BOOK REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

Wilde’s sole novel tells of a young aesthete’s enchanting unbecoming

      Pressed upon me by a friend who crowned it his “favourite ever book”, I purchased Oscar Wilde’s renowned novel years ago but found its allure constantly eclipsed by books of more immediate priority. When it finally reached the summit of my reading list, I devoured it in three unforgettable summer days and now only wish I could relive each chapter again for the first time. Within a few pages its charismatic protagonists, particularly Lord Henry Wotton, grip the reader’s attention with their delightfully eloquent monologues, musing on such topics as theories of happiness and the nature of being. As with the works of other thinkers like Camus and Kafka, books of this sort hold a mirror up to humanity and demand it consider its role in the evolution of society’s moral and intellectual fabric.

      This is indeed the exercise Lord Henry forces upon the mystically gorgeous but impressionable young Dorian Gray, convincing him that Beauty is the true wonder of wonders, less superficial than Thought and a higher form of Genius than Genius itself since it needs no explanation. Hypnotized by Lord Henry’s oration, Dorian is filled with jealousy and hatred for a magnificent portrait of himself, for though it captures his beauty perfectly he foresees that he will grow wrinkled and hideous while the painting will remain young, mocking him. Rather the opposite transpires: as Dorian’s life descends into wickedness and gross sensuality, the portrait transforms to bear the marks of his corrupt and callous behavior. 

      Books of this quality remind why classics are obligatory inclusions in educational curricula but it strikes sadness to consider that many past readers will have long forgotten its aphorisms, to say nothing of Wildes’s immaculate writing.  Lord Henry’s speeches provoke and amaze like a spellbinding stage magician, compelling cautious spectators to reread various passages to catch their hollow, paradoxical premises. A further note of melancholy recalls that, due to its subtle tinges of homoeroticism, the book was presented as evidence when Wilde was tried for sodomy. He was resultantly sentenced to two years’ hard labour, from which he never recovered and which came to symbolize his life’s nadir, for three years after his release, penniless and of broken health, he died at age 46.

-NP, July 2016