية بأنه فاجر، وسيتحدث الكثيرون عنه، ولكن كل الأحاديث ستتبدد وتزول حالما تقع العيون عليه، كيف يصح أن يصدر كل ذلك الفجور، كيف يصح أن تنسب كل تلك الأفعال إلى هذا الطفل الغر؟! كيف تمضي الأعوام ولا يتغير شيء في دوريان جراي؟ يرقد الجواب في علية منزل دوريان، في لوحة مستورة، حيث صورة رجل عجوز فاجر، تحمل ملامحه كل آثامه.
نهاية الرواية حكاية أخرى، يمكن لي تصنيفها كأحد أروع النهايات إطلاقاً، لا يوازيها في ذاكرتي إلا نهايتي (ابنة الحظ) لايزابيل الليندي و(لورد الذباب) لوليم غولدينغ.
لو طلب مني إعداد قائمة بأهم الكتب التي قرأتها في حياتي، ستكون رائعة أوسكار وايلد على رأس القائمة، ومهما صغرت قائمتي، ومهما تطايرت منها العناوين، ستبقى (صورة دوريان جراي) لأنها رواية عبقرية كتبها فنان عملاق.
قرأت هذه الرواية في مراهقتي، نسخة مختصرة منها بالأصح وأبهرتني، أبهرتني فلسفتها، أبهرتني تحولاتها، وها أنا بعد أعوام طويلة أعود لأقرأ نسخة كاملة منها، ومع ذلك لا يتشتت الانبهار ولا يخفت جمال النص ولا قوته.
دوريان جراي شاب وسيم، فاتن، بريء، يرسم له صديقه الفنان لوحة مذهلة، تلتقط تلك اللوحة بشكل ما روح دوريان، هكذا كل التغيرات التي ستجري عليه، كل القسوة، والوحشية، كل الفجور الذي سينغمس فيه لاحقاً، لن ينعكس على ملامحه البريئة الطفولية، سيحتفظ دوريان جراي بوجهه الطفولي، وحدها اللوحة التي سيخفيها دوريان في علية منزله عن الناس، وحدها اللوحة ستحمل خطاياه، وستذكره دائماً إلى أي درك وصل، سيحفر الزمن والفجور خطوطه على اللوحة، وسيبقى وجه دوريان صافياً، جميلاً، خادعاً.
إلى جوار شخصية دوريان وقصته المذهلة، تبرز شخصية اللورد هنري ويتون، بفلسفته وذكائه وسخريته، تبدو لي شخصية هنري مجرد ستار لأوسكار وايلد، لقد كان هنري بكلامه وبكتاب ما أعاره لدوريان جراي أول معول هوى على براءة دوريان فحطمها، هكذا سيخوض دوريان جراي في العوالم السفلية، هكذا ستسوء سمعته وسيعرف في الأوساط الاجتماعية بأنه فاجر، وسيتحدث الكثيرون عنه، ولكن كل الأحاديث ستتبدد وتزول حالما تقع العيون عليه، كيف يصح أن يصدر كل ذلك الفجور، كيف يصح أن تنسب كل تلك الأفعال إلى هذا الطفل الغر؟! كيف تمضي الأعوام ولا يتغير شيء في دوريان جراي؟ يرقد الجواب في علية منزل دوريان، في لوحة مستورة، حيث صورة رجل عجوز فاجر، تحمل ملامحه كل آثامه.
نهاية الرواية حكاية أخرى، يمكن لي تصنيفها كأحد أروع النهايات إطلاقاً، لا يوازيها في ذاكرتي إلا نهايتي (ابنة الحظ) لايزابيل الليندي و(لورد الذباب) لوليم غولدينغ.
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I vaguely remember reading this back in high school and to be honest, I don't know why it isn't on my list of favorite classics.. it's right in my wheelhouse. Probably slipped through the cracks or something.
Anyway, this is a spectacular read. Gothic, dark- a disturbing portrait of an individual coming face to face with the reality of his soul.
Great read on this gloomy, rainy, fall day.
“
Anyway, this is a spectacular read. Gothic, dark- a disturbing portrait of an individual coming face to face with the reality of his soul.
Great read on this gloomy, rainy, fall day.
“
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”He grew more and more enamoured of his own beauty, more and more interested in the corruption of his own soul.”
I think I must have been about fifteen when I read “The Picture of Dorian Gray” for the very first time and I was totally blown away by it. There was this book, written in such a beautiful way, using such colourful and flowery language and there were those three amazing characters that made me feel and wonder and question their lives and decisions!
You might say that up until I picked up “The Picture of Dorian Gray” I was as innocent as Dorian himself. I didn’t know that there were books like that out there, that there actually existed morally grey characters, corrupted characters, book characters that felt like real people and could make you question their behaviour. It was an entirely new world for me and I was totally fascinated by it.
So I read this book and I savoured every sentence, I devoured its wisdom and got lost in its pages! Looking at it in retrospective I think that Oscar Wilde actually was the first writer who didn’t only make me love classics but also the first author that ignited my undying love for villains and complex characters. And for that I’ll always be grateful!
I don’t know how often I read this book by now (goodreads your count doesn’t even get close to the actual number *lol*), but no matter how often I already read it, I’m still captivated by it. My fifteen year old me loved it as much as my 31 year old me does and if you ask me that’s exactly what makes a good classic. ;-) I’m sure I’ll never get tired of reading this book and I’ll always discover new things about it. And I genuinely hope that many other people will read it as well. It’s definitely worth it! ;-)
The characters:
n Warning: You are now entering the gallery of “Spoilery Spoilers” and since this is one of my all-time faves I’ll probably end up writing an entire essay about it. If you prefer to stay innocent you better leave before my spoilers get to you and corrupt your soul! ;-Pn
Dorian Gray:
”It held the secret of his life, and told his story. It had taught him to love his own beauty. Would it teach him to loathe his own soul?”
Dorian Gray! I don’t even know where to start! I love his character to bits and pieces and he’s definitely one of the most intriguing book characters I ever had the pleasure to read about. At the beginning of the book he’s so innocent and naïve and I totally agree with Lord Henry when he says that this is charming. Dorian definitely is a charming character! He’s beautiful and pure and whenever I read the beginning of the book I get a sudden urge to protect him against everything that’s going to happen over the course of those 256 pages! He’s like a child that gets corrupted by the bad influence of others and when I write this I really mean it! Even at his worst he still seems to retain that innocent outlook at things. I mean he was corrupted and tainted by Lord Henry, and he ends up corrupting and tainting his friends but despite all of this he still wonders why they have become like that. He’s completely oblivious to his own role in their downfall and when Basil confronts him with it, he doesn’t believe him. He is convinced that his friends could have done the right thing and that his influence on them isn’t as strong as Basil claims it to be. What is even more intriguing is that Dorian actually wants to be good! There’s a part of him that’s still innocent and hopes that he can be redeemed, but there’s also that other side of him that whispers that he’s entitled to do whatever he wishes to do. It’s obvious that he’s fighting an inner struggle and that he seems to have lost his way. It’s the century old question every person has to ask her/himself. Do I want to be good? And even more important: Can I resist being bad? It’s so easy to do the wrong thing and it’s so tough to do what’s right. I mean that’s the main reason why actors and role-players love to be the baddies! Being bad is fun, it gives you a lot of freedom and if you’re good at it the consequences never catch up to you. ;-P So Dorian constantly finds himself at a crossroads. Will he do the right thing or is he going to give into his bad side? Is his bad side truly that bad? Is having a little fun with his friends and to indulge in pleasure wrong or is it just a part of being human? The fate of Dorian Gray makes you think and it involuntarily causes you to face your own demons and weaknesses. It ultimately causes you to acknowledge your own vices and fears. In short: It makes you pause and forces you to ponder your own life-choices! And this is nothing but awesome! XD
”I want to be good. I can’t bear the idea of my soul being hideous.”
”He felt that the time had really come for making his choice. Or had his choice already been made? Yes, life had decided that for him – life, and his own infinite curiosity about life. Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins – he was to have all these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame: that was all.”
”I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them and to dominate them.”
”He was prisoned in thought. Memory, like a horrible malady, was eating his soul away.”
Lord Henry:
”You seem to forget that I am married, and the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties. I never know where my wife is, and my wife never knows what I am doing.”
Ahh Lord Henry! How much I love that bastard! *lol* He’s quite literally the devil in this book. He’s the person that stirrs Dorian’s soul! He’s the man who leads him down that dark road and just like Dorian he is completely oblivious to the magnitude of his influence! Yes, he knows that he’s corrupting Dorian, he even finds pleasure and joy in it, but throughout the entire book he never truly realizes how much his words actually changed him! How much damage they did to his soul! Lord Henry is the kind of character you just got to love. Arrogant, intelligent, wise, self-confident, brutally honest and completely unapologetic about his inappropriate behaviour. It’s no wonder Dorian is so fascinated by him and isn’t only willing but also eager to spend his time in his company. Lord Henry is basically the embodiment of temptation and young and innocent Dorian wants to be seduced! And honestly, who wouldn’t be drawn towards a character like Lord Henry? I swear he says the wisest things and vocalizes the most accurate statements regarding society! He’s exactly the kind of devil you’d love to have on your shoulder! Plus there’s so much truth in his words that it hurts! XD
”I make a great difference between people. I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.”
”I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world.”
”We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. Nothing remains then but the recollection of a pleasure, or the luxury of a regret. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”
Basil Hallward:
”When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy.”
If Lord Henry is the devil on Dorian’s shoulder then Basil certainly is the angel that sits on his other side. The painter functions as Dorian’s consciousness and as long as they know each other he always appeals to his good side and tries his best to sway him on a righteous path. He’s clearly the counterweight to Lord Henry’s corruption, but unfortunately he doesn’t have a lot of leverage. Well, at least not as much as Harry does! I mean the saying: “Come to the dark side, we got cookies” exists for a reason, right? ;-P In the end Dorian can’t stand his bad conscience any longer and does the only thing that’s seemingly able to liberate him. He kills Basil in order to silence his remorse and regrets, but what he didn’t expect is that this dark deed makes him feel even more tainted and guilty. So in the end Basil’s death only increased his sense of guilt and caused him to feel even more haunted. In my opinion the murder of Basil is the final nail in Dorian’s coffin and from that moment on he couldn’t be saved anymore.
”You were the most unspoiled creature in the whole world. Now, I don’t know what has come over you. You talk as if you had no heart, no pity in you.”
The relationships:
Dorian Gray & Basil Hallward:
”He won’t like you the better for keeping your promises. He always breaks his own. I beg you not to go.” Dorian Gray laughed and shook his head.
“I entreat you.”
The lad hesitated, and looked over at Lord Henry, who was watching them from the tea-table with an amused smile.
“I must go, Basil,” he answered.
And this is the key moment! The very first time Dorian Gray finds himself at a crossroads and choses the wrong path. You gotta love Oscar Wilde for the subtle intensity of this scene! There’s nothing extraordinary or special about it, yet it’s still the first choice that leads Dorian down his dark descent. It’s unagitated, ordinary and so very powerful! It’s obvious Basil loved Dorian and when I talk about love here, I’m talking about true love and not just friendship. He’s infatuated with him and basically worships the young and innocent Dorian. After he realises what Dorian has become, it’s already too late for him though. Poor Basil, if he would have known what his picture would make of Dorian, if he would have known how much Lord Henry’s negative influence would change his innocent and pure friend….
”One has a right to judge of a man by the effect he has over his friends. Yours seem to lose all sense of honour, of goodness, of purity. You have filled them with a madness for pleasure. They have gone down into the depths. You led them there.”
”There was nothing evil in it, nothing shameful. You were to me such an ideal as I shall never meet again. This is the face of a satyr.”
“It is the face of my soul.”
“Christ! what a thing I must have worshipped! It has the eyes of a devil.”
“Each of us has Heaven and Hell in him, Basil,” cried Dorian, with a wild gesture of despair.
Dorian Gray & Lord Henry:
”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!”
Okay, and here comes the moment when I say that Lord Henry and Dorian Gray are in love with each other. *lol* It’s so freaking obvious!! They are fascinated by each other, they are besotted with each other and they want to spend every free moment in each other’s company! So yeah, there’s that! I think their dynamic and their interactions are very interesting and to me it seems like Lord Henry is some sort of catalyst. He’s the impulse that changes Dorian’s soul, he’s the first person who opens Dorian’s eyes and tells him that he’s beautiful. Oscar Wilde uses him as his tool to initiate Dorian’s monumental change. Which is kind of interesting, if you consider that Oscar Wilde was gay. It feels like Dorian’s and Henry’s relationship is wrong and I’m not even sure if Wilde was aware of that? I mean yes, their friendship led Dorian into the abyss of his soul, which is pretty obvious if you ask me, but there’s some subtle note about their “relationship”. It’s like deep down Oscar Wilde thought that it was wrong to have intense feelings for another man. And if you consider the time in which this was written it’s not surprising that he might have felt that way. Lord Henry represents Oscar’s sins and vices and it becomes quite apparent that some small part of him might have bemoaned his sexual orientation. In contrast to Wilde no one holds Dorian Gray to account though. He gets away with all of his sins and in the end this eventually causes him to destroys himself! What a moral punchline! XD
”Talking to him was like playing upon an exquisite violin. He answered to every touch and thrill of the bow…”
”Yes,” continued Lord Henry, “that is one of the great secrets of life – to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul. You are a wonderful creation. You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.”
”The moment I met you I saw that you were quite unconscious of what you really are, of what you really might be. There was so much in you that charmed me that I felt I must tell you something about yourself. I thought how tragic it would be if you were wasted.
"You know how a voice can stir one. Your voice and the voice of Sibyl Vane are two things that I shall never forget. When I close my eyes, I hear them, and each of them says something different. I don't know which to follow."
”The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned, or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us. I know it.”
Conclusion:
This book is a gem! It’s perfection and so quotable that I could probably highlight each and every single passage! No matter how often I read it, there is always something new I didn’t notice before! I still wonder and guess about certain characters and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” still causes me to think. The writing style is so beautiful I can’t help but fall in love with it. I fall in love with this book over and over again. Every time I read it I love it even more and I’m sure that I will adore this masterpiece until I’m wrinkled and old.
Oscar Wilde drags us into the dark depths of the human soul, and once you get there you don’t want to return to the surface anymore.
P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N!
That’s what this book is. <333
I think I must have been about fifteen when I read “The Picture of Dorian Gray” for the very first time and I was totally blown away by it. There was this book, written in such a beautiful way, using such colourful and flowery language and there were those three amazing characters that made me feel and wonder and question their lives and decisions!
You might say that up until I picked up “The Picture of Dorian Gray” I was as innocent as Dorian himself. I didn’t know that there were books like that out there, that there actually existed morally grey characters, corrupted characters, book characters that felt like real people and could make you question their behaviour. It was an entirely new world for me and I was totally fascinated by it.
So I read this book and I savoured every sentence, I devoured its wisdom and got lost in its pages! Looking at it in retrospective I think that Oscar Wilde actually was the first writer who didn’t only make me love classics but also the first author that ignited my undying love for villains and complex characters. And for that I’ll always be grateful!
I don’t know how often I read this book by now (goodreads your count doesn’t even get close to the actual number *lol*), but no matter how often I already read it, I’m still captivated by it. My fifteen year old me loved it as much as my 31 year old me does and if you ask me that’s exactly what makes a good classic. ;-) I’m sure I’ll never get tired of reading this book and I’ll always discover new things about it. And I genuinely hope that many other people will read it as well. It’s definitely worth it! ;-)
The characters:
n Warning: You are now entering the gallery of “Spoilery Spoilers” and since this is one of my all-time faves I’ll probably end up writing an entire essay about it. If you prefer to stay innocent you better leave before my spoilers get to you and corrupt your soul! ;-Pn
Dorian Gray:
”It held the secret of his life, and told his story. It had taught him to love his own beauty. Would it teach him to loathe his own soul?”
Dorian Gray! I don’t even know where to start! I love his character to bits and pieces and he’s definitely one of the most intriguing book characters I ever had the pleasure to read about. At the beginning of the book he’s so innocent and naïve and I totally agree with Lord Henry when he says that this is charming. Dorian definitely is a charming character! He’s beautiful and pure and whenever I read the beginning of the book I get a sudden urge to protect him against everything that’s going to happen over the course of those 256 pages! He’s like a child that gets corrupted by the bad influence of others and when I write this I really mean it! Even at his worst he still seems to retain that innocent outlook at things. I mean he was corrupted and tainted by Lord Henry, and he ends up corrupting and tainting his friends but despite all of this he still wonders why they have become like that. He’s completely oblivious to his own role in their downfall and when Basil confronts him with it, he doesn’t believe him. He is convinced that his friends could have done the right thing and that his influence on them isn’t as strong as Basil claims it to be. What is even more intriguing is that Dorian actually wants to be good! There’s a part of him that’s still innocent and hopes that he can be redeemed, but there’s also that other side of him that whispers that he’s entitled to do whatever he wishes to do. It’s obvious that he’s fighting an inner struggle and that he seems to have lost his way. It’s the century old question every person has to ask her/himself. Do I want to be good? And even more important: Can I resist being bad? It’s so easy to do the wrong thing and it’s so tough to do what’s right. I mean that’s the main reason why actors and role-players love to be the baddies! Being bad is fun, it gives you a lot of freedom and if you’re good at it the consequences never catch up to you. ;-P So Dorian constantly finds himself at a crossroads. Will he do the right thing or is he going to give into his bad side? Is his bad side truly that bad? Is having a little fun with his friends and to indulge in pleasure wrong or is it just a part of being human? The fate of Dorian Gray makes you think and it involuntarily causes you to face your own demons and weaknesses. It ultimately causes you to acknowledge your own vices and fears. In short: It makes you pause and forces you to ponder your own life-choices! And this is nothing but awesome! XD
”I want to be good. I can’t bear the idea of my soul being hideous.”
”He felt that the time had really come for making his choice. Or had his choice already been made? Yes, life had decided that for him – life, and his own infinite curiosity about life. Eternal youth, infinite passion, pleasures subtle and secret, wild joys and wilder sins – he was to have all these things. The portrait was to bear the burden of his shame: that was all.”
”I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them and to dominate them.”
”He was prisoned in thought. Memory, like a horrible malady, was eating his soul away.”
Lord Henry:
”You seem to forget that I am married, and the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties. I never know where my wife is, and my wife never knows what I am doing.”
Ahh Lord Henry! How much I love that bastard! *lol* He’s quite literally the devil in this book. He’s the person that stirrs Dorian’s soul! He’s the man who leads him down that dark road and just like Dorian he is completely oblivious to the magnitude of his influence! Yes, he knows that he’s corrupting Dorian, he even finds pleasure and joy in it, but throughout the entire book he never truly realizes how much his words actually changed him! How much damage they did to his soul! Lord Henry is the kind of character you just got to love. Arrogant, intelligent, wise, self-confident, brutally honest and completely unapologetic about his inappropriate behaviour. It’s no wonder Dorian is so fascinated by him and isn’t only willing but also eager to spend his time in his company. Lord Henry is basically the embodiment of temptation and young and innocent Dorian wants to be seduced! And honestly, who wouldn’t be drawn towards a character like Lord Henry? I swear he says the wisest things and vocalizes the most accurate statements regarding society! He’s exactly the kind of devil you’d love to have on your shoulder! Plus there’s so much truth in his words that it hurts! XD
”I make a great difference between people. I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.”
”I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world.”
”We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind, and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. Nothing remains then but the recollection of a pleasure, or the luxury of a regret. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”
Basil Hallward:
”When I like people immensely I never tell their names to anyone. It is like surrendering a part of them. I have grown to love secrecy.”
If Lord Henry is the devil on Dorian’s shoulder then Basil certainly is the angel that sits on his other side. The painter functions as Dorian’s consciousness and as long as they know each other he always appeals to his good side and tries his best to sway him on a righteous path. He’s clearly the counterweight to Lord Henry’s corruption, but unfortunately he doesn’t have a lot of leverage. Well, at least not as much as Harry does! I mean the saying: “Come to the dark side, we got cookies” exists for a reason, right? ;-P In the end Dorian can’t stand his bad conscience any longer and does the only thing that’s seemingly able to liberate him. He kills Basil in order to silence his remorse and regrets, but what he didn’t expect is that this dark deed makes him feel even more tainted and guilty. So in the end Basil’s death only increased his sense of guilt and caused him to feel even more haunted. In my opinion the murder of Basil is the final nail in Dorian’s coffin and from that moment on he couldn’t be saved anymore.
”You were the most unspoiled creature in the whole world. Now, I don’t know what has come over you. You talk as if you had no heart, no pity in you.”
The relationships:
Dorian Gray & Basil Hallward:
”He won’t like you the better for keeping your promises. He always breaks his own. I beg you not to go.” Dorian Gray laughed and shook his head.
“I entreat you.”
The lad hesitated, and looked over at Lord Henry, who was watching them from the tea-table with an amused smile.
“I must go, Basil,” he answered.
And this is the key moment! The very first time Dorian Gray finds himself at a crossroads and choses the wrong path. You gotta love Oscar Wilde for the subtle intensity of this scene! There’s nothing extraordinary or special about it, yet it’s still the first choice that leads Dorian down his dark descent. It’s unagitated, ordinary and so very powerful! It’s obvious Basil loved Dorian and when I talk about love here, I’m talking about true love and not just friendship. He’s infatuated with him and basically worships the young and innocent Dorian. After he realises what Dorian has become, it’s already too late for him though. Poor Basil, if he would have known what his picture would make of Dorian, if he would have known how much Lord Henry’s negative influence would change his innocent and pure friend….
”One has a right to judge of a man by the effect he has over his friends. Yours seem to lose all sense of honour, of goodness, of purity. You have filled them with a madness for pleasure. They have gone down into the depths. You led them there.”
”There was nothing evil in it, nothing shameful. You were to me such an ideal as I shall never meet again. This is the face of a satyr.”
“It is the face of my soul.”
“Christ! what a thing I must have worshipped! It has the eyes of a devil.”
“Each of us has Heaven and Hell in him, Basil,” cried Dorian, with a wild gesture of despair.
Dorian Gray & Lord Henry:
”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!”
Okay, and here comes the moment when I say that Lord Henry and Dorian Gray are in love with each other. *lol* It’s so freaking obvious!! They are fascinated by each other, they are besotted with each other and they want to spend every free moment in each other’s company! So yeah, there’s that! I think their dynamic and their interactions are very interesting and to me it seems like Lord Henry is some sort of catalyst. He’s the impulse that changes Dorian’s soul, he’s the first person who opens Dorian’s eyes and tells him that he’s beautiful. Oscar Wilde uses him as his tool to initiate Dorian’s monumental change. Which is kind of interesting, if you consider that Oscar Wilde was gay. It feels like Dorian’s and Henry’s relationship is wrong and I’m not even sure if Wilde was aware of that? I mean yes, their friendship led Dorian into the abyss of his soul, which is pretty obvious if you ask me, but there’s some subtle note about their “relationship”. It’s like deep down Oscar Wilde thought that it was wrong to have intense feelings for another man. And if you consider the time in which this was written it’s not surprising that he might have felt that way. Lord Henry represents Oscar’s sins and vices and it becomes quite apparent that some small part of him might have bemoaned his sexual orientation. In contrast to Wilde no one holds Dorian Gray to account though. He gets away with all of his sins and in the end this eventually causes him to destroys himself! What a moral punchline! XD
”Talking to him was like playing upon an exquisite violin. He answered to every touch and thrill of the bow…”
”Yes,” continued Lord Henry, “that is one of the great secrets of life – to cure the soul by means of the senses, and the senses by means of the soul. You are a wonderful creation. You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know.”
”The moment I met you I saw that you were quite unconscious of what you really are, of what you really might be. There was so much in you that charmed me that I felt I must tell you something about yourself. I thought how tragic it would be if you were wasted.
"You know how a voice can stir one. Your voice and the voice of Sibyl Vane are two things that I shall never forget. When I close my eyes, I hear them, and each of them says something different. I don't know which to follow."
”The soul is a terrible reality. It can be bought, and sold, and bartered away. It can be poisoned, or made perfect. There is a soul in each one of us. I know it.”
Conclusion:
This book is a gem! It’s perfection and so quotable that I could probably highlight each and every single passage! No matter how often I read it, there is always something new I didn’t notice before! I still wonder and guess about certain characters and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” still causes me to think. The writing style is so beautiful I can’t help but fall in love with it. I fall in love with this book over and over again. Every time I read it I love it even more and I’m sure that I will adore this masterpiece until I’m wrinkled and old.
Oscar Wilde drags us into the dark depths of the human soul, and once you get there you don’t want to return to the surface anymore.
P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N!
That’s what this book is. <333
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