The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde The first edition: 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine

ABOUT THE AUTHOR • Oscar FingalO'Flahertie Wills Wilde, otherwise known as Oscar Wilde, was a well-known writer of his time. He wrote mostly plays with satirical themes, but also created poems and other works. He was born in Dublin in 1854 and died in 1990 due to bad health. During his life he attended Trinity College in Dublin and a Magdalen College, in Oxford. Later on in his life, at a trial between Wilde and Queensbury about his newest play, "The Importance of Being Earnest", where Oscar was accused of being a sodomite, and revelations were made during the trial about the nature of Wilde's relationship with Queensbury's son. He was tried again and sent to jail in 1895, which sent him spinning into bad health. After his imprisonment Wilde was never the same, released from prison in 1897 he hide under the name of Sebastian Melmoth, no longer a shadow of his former self, he died poor, and alone in a Hotel room in Paris. Other Listed Works~ Salome (1891. play) The Importance of Being Earnest (Published 1899, play) A Woman of No Importance (1893, play) An Ideal Husband (1898, play) The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898, poem) Lady Windermere's Fan (1892, play) The Happy Prince and Other Tales 1888- Fairy tales for his sons

SETTING • The Picture of Dorian Gray takes place in the late nineteenth century London, England. Usually taking place in Dorian's estate, yet frequently going out to have a good time ,e.g., clubs, operas, ect., and visiting friends, and his girlfriend Sybil.

CHARACTERS • Dorian Gray- A young and beautiful boy. He is Basil’s model for most of his paintings. He later becomes Lord Henry’s corrupted pupil. He falls in love with a girl named Sybil Vane, only very shortly breaking up with her. Dorian goes into a spiral effect in his life moving in to evilness. He discovers his painting changing as he continues with his evil doings, though he does nothing to change. He never ages due to a wish he would stay young forever. He murders Basil out of a fight of rage when Basil wants him to repent his sins. Also he commits suicide after finally being overwhelmed with guilt. • Basil Hallward- A gifted painter. A more shy person, though he will attend a party or two with his friend Lord Henry. He adores Dorian, wanting to keep him safe and lovely; he loves to paint Dorian constantly. He sees Dorian as innocent and pure, until his friend ,Lord Henry, corrupts him. When he painted his masterpiece of Dorian he is afraid to show it to anyone. He says it “holds too much of himself in it”. Meaning his emotions are shown how he sees Dorian in the painting. Basil created the picture of Dorian Gray, the picture that changed due to the corruption in Dorian’s soul. • Lord Henry Wotton- The Devil. He is the friend of both Basil and Dorian. He corrupts Dorian very soon into their relationship. It is also known that as Dorian never changes, neither does Lord Henry; thus reveling he is the devil. Also revels that Lord Henry made the wish come true for Dorian to stay young and beautiful.

SUMMARY • I n the stately London home of his aunt, Lady Brandon, the well-known artist Basil Hallward meets Dorian Gray. Dorian is a cultured and impossibly beautiful man who captures Basil’s rapt attention. Dorian poses as a model for several portraits, and Basil often depicts him as a mythical figure. When the novel opens, the artist is completing his first portrait of a normal Dorian, but, as he admits to his friend Lord Henry Wotton, the painting disappoints him because it is too straightforward about his feelings about Dorian. Lord Henry, a famous wit who enjoys scandalizing his friends by celebrating youth, beauty, and the selfish pursuit of pleasure, disagrees, claiming that the portrait is Basil’s masterpiece. Dorian arrives at the studio, and Basil introduces him to Lord Henry.

Basil’s fears are well founded; before the end of their first conversation, Lord Henry upsets Dorian with a speech about the transient nature of beauty and youth. Worried that these, his most impressive characteristics, are fading day by day, Dorian curses his portrait, which he believes will one day remind him of the beauty he will have lost. In a fit of distress, he wishes he could stay young forever and the portrait would age. After Dorian’s outbursts, Lord Henry claims his desire to own the portrait; however, Basil insists the portrait belongs to Dorian.

Over the next few weeks, Lord Henry’s influence over Dorian grows stronger. He falls in love with Sibyl Vane, a young actress who performs in a theater in London’s slums. He adores her acting; she, in turn, refers to him as “Prince Charming” and refuses to heed the warnings of her brother, James Vane, that Dorian is no good for her. Overcome by her emotions for Dorian, Sibyl decides that she can no longer act, wondering how she can pretend to love on the stage now that she has experienced the real thing. Dorian, who loves Sibyl because of her ability to act, cruelly breaks his engagement with her. After doing so, he returns home to notice that his face in Basil’s portrait of him has changed: it now sneers. Dorian pledges to make amends. The following afternoon, however, Lord Henry brings news that Sibyl has killed herself. At Lord Henry’s urging, Dorian decides to consider her death a sort of artistic triumph—she personified tragedy—and to put the matter behind him. Dorian then resolves to hide the painting.

Lord Henry gives Dorian a book that describes the wicked exploits of a nineteenth-century Frenchman; it becomes Dorian’s bible as he sinks ever deeper into a life of sin and corruption. He lives a life devoted to garnering new experiences and sensations with no regard for conventional standards of morality or the consequences of his actions. Eighteen years pass. Dorian’s reputation suffers in London society, where rumors spread regarding his exploits. Everyone still loves him for his looks however. The figure in the painting grows increasingly wizened and hideous. On a dark, foggy night, Basil arrives at Dorian’s home to confront him about the rumors that plague his reputation. Dorian shows him the photo, then kills him after Basil tells him to repent.

In order to dispose of the body, Dorian blackmails an old friend who is a chemist. The night after the murder, Dorian makes his way to an opium den, where he encounters James Vane, who attempts to kill him to avenge Sibyl. Dorian runs away to his country estate. While entertaining guests, he notices James Vane stalking him, and he becomes wracked by fear. When a hunting party accidentally shoots and kills Vane, Dorian feels safe again. He resolves to amend his life but cannot muster the courage to confess his crimes, and the painting now reveals his supposed desire to repent for what it is—hypocrisy. In a fury, Dorian picks up the knife he used to stab Basil Hallward and attempts to destroy the painting. There is a crash, and his servants enter to find the portrait, unharmed, showing Dorian Gray as a beautiful young man. On the floor lies the body of their master—an old man, horribly wrinkled and disfigured, with a knife plunged into his heart

LITERARY ELEMENTS • There can be Faustian elements seen in this story. For eternal youth, he gave his soul to the painting, and slowly became morally corrupt and evil. • It also points out the evils of society, that looks are more important that anything else. • Foreign influences also corrupt a once pure Dorian.

QUOTES • Maggie- “Strange , that my first passionate love-letter should have been addressed to a dead girl.” In this section Dorian has come to the delusional conclusion that Sibly Vane’s death is some overly passionate love to him. He pictures this as something great in his new life. • Summer- "An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them.“ - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray Ch. 1 This quote was taken from the first chapter of Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray". During this time in the book, a man named Basil, was painting a picture and talking to Lord Henry. He was explaining that he was not going to exhibit the picture, no matter how good it looked, because the Artist, Basil, felt that he had put too much of himself into the painting. "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.“ - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray Ch. 2 • Ryan- "Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the cave-man had known how to laugh, History would have been different.“ – Oscar Wilde

CRITICS • Maggie- The book was extremely slow, the entire time. Even the murder/suicide scenes were boring and slow. Not recommended as a “past time” book. • Summer- Overall I thought that "The Picture of Dorian Gray" was a very weird story. Although it was interesting at its points, the overall theme was awkward and hard to understand. I recommend the book. • Ryan- It was a decent book, with a good plot line and a wonderful moral message. However, the language was too wordy, and the book itself was a roundaboutish.

REFERENCE • http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc38.html • http://www.oscarwildecollection.com/

JOBS • Maggie - Putting together PowerPoint, title page, character descriptions, job slide • Summer - Author biography, setting, reference slide • Ryan - Plot summary, literary elements

The Picture of Dorian Gray