The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

• Éditeur: tredition
• Année: 2022
• ISBN:
  9783347628243
• Édition: 1

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of Basil Hallward who becomes infatuated by Dorian Gray's beauty, and paints a portrait of him. A friend of Basil, Henry Wotton meets Dorian, and the latter becomes enthralled with him and his views about the importance of beauty and sensual fulfilment.Realizing that one day his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses a desire to sell his soul to ensure the portrait Basil has painted would age rather than he. Dorian's wish is fulfilled, and when he subsequently pursues a life of debauchery, the portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin displayed as a disfigurement of his form, or through a sign of aging.Wilde's only novel, first published in 1890, is a brilliantly designed puzzle, intended to tease conventional minds with its exploration of the myriad interrelationships between art, life and consequence. From its provocative Preface, challenging the reader to belief in 'art for art's sake', to its sensational conclusion, the story self-consciously experiments with the notion of sin as an element of design. Yet Wilde himself underestimated the consequences of his experiment, and its capacity to outrage the Victorian establishment. Its words returned to haunt him in his court appearances in 1895, and he later recalled the 'note of doom' which runs like 'a purple thread' through its carefully crafted prose.A wonderful book! —W. B. YeatsWhile in one sense "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is as transparent as a medieval allegory and its structure as workmanlike as that of Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus"… in another sense it remains a puzzle: knotted, convoluted, brilliantly enigmatic. —Joyce Carol OatesA story strange in conception, strong in interest, and fitted with a tragic and ghastly climax… A remarkable book. —Julian HawthorneMr. Wilde's work may fairly claim to go with that of Edgar Poe. —Walter Pater