Le Portrait de Dorian Gray

Book Summary

In Victorian London, the handsome young Dorian Gray sits for a portrait by artist Basil Hallward, who has become captivated by his extraordinary beauty. During the sitting, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a charismatic aristocrat whose cynical worldview and philosophy of hedonism will forever change the impressionable young man. Influenced by Lord Henry's seductive theories about youth, beauty, and the pursuit of pleasure, Dorian makes a fateful wish that will alter the course of his life in ways he cannot imagine.

 When his wish mysteriously comes true, Dorian embarks on a life of indulgence and experimentation, pursuing every sensation while maintaining his flawless appearance. As the years pass, he remains remarkably unchanged—youthful, beautiful, and unmarked by time or experience. But his miraculous preservation comes at a terrible price, one that manifests in the most unexpected way. The portrait that captured his youth becomes something far more sinister, serving as a dark mirror to his soul.

 Set against the backdrop of London's glittering society and its shadowy underworld, the novel explores the dangerous allure of eternal youth and the corruption that lies beneath surface beauty. Lord Henry's witty paradoxes and cynical observations provide a satirical commentary on Victorian hypocrisy, while Dorian's journey raises profound questions about morality, art, and the nature of the soul. As Dorian descends deeper into a double life of public respectability and private vice, he discovers that some bargains cannot be undone and some truths cannot be hidden forever.

 Oscar Wilde's only novel is both a gripping Gothic tale and a philosophical exploration of aestheticism, the movement that championed 'art for art's sake.' Through Dorian's story, Wilde examines the tension between appearance and reality, the relationship between art and life, and the consequences of a existence devoted purely to pleasure and beauty. The novel's brilliant dialogue, unforgettable characters, and atmosphere of mounting dread have made it one of the most influential works of the Victorian era.

 This haunting masterpiece remains startlingly relevant today, questioning our own obsessions with youth, beauty, and image. Wilde crafts a story that is simultaneously a supernatural thriller, a social satire, and a profound meditation on conscience and corruption. The Picture of Dorian Gray stands as both a cautionary tale about the price of vanity and a complex exploration of art's power to reveal—and conceal—our deepest truths.