OSCAR WILDE

DOUGLAS TUFANO

RENATA SIQUEIRA TUFANO HO

Esta obra conta a história de um jovem inglês, Dorian Gray, que é extremamente bonito e inocente. O rapaz é o modelo preferido do pintor Basil Hallward, e é no estúdio do artista que Dorian conhece lorde Henry Wotton, uma pessoa extremamente irônica, que vai influenciá-lo de modo decisivo. Quando Basil completa um retrato de Dorian, o moço fica tão fascinado com o que vê que deseja permanecer jovem para sempre.

O RETRATO DE DORIAN GRAY

“The soul is a Terrible reality. it can be bought And sold and bartered away.” Meet Dorian Gray, the beautiful young man with an impossibly charming face and spirit. as he sits for Basil Hallward—a deeply moral artist and a friend of the impish Lord Henry—who becomes obsessed with his beauty and wants to paint him, Dorian is enchanted by the perfection of his portrait. But, influenced by the well-phrased epigrams of the hedonist Lord Henry on the transience of youth and beauty, Dorian becomes jealous of it and wishes that the portrait bear the scars of his passing youth and age, while he would remain young forever. And Alas, his wish comes true! Enticed into dissolution and degradation while his portrait is aging in the attic, Dorian engages in scandals and sinful pleasures. We see him go from good to evil. But is he any happier? The only novel written by Oscar Wilde, the Picture of Dorian Gray is an arresting moral commentary and a classic example of Gothic fiction. with an unparalleled depiction of the Faustian bargain, this parable of aesthetic ideal remains a literary masterpiece almost 125 years after its publication. The Picture of Dorian Gray scandalized readers when it was first published in 1890. Written in Wilde’s signature style, the story has gone on to become an enduring tale of man’s hubris and narcissism. The well-known artist Basil Hallward meets the young Dorian Gray in the stately London home of his aunt, Lady Brandon. Basil becomes immediately infatuated with Dorian, who is cultured, wealthy, and remarkably beautiful. Such beauty, Basil believes, is responsible for a new mode of art, and he decides to paint a portrait of the young man. While finishing the painting, Basil reluctantly introduces Dorian to his friend Lord Henry Wotton, a man known for scandal and exuberance. Wotton inspires Dorian to live life through the senses, to feel beauty in everyday experience. Dorian becomes enthralled by Wotton’s ideas, and more so becomes obsessed with remaining young and beautiful. He expresses a desire to sell his soul and have the portrait of him age, while he, the man, stays eternally young. A tragic story of hedonism and desire, The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde’s only published novel.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

The Preface The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things. The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all. The nineteenth century dislike of realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass. The nineteenth century dislike of romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass. The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium. No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved. No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style. No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything. Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art. Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art. From the point of view of form, the type of all the arts is the art of the musician. From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is the type. All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself. We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless. OSCAR WILDE

Dorian Gray is a young man who embodies refinement, grace, and allure, but as with all beautiful things, Dorian knows his good looks will not last. Artist Basil Hallward paints Dorian’s portrait. With the understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that the painting, rather than he, will age and fade - his wish is granted. Through the artist Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, and he soon is enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic world view: that beauty and sensual fulfilment are the only things worth pursuing in life. Dorian pursues a libertine life of varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and records every sin. Disturbed by the fact that the painting is changing and becoming uglier, Dorian’s demeanor changes towards the painting decides to take fateful action to reverse the curse.

UNABRIDGED ORIGINAL CLASSIC

THE STAR CHILD - BY OSCAR WILDE - A GUNSTON CLASSIC The Star Child is a classic cautionary tale of the dangers of pride and ego-- as well as the redeeming properties of humility and compassion. When a baby is found in the woods and raised by the woodsman and his wife he grows into a beautiful child, but he is mean and selfish. A beautifully written short story by Oscar shares a view of life and consequences for decisions made along the way. Ages 10+

THE STAR CHILD

Octopus Publishing Group

Enthralled by his own exquisite portrait, Dorian Gray exchanges his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influenced by his friend Lord Henry Wotton, he is drawn into a corrupt double life; indulging his desires in secret while remaining a gentleman in the eyes of polite society. Only his portrait bears the traces of his decadence.

OSCAR WILDE

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