Oscar Wilde

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. The novel was a succès de scandale and the book was later used as evidence against Wilde at the Old Bailey in 1895. It has lost none of its power to fascinate and disturb.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Atli 💗🧚🏽‍♀️

“So you think that it is only God who sees the soul, Basil ? Draw that curtain back, and you will see mine.” 

lmaoo me with my exes. those mfs are doing worse in their lives after me 😭😭

One has a right to judge of a man by the effect he has over his friends. Yours seem to lose all sense of honor, of goodness, of purity. You have filled them with a madness for pleasure. They have gone down into the depths.

I am tired of myself to-night. I should like to be somebody else.

I worshipped you. I grew jealous of everyone to whom you spoke. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I was with you. When you were away from me you were still present in my art.

OMG and people are gonna say they were just friends 😭😭

I was dominated, soul, brain, and power by you. You became to me the visible incarnation of that unseen ideal whose memory haunts us artists like an exquisite dream. 

Dorian,from the moment I met you, your personality had the most extraordinary influence over me.

"You are ill, I suppose. When you are i'll you shouldn't act. You make yourself ridiculous. My friends were bored. I was bored."

Pleasure is Nature's test, her sign of approval. When we are happy are always good,but when we are good we are not always happy. 

I hope that Dorian Gray will make this girl his wife, passionately adore her for six months, and then suddenly become fascinated bysomeone else. 

To see him is to worship him,to know him is to trust him."

He has preached me as a dogma; to-night he will announce me as a revelation. 

I am jealous of everything whose beauty does not die.

To me, Beauty isthe wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.

"You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know."

sooo what i'm hearing is that i should go have another donut...??

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.

oh basil is the queen of delulu is the solulu because boy please not you so sure of yourself 😭😭

"I know he likes me. Of course I flatter him dreadfully." 

"Everyday. I couldn't be happy if I didn't see him everyday. He is absolutely necessary to me."

A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. I have not got one who is a fool.

I knew that I had come face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that,if allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature,my whole soul,my very art itself. 

... the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties.

The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world. They can sit at their ease and gape at the play. If they know nothing of victory, they are at least spared the knowledge of defeat.

It's an amazing book, honestly it was one of the first classics I've read but christ I had to put the book down a few times, both because it's good but it's also the type of book you'd have to start yelling at ink on paper and look like a complete psycho. I did tear up a bit when it came to basil, like oh my god WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW SHEBEHR. Seriously though, it's lovely, it's well written and I love it's ideas it's a very enticing book and enjoyable. Oscar was definitely open about his sexuality through the book which would be surprising for it's time period since it was in 1891. It does contain some anti semitism however which is genuinely annoying because I'd have thought it'd be a more progressive book. Other than that, I do definitely recommend.

migs

Corruption, the obsession of beauty, and ego: will always be a part of human nature. Whether we completely understand or realize the influence or not—it is up for us to decide. Dorian's corruption slowly worsened as he lost the sense of empathy, hiding away the person that we met during the very first few chapters of the book.

Dorian Gray had taught me that once we see that corrupted self as our nature, it will then fuse, turning into our own flesh and blood. The vices and wrongs will ultimately take their toll, in whatever form it may be.

Though I may not possess the strongest English fluency, nor I have a high literature analysis skill, Wilde surprised me by how many points you can unpack. I will be making sure to read the uncensored version after this 😄

Navi.

Corruption, the obsession of beauty, and ego: will always be a part of human nature. Whether we completely understand or realize the influence or not—it is up for us to decide. Dorian's corruption slowly worsened as he lost the sense of empathy, hiding away the person that we met during the very first few chapters of the book.

Dorian Gray had taught me that once we see that corrupted self as our nature, it will then fuse, turning into our own flesh and blood. The vices and wrongs will ultimately take their toll, in whatever form it may be.

Though I may not possess the strongest English fluency, nor I have a high literature analysis skill, Wilde surprised me by how many points you can unpack. I will be making sure to read the uncensored version after this 😄

I had to reread this classic for a course called Victorian Masculinities I'm taking. I was able to pick up on so many other details while reading this novel through a Victorian Masculine lens that I just haven't gotten from my other readings of it. 

Dorian's character has always been a mystery to me, but I think that's the whole point. Using a new lens to read this did uncover some more truths about his personality and the time period in which he/ Oscar Wilde lived. I'm really glad to have reread it and I know this is a classic I'll always come back to.

P.S. I only docked points from my rating because while this book is revolutionary and groundbreaking in not just Queer culture but also all of western literature- it does have many negative facets when it comes to the discussion of women and women in the Victorian era.

Paige Leitner

I had to reread this classic for a course called Victorian Masculinities I'm taking. I was able to pick up on so many other details while reading this novel through a Victorian Masculine lens that I just haven't gotten from my other readings of it. 

Dorian's character has always been a mystery to me, but I think that's the whole point. Using a new lens to read this did uncover some more truths about his personality and the time period in which he/ Oscar Wilde lived. I'm really glad to have reread it and I know this is a classic I'll always come back to.

P.S. I only docked points from my rating because while this book is revolutionary and groundbreaking in not just Queer culture but also all of western literature- it does have many negative facets when it comes to the discussion of women and women in the Victorian era.

jeanro b.

Lord Henry kept on getting on my nerves in some part of the book and that’s how you know that you love it.

Abisatyayay

breathtakingly stunning and gut-wrenching. i am just speechless, i cannot express my feelings about this book without spoiling anything. a must read!

ayoni

Arne

it was a bit hard to get through the language for the first couple pages, but i really enjoyed it!

JJ Hampton 

I listened to this via audio and I felt very immersed in the story. This was an exploration of the shallowness of beauty and pleasure and the unsatisfying nature of them. The idea that our souls become ugly and damaged the more we do wrong was so interesting to read about. I love Oscar Wilde and his first and only novel is definitely a fav now. The way it ends is simultaneously unsatisfying and satisfying. It is more of a dark and contemplative read and I definitely recommend it.

Ellen Ivey

I don't know what to think really. I was really exited to read this book but got a bit desapointed. I was hoping for more of "going insane" over destriptions of rocks. I truly adore Dorian's monologs and conversations with Bazyli and Henry as well as the writing but i do feel a bit starved of the "dark vibes". Hoped there just would be more but overall it's a good book.

Martina

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is the level of timeless classic where it is difficult to separate its significance from the enjoyment of reading it. Sometimes you read a novel to see how cleverly it has bee put together, you know?

But if it were not that, if it failed to depict the ever-relevant questions of youth and beauty and the interior vs the exterior expression of beauty, the novel still has an absolutely riveting plot. I knew very well what was going to happen and still found myself gasping at certain points. Just an all-around great reading experience. 

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is the level of timeless classic where it is difficult to separate its significance from the enjoyment of reading it. Sometimes you read a novel to see how cleverly it has bee put together, you know?

But if it were not that, if it failed to depict the ever-relevant questions of youth and beauty and the interior vs the exterior expression of beauty, the novel still has an absolutely riveting plot. I knew very well what was going to happen and still found myself gasping at certain points. Just an all-around great reading experience. 

I loved the book even tho Harry got on my nerves most of the book, Dorian an impeccable character, just the evolution of his personality was wonderfully written by Oscar Wilde, I loved every second of the book. The end specifically got me. How he wanted to get rid of the painting but instead killed himself, because getting rid of the painting would mean getting rid of ones soul.

Ester Waclavova

I loved the book even tho Harry got on my nerves most of the book, Dorian an impeccable character, just the evolution of his personality was wonderfully written by Oscar Wilde, I loved every second of the book. The end specifically got me. How he wanted to get rid of the painting but instead killed himself, because getting rid of the painting would mean getting rid of ones soul.

I loved that 

The chapters catched me more and more, despite the twelfth one but i thought the book really left me something to think about

Joelina Schlabbach

Brilliant. None of the characters are likeable. Some are pitiable, some are tragic but none likeable which makes for an interesting dynamic. Great tragedy. 

anna smesna

Wilde is the only male author whose books I will read. Wonderfully written, highly recommend it. 

Jovana Gjekanovikj 

I enjoyed this book so much I could read it over and over again and never get bored. It's one of the best classic I've read in a long time.

I did not understand right away that he had sold his soul. I really thought there was going to be whole scene with devil etc. Honestly, I like the way that part played, how he noticed changes on picture and slowly realized what happened.

Another thing is from start I loved Dorian Gray and hated Harry, but slowly as the book continued I found myself hating Dorian Gray and Harry just became a character that sees him as a friend and doesn't see any flaw in Dorian. One part that almost made me cry was when Dorian told Harry he is the one that killed Basil and Harry just took that. Maybe I'm putting it out of context, but it feels as if Harry didn't want the truth because in his eyes Dorian was just a friend who, to him, isn't able to kill or have any flaws. He probably knew it was him, but didn't want to ruin picture of Dorian that he made up in his mind.

Also I really liked end. It was dramatic and calm at the same time. Especially last sentence. Beautiful book.

Korbin

I enjoyed this book so much I could read it over and over again and never get bored. It's one of the best classic I've read in a long time.

I did not understand right away that he had sold his soul. I really thought there was going to be whole scene with devil etc. Honestly, I like the way that part played, how he noticed changes on picture and slowly realized what happened.

Another thing is from start I loved Dorian Gray and hated Harry, but slowly as the book continued I found myself hating Dorian Gray and Harry just became a character that sees him as a friend and doesn't see any flaw in Dorian. One part that almost made me cry was when Dorian told Harry he is the one that killed Basil and Harry just took that. Maybe I'm putting it out of context, but it feels as if Harry didn't want the truth because in his eyes Dorian was just a friend who, to him, isn't able to kill or have any flaws. He probably knew it was him, but didn't want to ruin picture of Dorian that he made up in his mind.

Also I really liked end. It was dramatic and calm at the same time. Especially last sentence. Beautiful book.

Dit boek is heel goed geschreven, hoewel de mooiste zinnen het slechtste advies bevatten. Het verhaal zelf is meeslepend en het is duidelijk dat de hoofdpersoon van een leeg canvas naar een corropte man gaat, door zijn omgeving.

Bart Veldhuijsen 

I didn't have high hopes for this book. Being a school book, I had expected it to be as dull as any other we've had to read these years. Yet, this felt as modern as anything I'd pick off my shelf today, despite being almost 130 years older than most of them. It read quite easily, and was over before I had time to complain about it being too dragged out. Lord Henry's dialogue seemed a little exaggerated, which I believe to be its only major downfall. Other than that, a nice read to get back into reading the classics and I actually have a good understanding of the plot with an assigned reading for once.

ariah 

similar a Frankenstein, cada oración es poética. Me gustó mucho la trama y el final fue genial.

benja

LOVED THIS BOOK! Chapter 11 was a struggle but despite that ugh I loved it as much as you have to hate Dorian I loved him even though he is the definition of a narcisist. Ugh would rewad again! 

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Reviews

Highlights