The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde and published in April 1891 and uses elements of philosophy and Gothic horror. A novella-length version was published earlier in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in July 1890. This was the only novel published by Wilde, who focused more on plays and poetry, and, while the book has since become enormously successful, it was criticized at the time of its publication for being homoerotic, despite there not being any overt content.

Personal

Knowing the book was a classic,

Review

Good

• The vocabulary used is vast, much more than modern books, but it still feels appropriate, never forced.
• Lord Henry Wotton is a properly infuriating villain. He's sexist, bigoted, highly conceited, concerned only with ascetics, and eager to groom younger men to his way of life, and yet, much of what he says has an element of truth.

Bad

• Nearly all of the characters in the book are entitled undeserving jackasses. Since I was unable to appreciate them, I was interested in them only insofar as they would receive their comeuppance, so I found the story to be tedious.
• People in the novel tend to change their lives ludicrously quick. Dorian, after only a few minutes of Lord Henry's influence, switches from being innocent and naive to a narcissistic crybaby and Sybil goes from being a world class actor to a wooden hack simply because she fell in love with someone. These rapid shifts in character aren't very believable and hurt immersion.
• The beliefs of Basil Hallward and Henry Wotton that a person's outward appearance is affected by their minds (Basil thinks people turn ugly when they sin, Henry says they become disfigured for thinking too much) are not only quite bigoted, but completely lacking in evidence. I can understand such ridiculousness from Henry, as his belief that he is always right about everything regardless of his ignorance means the reader shouldn't take him seriously, but Basil is meant to be his ethical foil who seeks to keep Dorian moral, yet his beliefs are just as dangerous. I still wouldn't mind it much if their beliefs were shown to be wrong, but the painting of Dorian solidifies their beliefs rather than contradicts them.
• Wilde goes a bit overboard explaining in great depth how the painting displays the soul of Dorian. It's do overt, it feels like an aside in theatre. He should have been drawn this out more and allowed the reader to figure it out on their own.

Ugly

• The long explanation of clothes, jewelry, and finery made for the wealthy, followed by their long list of deceits, was a chore to read. A few examples gets the point across, an exhaustive list is exhausting.

Quotes

• There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
• She is a peacock in everything but looks.
• His principles were out of date, but there was a good deal to say about his prejudices.

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